Melissa

Meadow University

Nolan placed the two pitchers on the table and the huddled group of football players vocalized their excitement. Within seconds, like the savages they were, the cups were already passed around and the beer began to freely flow. The dark haired boy was smart to have taken a cup for himself before the madness began- the pitchers were empty before he could even blink. One of his teammates piped up as he drank.

“What did Bonfamille want?” Drew asked curiously. Nolan shrugged, taking a sip of his beer.

“Ah, um...nothing. Just was keeping busy as I waited, is all.” The wide receiver quickly explained, dismissing the question almost entirely and deferring to the conversation going on at the table.

As Nolan thought more about it, he didn’t understand why he had decided to be so unforthcoming about his conversation with Bastíen. He could have easily just said that they were catching up or chatting, and that would have been a perfectly fine and acceptable answer, but for some reason he had decided to play it off as even less than that around his friends. The boy had hesitated and deflected, and that spoke volumes about the internal debate he had going on with himself.

Nolan had been questioning his sexuality for a while. What started as a conversation in high school with a friend turned into a larger ongoing narrative in his head that he was afraid to face truthfully. Throughout college, Nolan had only been with women- whether that was because he was attracted to them or he was not being honest with himself, he wasn’t sure. But this past summer, he met someone that he was attracted to who wasn’t a woman and confirmed something that he had always known, but didn’t exactly have the courage to pursue.

For now, he kept it to himself- even if he had a few notions, there was still a big fat question mark surrounding the boy’s preferences, and he had yet to identify his sexual preferences. He didn’t need anyone knowing that just yet, especially his teammates, so he masqueraded and evaded most questions, even if they didn't relate to his romantic or sexual affairs. He was wary; afraid that the smallest misstep would reveal his inner thoughts and feelings.

Wrapped up in his debacle, Nolan didn’t notice that Cassian had walked up to the table until he heard his teammate ridicule him. He hadn’t seen his friend since the incident, but he definitely exchanged some choice words with him afterwards over text to make sure his adverse feelings about it were known. Snapping out of his daze and rolling his eyes at the boy’s remark about his sensitivity, he quickly quieted his teammates from further misery. “Lay off guys, I’ve already given him enough shit for it.” Nolan’s teammates did as they were told, returning to their boisterous banter, and he turned back to Cassian, as well as Dana who had appeared beside him.

“I wish you had been sensitive last weekend- I would have paid to see you cry like a wuss when Theo decked you.” He chuckled to himself. In response to Cassian’s comment about his teammates, he sighed. “Eh, they’re fine. We had a rough practice, we all needed a night out. Coach would have their asses if they pulled anything. Regardless, if someone starts up, we can just throw Dana’s jacket at them and pierce them in the eye. Problem solved.”

It was then that the boy’s attention was taken from his friends and pulled to the stage, where Darla was announcing the next act. He shouldn’t have been surprised that Bas was performing, but as soon as he opened his mouth to sing, Nolan couldn’t take his eyes away from the piano. As the song progressed, something about the lyrics spoke to him- he couldn’t put his finger on what it was about them, but the feeling with which Bas played the keys and sang resonated deeply with the football player. He didn’t know that the musician could be so poignant and emotive- hell, it was shocking to see that he had feelings, knowing how bored and passive he could be at times.

Nolan caught Bas’ gaze, and as the boy winked at him, his face grew warm. He tried not to draw attention and warily glanced around to see if anyone had noticed the silent interaction- it seemed that his friends were too busy chatting to care. As the song ended, and Bas disappeared off the stage, the football player chugged the rest of his drink in an attempt to distract himself. “I’m going to get another,” Nolan didn’t wait for anyone’s response as he quickly stood up and made his way back over to the bar, wanting to take a shot of anything to stop himself from feeling.

Project Untamed

_{Friday, October 26th, 2035
Location: Fitness Center | Featuring Dr. Sebastian Navarro}

A few days had passed since the scavenger hunt, the buzz and controversy surrounding the activity fading, and once again monotony returned to the campus of San Agustin. However, Friday brought about a certain excitement for the student body- after all, tonight was the party on the first floor of the residence hall, as well as the beginning of any other weekend shenanigans the students desired to get into.

But in the fitness center on late Friday afternoon, Leo Brooks sat dejected and pensive on the bench, pondering life and all. He wasn’t usually one for deep thought, but he couldn’t help but delve into the inner workings of his mind as he sat there. The boy had a dream the previous evening that he couldn’t wrap his head around. He was running- where, he didn’t know, but behind him the police yelled to him, sirens blaring. Leo knew he had never been apprehended by the police, so the mere thought of being cuffed and thrown in the back of a cruiser sent him reeling. He may possess the bad boy air, but he wasn’t a bad boy at heart… or was he?

Lying back down on the bench and wrapping his fingers around the metal bar, he pressed his arms upwards, lifting the barbell above the rack and holding for a moment before returning it back to it’s stationary position, the weight clanging as it was set back in place.

“You need a spotter, Brooks?”

Leo glanced over to the source of the question, and his eyes were met with Mr. Sebastian Navarro standing next to the treadmills. The dark haired boy nodded curtly, which the teacher took as an invitation to approach the bench. He stood behind Leo as he added on more weight to the bar. “You know, it’d be easier to track you down if you actually showed up to class today.”

Mr. Navarro was one of the only teachers who seemed to understand that Leo didn’t want to be there. The man taught calculus, which was the boy’s least favorite subject, but the only thing that made it bearable was the man’s early acceptance of Leo’s disinterest and how he worked through it. The two had a mutual understanding- so long as Leo got his work done, Mr. Navarro didn’t bother him during class. It was a give and take, and Sebastian was just happy that Leo didn’t dick around while he was teaching. What also helped was that the two had a good relationship where their conversations often drifted to things other than school.

Leo tried to speak as he lifted, but instead found himself breathing deeply, the weight of the barbell heavy on his chest. With a spotter there, he could push himself to lift heavier than he previously had. After placing the bar back on the rack, he exhaled loudly, and then replied. “Yeah, well you found me now,” The boy grabbed the towel he placed on the ground next to the bench, wiping the beads of sweat from his forehead.

“I was being responsible and respectful to my peers- Frankie’s sick, which sucks, so I’m worried I’m going to get sick now too since we were… hanging out the other day.” Leo was pissed when Frankie texted him saying she had caught the flu. He had a higher risk of catching it than most people since they spent a lot of time together between the sheets, so he prayed that he wouldn’t come down with anything serious.

“That’s not what we agreed to, Leo. But rest assured, she went to the health center as soon as her symptoms started to show, so you probably won’t catch it.” Lies. Sebastian hated the lies- these were good kids, and it ripped him apart sometimes that they were thrown into this. He wished he hadn’t taken this job, regretted it even. But the compensation was too good to pass up with the situation he was thrown into. Deep down, he knew that Leo wouldn’t see Frankie again for a while. “You were with her and Dwayne for the scavenger hunt- how did you think that went?”

Leo scoffed, “It was dumb. Frankie complained the whole time, Dwayne was getting on my nerves, and we didn’t even come close to winning. I practically carried the team so that we didn’t come in last. It was embarrassing.” A bit of an exaggeration, but nonetheless the boy didn’t enjoy the activity as much as he should have. Sebastian’s interest was piqued- with the heart and head of a lion, Leo should have been much more invested in the hunt than he truly was. It was exactly what he was cut out for, speed, agility and all.

“Did you want to win?”

“Not really, I didn’t want to be there. It would’ve been more fun if I had Sol or Sam on my team, but we probably would’ve been at each other's throats the entire time if I’m being honest.” Leo took a sip of his water as he laid back down, ready to do another set. Sebastian nodded in understanding. It made sense; that was his pack that he was referring to, his closest friends on campus. He was comfortable with them, he was their alpha. Once again, Leo lifted the bar, exerting his energy until he set it back down on the rack.

“I see.” Mr. Navarro replied, assisting Leo with his set. “Anyway, do you have any plans for the weekend? Anything you’re looking forward to?”

“Eh, not really. I’ll probably hang out with Billie at some point, and some of the girls from the first floor are having people over tonight so I might grace them with my presence. It probably won’t be exciting until I show up.” Leo explained, toweling off once more and throwing the rag over his shoulder. Sebastian chuckled.

“You talk quite highly of yourself Mr. Brooks.” The teacher stated, knowing that it was his lion personality coming through. King of the jungle he was, and king of the school he acted like. “And you’re quite the casanova it seems.” The scientists knew that Leo spread the wealth in terms of his relations. The younger doctors had to explain to the older ones what a fuck boy was, and how this was a good indication of their experimentation. Lions fuck for status, and that’s exactly what Leo did.

“What can I say, the ladies love me. Some of them at least.” He grumbled the last part, dwelling on some of his previous interactions that didn’t prove fruitful. “Billie and I have an arrangement that works. She puts up with my shit, and so does Frankie.”

“Just be careful. I was young once too and enjoyed having options. But options only get you so far.” Mr. Navarro said a lot without actually saying much. He hoped that Leo picked up what he was putting down metaphorically. “I’ll let you shower off, but don’t get it twisted- I might have let today’s skip slide, but you miss my class one more time and I’ll be calling on you for the rest of the semester.”

Leo smirked, and nodded. “You’ve got it, teach.”

The Sisters of the Dying Branch

It didn’t take long for Maggie to reach the coven house alongside Charlie and Summer. She was grateful that she had been invited along, not wanting to have been alone in advance of the ceremony. The three continued to exchange small talk until Sister Lark appeared, sickening smile and all. The blonde hated the feeling that the young elder knew something they didn’t, and was aware of the initiation ritual they were about to take part in. In fact, everyone here knew about it except them. It was like a surprise party without the surprise, a secret where you were the odd one out. Brent had once told her that the ritual was being tied to an anchor and thrown into the wellspring to see if you would float. He earned a deserved smack across the head from their mother for that one.

Maggie listened intently as Lark explained what was going to happen, and let her lips settle into a discouraged line as the young elder handed out the robes and let them know they needed to leave all personal items here. She mused a small laugh at Summer’s comment,
“Guess the sundress was for nothing…” The blonde added in. She should have just stuck to her gut and worn pants. Before getting dressed, Maggie placed her novel on the porch where she had been sitting earlier, looking forward to coming back here later and reading the next chapter. She then slipped her thin arms through the large sleeves of the robe and pulled it on, letting the excess length drag on the ground. Nimbly and quickly fastening each button so as to not hold up the rest of the group, the blonde looked around at the witchlings that surrounded her. Soon enough, they’d all be witches and bonded to the coven. Bidding the safety of the house adieu, the girl turned on her heel and joined the rest of the pack as they embarked on their trek through the woods.

Time passed on their walk, and the blonde tried her best not to trip on the rogue roots littering the trail. The winding path grew longer and longer with every step, so much so that Maggie thought it would never end. It felt as though they had been walking for at least an hour, maybe more. She had no way of knowing- her phone was back at the coven house and she didn’t own a watch. Instead of dwelling on the time that it took to get to their destination, she admired the scenery around her. Maggie would have loved nothing more in that moment than to find a comfortable corner of the wood and read her book.

Out of nowhere, the trees broke into a clearing, and the blonde laid her eyes on the most beautiful oasis that she had ever seen. It was something truly out of a novel- the serene water that was bluer and brighter than any other lake or river, the lilies of pinks, greens, and yellows that floated on top, and the gentle moonlight that made the air seem to sparkle. The elders motioned to the spots that the witchlings were supposed to take and she watched as those in line ahead of her assumed their positions. Following suit, she kneeled on the indicated cushioned red pillow, eyes glazing over the dagger and the cup of herbs sitting next to her. As her main area of interest and expertise centered around potions, she quickly figured out what was going to happen before the elders explained the bonding ritual. Maggie was accustomed to the mixing of herbs and liquids in order to accomplish different things, and even sometimes putting a bit of herself into the concoction if necessary- a lock of hair, a bit of saliva, and even sometimes a drop of blood. The most she had ever given to a potion was a finger prick, but the idea of injuring herself further for the benefit of the bonding ritual didn’t bother her. If she were to be bonded to the wellspring in the way the witches of past were, she’d need to give more than a drop. After all, she was devoting herself entirely to the coven.

After filling the decorated cup with the wellspring’s water, she did not hesitate and quickly and quietly dragged the blade across the skin of her left forearm to reveal crimson. The pain rang through her, but it was not as excruciating as she had anticipated. She let the somewhat viscous liquid dribble into the cup and proceeded to stir the mixture with the tip of her dagger. Maggie then took a moment to look around her at the other witchlings who were performing the same task, some delaying and others already drinking. With one last glance at the elders, who watched intently, she let the dagger tumble to her side before she took back the contents of the cup in one fell swoop, hand beginning to shake as she drank. Her brother had given her alcohol to try one night when he had some friends over, so she just tried to imagine that this was the same thing as then.

The feeling that then came over her was nothing like that night.

It started in her toes, something she could only describe as pure sunshine, making its way up her body until it enveloped her completely. She was glowing, shimmering even, the light and ethereal warmth dancing across her skin as the drink ran its course. Maggie’s senses were enhanced tenfold- she was seeing stars, tasting sunlight, hearing the wind whistle through the trees, touching the smoothest silk, and smelling the magic in the air that was reminiscent of an ocean breeze and lilac bushes. As quickly as the happiness and euphoria had appeared though, the terror and havoc made itself known. Light counteracted by dark, day rolling into night, sun overtaken by moon. The power coursed through her veins like fire, burning everything in its path. It was everything she currently was and everything she could be- stunning violence and beautiful chaos. The weight that suddenly appeared on her shoulders felt almost impossible. It was not only a gift, but also a warning.

And then it was over.

As Maggie came to, so much was going on around her- Calypso was emptying the contents of her stomach, Summer was unconscious on the ground, Rebecca was face down in the water, Arken was holding his ankle in pain, Hana and Dakota were running around trying to heal everyone- it was too much. Too much for the blonde to process all at once, too much for her to bear. There were tears, exclamations, distractions- a tradition and ritual that once seemed so beautiful and meaningful turned frenzied and sour in a matter of minutes.

Maggie’s breaths began to grow shallow, grabbing and pulling for air that seemingly wasn’t there, and her lungs and throat turned aflame. She couldn't control what was happening as it started, and knew what this was bound to turn into. She had fallen victim to panic attacks before, but never did she think that the bonding ritual would trigger one. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears, loud and fast and reckless, and her vision became disfigured and blurry, almost as if she was looking through the small hole of a lens. The trees caved in around her, the wellspring shrinking as the overwhelming anxiety took over. Silent tears pricked at her eyes as she took her head in her hands, trying to regain composure. It was too much, it was all too much. Panic consumed her, and she couldn't find a way out.

Project Untamed

_{Location: Dance Studio | Featuring Mr. Kennedy}

A soft melody flowed out of the open door of the dance studio and into the hallway as Tyler Jane moved gracefully inside the room, lost in the music. After the stressful, yet rewarding, scavenger hunt, she desired nothing more than to let off some steam in the best way that she knew how. Limbs stretching elegantly across the vinyl floor as she moved, she put all of the energy that she had left after the group activity into her dance.

A knock on the door took the redhead out of her thoughts, and as she turned to face the entrance to the studio, she was met by the gaze of Mr. Kennedy. A social science teacher on campus, he was younger than most staff (most likely in his early 30s), with long, brown, curly hair.

“I was told that I could possibly find you here, Ms. Morrissey.”

Although she didn’t have him for any classes, Tyler Jane had seen the teacher around campus as well as this afternoon at the scavenger hunt- he was there in the lecture hall when they tried to find the puzzle pieces hidden around the room. He seemed approachable, not stuffy like some of the other staff on campus, so her demeanor shifted to be more casual. “Well it seems your sources were correct. Can I help you with something, Mr. Kennedy?”

The man stepped further into the studio. “We’re asking all of the students who participated in today’s scavenger hunt for feedback... would now be an okay time for me to chat with you about it?”

Albeit confused, Tyler Jane nodded, “Sure, I guess. Pull up a chair, or stand- up to you.” The girl motioned to a stack of chairs on the right side of the room before walking over to the speakers to shut off the music and to the mirror to grab her water bottle.

Behind the mirrors, unseen by the naked eye, was a small room where two scientists sat, pens and paper in hand. The mirrors were double sided, which meant the two of them could not be seen, but those present in the dance studio could be. It was a perfect spot for the scientists to observe test subjects in real time, especially with a few particular students visiting there quite often- most notably, Subject #24. They watched as she unknowingly looked right at them as she stared at her own reflection, and then turned her attention back to Mr. Kennedy.

“Well, first of all, how did you think the hunt went?” The teacher had decided to simply lean against the ballet bar against the wall instead of grabbing a seat, his shoulders relaxing as he spoke. With the air conditioning on full blast, his curls bounced softly against his forehead.

“I mean, I think it went pretty well, after all we did come in second place.” Tyler Jane stood in the center of the room, absentmindedly pointing and flexing her feet. “Teddy was the strength, Bradley was the smarts, and I was a bit of both.”

“So you worked well as a team?” Mr. Kennedy asked, crossing his arms over his chest. He needed to ask the right questions so he could get the right answers- that was the whole point of this conversation. “Did one of you take on the role of team leader?”

“Yeah, I’d say so. I think we communicated well as a group and were able each to take charge when necessary. We talked things out before jumping right in, which helped.” The redhead replied, taking another swig of her water. “For the most part, we contributed equally, but if I had to call someone the team leader, it was probably Teddy.”

“That’s great to hear, I’m glad you guys made a successful team.” Mr. Kennedy mentally noted how she answered, but knew the others who were watching were taking down notes for him. And he was right- behind the mirror the two scientists furiously scribbled down their observations, from the exact words she used to her mannerisms and body language. “Otherwise, how’s school going for you? Are you liking it here on campus?” He segued into his next point of discussion, making it sound as natural and friendly as possible. Mr. Kennedy took a step away from the ballet bar and towards the test subject.

Tyler Jane shrugged, “It’s going, that’s for sure. Not so much the academic part, but it’s nice here.” She mustered a small laugh as she moved to put her water bottle back against the mirror. “I get a whole dance studio to myself most of the time, so I can’t really complain.” As she gestured to the room they were in, the girl’s posture said what words could not- she stood tall on the balls of her feet, spine elongated and chin raised. She held herself with a confidence and an air of elegance that could only be emulated by one other beast, the one she was modeled after.

“What about your classmates- do you like them?” Mr. Kennedy inquired cautiously, trying to gain more information than his last question.

“Most of them I like, a few of them really get on my nerves...” The redhead replied honestly, a smirk appearing on her lips. She thought about her friendships with Erica and Savannah (although she was still a little frustrated with her, it didn't change the fact that she was one of her best friends) as well as Charlie and Nicholas, and then recalled the others that she didn't get along with.

“Oh, I’m sure. When I was in high school there were a bunch of people I couldn’t stand. Who gets on your nerves?” Mr. Kennedy laughed, egging the girl on to continue her incomplete thought by mentioning his own experiences as a teen. It was true though- he had a rough high school experience as he was picked on for his love of science. This fire allowed him to graduate early with his doctorate and join Project Untamed, and he was one of the youngest scientists on the assignment.

Something about the conversation felt unnatural, complaining to a teacher about her peers, but Tyler Jane proceeded nonetheless. “Well for starters, there’s Leo- the guy can’t keep to himself if you know what I mean.” She chuckled under her breath, and once she started talking negatively, she couldn’t stop. “Billie and I couldn’t be more different- we don’t see eye to eye on anything. And to make matters worse, Nicholas just so happens to be her twin brother, so that probably makes her dislike me even more” She felt her mood shift as she continued.

“Then there’s Griffin. I tried being nice to him but he’s just so aggravating.” It was true, she tried to get along with him at first, but for some reason, he hated her guts. “He thinks he knows everything, and believes he’s better than everyone because of it. And of course, his room has to be right next to mine so there’s not a day where I don’t see him.” After realizing that all of those words had tumbled out, a blush pricked her cheeks, embarrassed. “Sorry, I got a little carried away. I guess it bothers me more than I let on.”

“It's no problem, Ms. Morrissey, high school can be a challenging time, these feelings you have are completely normal.” Mr. Kennedy nodded, consoling her. Internally, he was glad that somehow he was able to pry those names out of her- he’d get a pat on the back from the others later. “Well, I don’t want to interrupt more of your rehearsal, so I’ll leave you to it.”

The scientists behind the mirror continued to jot down notes as they watched the conversation come to a close. But as soon as they thought it was over, Subject #24 blurted something out.

“What were you writing earlier?” Tyler Jane asked as Mr. Kennedy began to walk to the door, taking the man slightly by surprise. He turned around to face her once more, a confused look on his face. “On your clipboard as we were leaving the lecture hall, you were writing things down.”

The scientists behind the mirror stopped what they were writing and held their breath as they listened, waiting to hear what the man was going to say. They were instructed to be discreet when writing down their observations during the hunt, but clearly, Mr. Kennedy wasn’t discreet enough.

“I was keeping track of how long it took each team to find all of the pieces, so if it came down to a tie we could pick a winner.” He explained quickly, hoping the answer would suffice, and continued on his way to exit the room. But the redhead didn’t buy it, and probed for more.

“You were writing sentences, paragraphs even. How does it take that many words to write out the challenge time?” Tyler Jane took an inquisitive step towards him, eyebrow raised. Mr. Kennedy paused, silence looming for a second too long, before he spoke again.

“Lesson planning, I must have been lesson planning then. Sometimes ideas come to me at inopportune times and I need to write it down before I forget.” The man exhaled softly, hoping that was enough for Tyler Jane to be thrown off of his scent and drop it. “Watching you all work together in teams got me thinking about how I can accomplish the same thing in my class.”

Warily, the girl nodded in response. With that, Mr. Kennedy offered the redhead a warm smile before exiting the dance studio, leaving Tyler Jane alone once more. But behind the mirror, the two scientists shook their heads, the question she had asked bothering them more than it should have.

The Sisters of the Dying Branch

_{Speaking with: Charlie @KaijuBaragon and Summer @Danvers}

As she approached the initiate table, Maggie could feel her stomach begin to turn. Something about the situation seemed so forced- all of the witchlings required to sit together and make small talk. Usually, she preferred social interaction when it was on her own accord, but she’d have to make lemonade out of sour lemons and suck it up. The blonde offered a warm smile to those who had noticed she appeared, but didn’t say anything. She found her seat at the end of the table, mentally thanking the elders for giving her the spot with the easiest escape route, and opened her book once more and continued from where she left off.

It wasn’t long until Sister Deborah approached the microphone and drew attention, including Maggie’s. The girl set down her book on the table (this time remembering to mark the page where she left off) and listened intently, mulling over each word the woman said to the crowd. Although it didn’t seem like it, the blonde was quite excited for her initiation. She was looking forward to gaining a new sense of belonging to the coven and forging her own path, both literally and figuratively. Of course she was nervous, but for some reason, she felt more at ease than anxious knowing that she would be initiated as her family was before her. This would be a new adventure, and above all else an opportunity for Maggie to come out of her shell and mature.

As the elder announced the initiates would be meeting at the house in a few minutes time, she wished she had just stayed over there in the first place. Uaithne just had to come over and guilt her, and she could have avoided all of this had she just stuck with her gut. But it was too late for regret now- she had already seen her mother practically beaming from across the field noticing her daughter socializing. At least it made one of them happy.

A voice calling her name drew the blonde out of her thoughts, and Maggie looked over to find Charlie speaking to her in his lovely accent. It took her a moment to process, but when she realized that he was inviting her to accompany him and Summer back over to the house, she nodded in response. “Sure, I’ll join you.” Standing up and smoothing out her dress, she leisurely strolled to where they were standing, matching their pace as they began to walk towards where she had been hiding out previously.

Summer’s reputation definitely preceded her, and the blonde couldn’t exactly figure out if her compliment was sincere or not. Even though they had known each other for quite a long time and were amicable, Maggie knew that the girl didn’t get along with some people and it was best to stay on her good side. Deciding in her own mind that Summer’s words were genuine (even if they truly weren't), Maggie looked down at her gingham dress and back up to the girl, and smiled. Today was not the day to hyper analyze. “Thanks, I figured that it's a special occasion, so might as well look the part.” After a pause, she motioned to Summer’s yellow and white striped ensemble. “Your dress is lovely as well.”

Looking up at Charlie, as he was much taller than her, she noticed that the fading golden hour sunlight seemed to catch his hair, making it look even more red than it truly was. “So what do you think the wellspring is like? I’ve always wondered.”

Project Untamed

_{Dwayne Freeman, Frankie Allensworth, and Leo Brooks
An @Ejected, @Spooner, and @Melissa Collaboration}

“If either of you gets egg on my hair, I swear to god…”

Leo grimaced as the staff member explained their next challenge, having been led to it by their previously scrambled clue. Did he commandeer the leader position of the group? Absolutely. Ultra competitive and athletic, scavenger hunts and races were certainly in Leo’s wheelhouse. Up until this point though, the challenges had been a piece of cake- menial and brainless, but this… this just seemed too stupid to actually pose a threat to their success. They had all been forced to be at least 6 feet apart in the courtyard, the distance not extremely far but definitely making the challenge a little more than child’s play. However, Leo wasn’t worried in the slightest- the only fear plaguing him was being on the receiving end of a broken egg and having it ruin his brown locks or crisp white shoes.

“Oh don’t be such a primadonna,” Francesca smacked her lips around a large candy pop as she lifted her sunglasses on top of her head. Looking at the large man child with humor-filled eyes. “If you get egg in your hair I’ll help you wash it out. We can wash our hair together,” she winked and popped the pop back in her mouth.

It was then that Dwayne realized that his suspicions from the previous day had been correct: he was gonna have to deal with being the awkward "third wheel" for the entire scavenger hunt.

“Well maybe I should break it on purpose then.” Leo passed the egg from hand to hand until the stopwatch began, and then tossed it to the teammate on his left side.

Frankie gracefully caught the egg and held it up “See nothing to worry about,” she said smugly before looking to her left to the tall dark young man “Hey D, look sharp!” she exclaimed before gently throwing the egg to him.

Dwayne caught the egg with ease, the corner of his mouth slightly tilting upwards in triumph once he did so. Dwayne wasn't too worried about ruining his clothing or hair during the scavenger hunt activity; after all, it would only take a few minutes in the shower or a few Tide pods to remove the gooey substance from his being if it came down to it. "Yeah, it won't be a problem. As long as we're all careful..." As the young man spoke, he shuffled the egg into his right hand and tossed it into the air once more, silently hoping that Leo would catch it.

The dark haired boy opened up his palms to receive, and caught the egg just barely, purposefully contorting in order to put his body out of harm's way. Leo tried to handle the egg as gingerly as he could, but the words gentle and careful weren’t exactly in his vocabulary, so he was trying his best. Weren’t physical challenges supposed to be about strength? With another toss, the egg sailed over to the blonde, a suggestive brow raised on the boy’s face. “Come on, Frankie, I know what those hands can do.”

Frankie caught the egg once again with a smirk “Mmmh” she replied, tossing it quickly to Dwayne without much pause. “Ugh! Has it been a minute yet? I’m over this…” she moaned looking to the faculty member observing them.

“It’s been 20 seconds.”

"You can't just chuck it around like it's a football or something, man. We've gotta be more gentle with it..." Dwayne said as he caught the egg once more and threw it underhand to Leo. "Unless you want to start this all over again and increase the chances of you ruining your shoes." It was after Dwayne finished speaking that the faculty member nearby gave them the signal that they'd reached the thirty-second mark. They were almost there.

Leo rolled his eyes, grasping the egg as it was tossed back to him. He didn’t like being critiqued, not one bit, especially by Dwayne. “Gentle, my ass. We’ve just gotta just be consistent.” The boy advised, continuing with the order they had started with and passing it back to Frankie.

Catching the egg once more, Frankie rolled her eyes giving off her ‘whatever’ vibe. She made eye contact with Dwayne making sure he saw just how slowly she was throwing the egg back to him. Once she had thrown it she crossed her arms in front of her. She was officially over it.

Letting out a sigh of defeat, Dwayne simply decided to just stay quiet for the rest of the challenge. It had become obvious to him other the past few tasks that trying to reason with or talk to Leo was like talking to a brick wall. The young man caught the egg with no problem, and tossed it over to Leo in the same manner as he had before. "Heads up." His eyes went wide, however, once he saw Leo begin to struggle.

Leo fumbled the egg in his hands, Dwayne’s throw having been perfect but his own grip too harsh, causing it to crack on the ground and splatter over his shoes and the hem of his jeans. He knew that it was only his fault, but wasn’t going to own up to it as he swore. “Fucking SERIOUSLY!” He exclaimed, face turning red. He had just washed these pants and now he was going to need to wash them again, as well as clean his previously pristine shoes.

Expressions of both amusement and frustration washed over Dwayne's face as he watched his teammate examine the damage that had been done to his shoes. Maybe next time he'd listen.

A deep frustrated sigh left the girl “Are you fucking kidding me, Leo… we had like 5 seconds left!” she stomped her foot on the grass.

The staff member simply shook her head as she handed Leo another egg and the timer started again. He growled as he threw the egg over to his teammate and the cycle began once again. This time around, he was extra careful, and they quickly made it back to the halfway mark without another slip up. But that didn’t mean he was happy. “Okay, one redo was enough so let’s just try not to mess up again.” He tossed the egg to Frankie.

Frankie just caught the egg and threw it along without saying much. She was ready to move on and get this whole day over with. And as soon as the staff member gave them the sign that their minute was up she almost jumped with joy, skipping over to get the next clue. It didn’t take long for the girl to unscramble the letters to get the answer. “We’re going to the lecture hall… let’s go!” she said lowering her sunglasses again pointing with the piece of paper in the direction they had to go.

Thankful that the second round of egg tossing had been successful, Dwayne simply tucked his hands into his pockets and followed behind his two teammates.

As they arrived at their destination, Leo tried to look around to guess what they’d be doing for their next challenge, but couldn’t figure it out. The lecture hall looked completely normal- or so he thought. “So what, we're just supposed to sit here? Take a test or something?” He laughed to himself, sitting down on the top of one of the desks.

It was then that the staff member appeared and informed them that they’d be looking for puzzle pieces around the room and putting them together in order to get to their next location. Simple, yet slightly more effort than Leo imagined the task would originally involve. The male staff member also took the opportunity to reprimand the boy for not using a chair. Leo scoffed, sliding his feet back onto the ground. “Buzzkill.” The dark haired boy muttered under his breath.

Frankie just sauntered in after Leo and plopped herself on the desk where the puzzle pieces were supposed to be assembled crossing her legs looking around. “Come on Leo… the faster you find the pieces the faster we can get out of here and do… other things” the blonde let out a small giggle. But when she felt the disapproving stares from the staff she huffed “Fine!” flipping her hair as she jumped down and started looking for some of the pieces. She quickly found one inside a textbook, and then another taped under a desk. She threw them on the desk where she had been sitting pushing them around trying to figure out where they belonged.

“Other things sound good to me... D, you heard her. You take that side,” Leo pointed to the left of the white board, “And I’ll take the other.”

Trying his hardest to refrain from rolling his eyes in a mixture of annoyance and disgust, Dwayne walked in the direction that Leo had pointed out and began his search. It didn't take him long to find a couple of pieces himself.

Leo winked at Frankie as he strolled over to his jurisdiction, beginning to search for the pieces. He was pretty good at spotting them since they weren’t camouflaged or anything- bright spots against dull looking carpet, desks, and chairs. He effortlessly lifted up a chair with one arm, finding a segment underneath a leg. For dramatic effect, he tried to get the blonde’s attention, pretending to use the chair as he would a weight in a bicep curl. With a wink, he put the furniture back on the ground with a clunk and continued to scan around, spotting another piece tucked away behind the door. “Anyone having any luck? I’ve got two.”

“We have four then,” Frankie said of handedly smiling in Leo’s direction, playing with the gold chain she was wearing around her neck trying to bring his attention to her chest, ignoring the staff member clearing her throat behind her. She rolled her eyes once more “Which means.” She turned to give the observer a look “We need 6 more to finish this dumb challenge!” Frankie rearrange the pieces that they had found to find where they fit. “Any luck over there Dwayne?” she asked without looking up.

"Yeah, I found four on this side of the room," Dwayne said as he walked back to where Leo and Frankie stood, the puzzle pieces in hand. The young man then dropped the pieces off in Frankie's pile before helping Leo search for the remaining ones. "Now we're just missing two."

Leo found another piece thrown carelessly onto the ground, almost as if the staff member was inherently trying to get them to move on faster since he was uncomfortable. The boy figured there weren’t any more in his corner, since he already found three in that spot. So, he sauntered to where Frankie was putting together the pieces, dropped off the one he was holding, and began searching again around where she was sitting. Lifting up a stack of boxes in the corner (which he had no clue what their purpose was) he found the last piece. Tossing the cardboard segment over carelessly, he watched as it landed next to the rest of the pieces. “Well, that should be the last one.”

As the last few pieces landed in front of her, Frankie quickly arranged them together. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out a ten piece puzzle. As she fitted the last piece with the rest, a picture of the pool was sparkling back at her. “I guess we’re going for a swim next?” she questioned the staff member who was scribbling away only answering with a curt nod. “Lucky I wore my bikini under this, huh?” Frankie winked at Leo before swishing her skirt as she turned to exit the classroom.

Leo exhaled loudly, trying to get a hold of himself as he watched the blonde near the door, watched her very closely. “Eh, lucky for some people. I would’ve have preferred nothing at all, but fucking Sol had to ruin skinny dipping for me. That bitch.” He turned to Dwayne, wiggling his eyebrows “Let’s go, Dwayne. The pool awaits.”

"Oh, great." Dwayne said with mock enthusiasm as he began to follow Leo towards the door. "I can't wait." And it was true, Dwayne couldn't wait... for the scavenger hunt to be over.

Meadow University

_{Bastíen Bonfamille @Spooner and Nolan Murphy @Melissa
Location: Nectar’s}

Bastíen stood leaning on the bar polishing off his drink as he watched the first act of the evening take the stage. It was a mousy looking girl stepping up to the microphone getting ready. Darla stood to the side, clipboard in hand checking her watch every few seconds. Bas couldn’t help but chuckle at the neurotic woman- even though there was something endearing about it, Darla really needed to relax.

“You’re certainly in a good mood this evening, Bonfamille.”

A voice brought Bastíen’s attention away from staring at the frazzled gig manager and broke his stare. Instead, he turned towards the source of the voice which turned out to be none other than the star athlete of the MU Hawks team, Nolan Murphy.

“Is there a reason I shouldn’t be?” Bas queried, putting down his glass as he turned towards the newcomer. He tapped on the bar to get the attention of one of the bartenders signaling that he wanted another. He leaned his head on his hand as he waited for his drink to be made, eyeing the two pitchers of beer being put in front of Nolan.

“Out with the boys, I take it?” Bastíen asked, flicking his eyes back to Nolan.

The football player smirked, turning to face Bas as he spoke. “No, no particular reason.” Nolan chuckled and dismissed his prior observation, shifting his weight so he stood up just a little bit taller than before. Having known Bastíen for a decent amount of time, he knew that the boy was sometimes quite hard to please, so seeing him with a cheerful disposition was a nice change of pace.

Nolan nodded to the bartender as he placed the pitchers down on the bar, handing him his credit card. “You can start a tab.” The boy had a feeling that he’d be drinking a decent amount this evening, so there was no use in signing the bill now. Running a hand through his hair, he looked back at Bas, nodding in response to his question.

“Yeah, they’re over there.” He motioned to the high top table in the corner where his teammates sat, “We just got off the field not too long ago, it was a rough practice.” Nolan took one of the pitchers and poured a glass for himself, taking a long sip. There was just something about a refreshing cold beer after a long day that helped alleviate any negative feelings he possessed, which was certainly needed after today.

“Oh?” Bastién raised an eyebrow “Daddy coach riding you hard? I can only imagine since he couldn’t lift the probation… even for you.” He took a sip from his new drink.

Nolan smirked, as he knew very well that the dynamic between himself and his father preceded him. Most people couldn’t exactly understand why he played football when his dad was the coach. University was about holding your own and finding yourself and yet the boy chose to willingly spend the majority of his time with his father ragging him on the field. “I mean, between you and me,” Nolan looked around and leaned towards Bas in secrecy, his voice lowering just slightly “He already found a loophole at the administration’s behest, as I’m sure your parents did as well.” He took a step back and leaned back against the bar as he had a few seconds before.

“I might still technically be on ‘probation’, but what the NCAA doesn’t know won’t hurt them.” Nolan used air quotes liberally, taking another swig of his beer. Nolan debated on not telling Bastién further about practice, but the 2 tequila shots he took prior to arriving at the bar said otherwise. He wasn’t drunk- at least not yet- but as alcohol does, it freed his inhibitions just enough for him to reveal more. “But yes, Coach- rather dad can be a bit of a hard ass, especially on the field when it concerns me.”

”Well, well, well nepotism at its finest…” Bastién sighed almost bored, “I would know right?” He said before Nolan could because he knew it was what the athlete was thinking. “You would think that the heads of this fine school could come up with a more… inventive punishment. I mean some of us have security nets that they can’t even dream of… am I right?” He smirked looking over at the table of rowdy football players, who were casting annoyed stares their way, probably wondering where the beers were at.

“I think your boys are getting a bit restless… better get them their drinks so they have somewhere to put their roofies.” he quipped nodding his head towards the gang.

“That makes two of us, I guess.” Nolan replied, taking another drink of his beer and glancing over to his boisterous friends who waited expectantly for their share of the pitcher. They were this lively all the time, the heart of the party in every sense of the word. Every now and again, Nolan felt like he was out of place, too focused on his studies to care. But most nights, like tonight, he joined them in their revelries.

“They can wait, or they can come get it for themselves. I may have paid for it, but that certainly doesn’t mean I have to serve it to them in a timely fashion. They’re used to drinking warm beer, so having it somewhat cold is a treat.” He made eye contact with his friends and then motioned to the pitchers, indicating they were up for grabs if they so desired. He raised an eyebrow at Bas’ choice of a joke. “No roofies- just good ‘ol fashion clean fun.”

“Is that so…” Bastíen murmured plucking some lint from the sleeve of his jacket There’s a few girls around campus that would disagree he continued internally. “Well in that case… enlighten me, what does a group of testosterone-filled football players do for fun?” he asked with that famous sparkle of trouble in his eyes.

Nolan could believe that Bas would stoop so low as to doubt his intentions, and rolled his eyes as the boy questioned his teammate’s motives. Sure, they were known to host a party or two at their house on the edge of campus, that was common knowledge, but it annoyed him that the boy would ever imply such things. “We drink, just like you do,” Nolan motioned to the drink that Bastíen was sipping on. “We socialize, just like you do,” he gestured to the bar around them, and paused. “Well, not exactly like you do.” He corrected himself, silently acknowledging the fact that Bas was alone at the bar.

“Riveting.” Bastíen smacked his lips taking his eyes from Nolan’s friends since the waving hand of Darla caught his eye. The blonde looked panic stricken and mouthed for him to come over. “Sorry to leave you… but I am needed elsewhere.” He said patting Nolan on the shoulder and walked over to where Darla stood stomping.

Before the football player could pipe in another word, Bas had departed, leaving him with a sour taste in his mouth. Nolan scoffed, mimicking Bastíen’s overconfident tone and demeanor, “Riveting.” He chugged the rest of his beer, shaking his head. “He wouldn’t know a good time if it looked him straight in the face.” Nolan tipped the bartender a few dollars cash to ensure the drinks kept coming throughout the night- you always wanted to get on their good side. He grasped the two pitchers in one hand, cups in the other, and walked back over to his friends to continue with his evening.

“Fuck! Bas!” Darla hissed when Bastíen reached her. “The next guy just cancelled! I need you to go on after Fiona!” she spat at him rapidly not even looking at him.

Bas just let out a soft chuckle and grabbed her chin and directed her to look him in the eyes “Of course I’ll save you… yet again” he said planting a quick kiss on her lips. “Just give me a sign when you want me to go on.” he left her dumbstruck and settled at a table next to the stage.

Project Untamed

Dr. Hagerty’s watch read 12:00PM exactly, indicating that the scavenger hunt would commence momentarily. He stood in front of the crowd of students that had formed beside the cafeteria wearing a casual shirt and pair of khakis, his brown hair combed over with a few strands falling into his eyes. The scientist was a little more laidback than his counterpart, and was also a bit younger, which made him more approachable to the teens. For that reason among others, they had named him the Dean of Students, a position slightly below Headmaster Wayman, to ensure he had close proximity and direct line of contact with the test subjects. He oversaw their curriculum, special events, campus “activities” as well as student advising, where the test subjects had one on one meetings with himself as well as other staff members to discuss their “academic progress”. Not only was this a way to ask the subjects questions in a comfortable and unassuming environment, but it was also a workaround to keep tabs on them both mentally and emotionally and contain any issues before things got out of hand.

In terms of incidents, they were doing quite well with mitigating threats to the experiment and nipping things in the bud before other test subjects had the chance to catch on. A few weeks back, a student had an outburst which threatened their credibility, but they were able to sedate him before anyone could notice and understand what had truly happened. It was unfortunate that their technology didn’t allow for total memory loss, as no amount of science could truly understand and predict the outcomes of the complex human mind, so they did their best to supplement where assistance was needed.

Unfortunately, yesterday there had been another occurrence when one of the test subjects, Subject #4, had questioned the staff’s motives and legitimacy. In order to ensure that no other students would follow suit, they moved her back to the lab for reconditioning, disguised as an allergic reaction. Luckily, Subject #50 (known to his peers as Griffin) had just been released from his quarantine and was simply put in her place for the scavenger hunt. Everyone seemed to buy it, and life went on. No harm, no foul.

Dr. Hagerty tapped the microphone that was linked to an outdoor speaker system and began to talk to the crowd of students, his cheery voice and infectious energy ricocheting off the buildings. “Happy Wednesday everyone! It’s scavenger hunt day and I hope you are all as excited as we are. Now, the staff on campus have worked very hard to put this together for you all, so I ask that you give them the respect they deserve and put your best foot forward.” He stated, motioning around to their teachers who were merely observing. Dr. Hagerty hoped they would put in maximum effort; if they were more invested in the team exercise, the better outcome there’d be for research.

“To start, you will be given a clue with a location. When you get to that place, you will be asked to perform a challenge, where upon successful completion a staff member will give you your next location clue. The cycle will continue until you visit all 10 locations and accomplish all 10 tasks, and your last clue will lead you back here. The first team to finish will win a prize, which will be announced at the end of the hunt. Understood?” Dr. Hagerty waited until some students gave lackluster nods and positive responses before continuing. He motioned to his assistant, who began handing out slips of paper to the teams. After he’d seen that all of the groups had a slip of paper, he spoke once more.

“Alright everyone, here we go.” Dr. Hagerty let a smirk play on his lips, pausing for dramatic effect. This was going to be good.

“On your marks… get set… go!”

---

It's scavenger hunt day! You'll work with your team (as best as you can) to complete all of the challenges and hopefully win. The staff seem to be acting more excited than the students, but that's normal...right?

The Sisters of the Dying Branch

_{Speaking with: Uaithne @Tracyarmav}

Maggie watched as Uaithne effortlessly jumped down to scour the bushes for her book- it must have been his height that gave him a nimble advantage. As he reappeared and carefully handed it up to her as if it was made of glass, she graciously took it, thanking him for retrieving it (even though it was his fault she dropped it in the first place). She leafed through the chapters and tried to figure out where she had left off, as unfortunately the boy was incorrect as to what page she last read. Maggie wished she had invested in one of those magnetic bookmarks when she was last at the library, it would have saved her a lot of time in the long run and in situations like this.

After listening to his commentary on the group, she couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. The crowd may have been intimidating, but that didn’t mean that Maggie had an aversion to any of the other witchlings. “I never said any of you were rabid,” The blonde raised an eyebrow at Uaithne, “And I doubt that this evening's events will change that.” Giving up on finding the correct page and closing the novel, she let it rest on her extended legs. “I could theoretically come and sit with everyone, but I doubt I’d be able to make any progress with all of the chit-chat.”

Maggie’s gaze drifted down to the sundress she was wearing at the mention of it, the bottom hem of the skirt billowing ever so slightly in the breeze. “Umm, thanks... I guess.” She replied uncomfortably, unsure of how to take a compliment from someone other than her mother. The girl was not often one to be the recipient of praise based on her looks, so she brushed it off as just him trying to be nice. Quickly desiring to switch the subject, she slid off of the railing, landing on the balls of her feet and clutching her book so as to not drop it once more. Uaithne made a fair point that she would draw more attention showing up late than walking over now- she hadn’t thought about that.

“Say no more, I’ll read at the table.”

Project Untamed

Tyler Jane had arrived at the assembly early, always notorious for being on time and prompt. She sat towards the back of the auditorium, letting her long legs extend onto the seat in front of her and was inadvertently stretching her somewhat sore limbs. As a dancer, she was always finding ways to soothe her overused calves and quads, which is why she found herself more often than not conditioning muscles during class, lectures, and honestly whenever she got the chance.

While she half-listened to Headmaster Wayman ramble on about meal times, she scrolled through the school’s social channels and couldn’t help but chuckle to herself at some of the things her peers were saying. Some mocked their “fearless leader”, poking fun at his choice of outfit or his weird stance at the microphone, and others just complained about how stupid this whole thing was. High schoolers were ruthless, and it made Tyler Jane feel slightly bad for the man. He was trying his best and obviously wasn’t the best public speaker by nature, so feeling guilty, she put down her phone and decided to pay attention for his sake. As she tuned back in, Wayman started talking about the holiday next week, one she had completely forgotten about until he brought it up: Halloween.

As he began to describe how the campus would be celebrating, a distant memory seemed to pull itself to the surface of the redhead’s consciousness and demand her attention. It felt like it was being dragged by weights, held back with resistance for a reason she couldn’t explain. But, nonetheless, it was there. A scene began to unfold inside her mind and it was as if she was just a passive observer.

Tyler Jane found herself in an empty house. A few dim lights revealed an inviting living room, but no one was home except for a young girl who couldn’t have been more than 11 years old. The girl had propped herself in front of a large window facing a suburban street, her long auburn hair having been haphazardly braided, assumedly done on her own. Tyler Jane couldn’t make out her face- it was blurred and abstract- but she knew that it was supposed to be some faraway version of herself. She was a bystander in her own narrative.

Out the window, autumn leaves were piled on the ground, the trees growing bare as the seasons changed. Children paraded down the sidewalks with their parents in tow, dressed up and carrying baskets of goodies and treats. They were laughing and swinging their arms excitedly, clearly elated and enjoying the moment. And yet, the young girl found herself alone, and somehow, Tyler had a feeling that this was the case every year.

Violently snapping out of her daydream, Tyler Jane’s legs slid off the chair and smacked down onto the floor, her shoes echoing on the hardwood. Her eyes quickly darted to her neighbors who gave her strange looks for causing an unnecessary distraction. Returning her gaze to the front of the room, the redhead let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding and failed to understand where that image had come from. Was it real? Or was it just a trope the imaginative girl created in her mind in response to the mention of the holiday. Regardless of how vivid it was, or how tangible it felt, she decided to pass it off as only a story and desperately tried to focus on the assembly instead.

Within minutes, Headmaster Wayman had explained the scavenger hunt and dismissed the students to find out their teams on the bulletin boards outside the auditorium. The redhead quickly gathered her belongings and made a beeline for the exit, wanting nothing more than to get out of there and go back to her room.

After arriving at the lists, she scanned for her name and found it alongside the likes of Theodore Wallstrom and Bradley Barron. She didn’t know Theo well, but she had conversed with him once or twice in passing and had yet to really form an opinion about him. On the flipside, she was incredibly fond of Bradley and was excited that she and him got randomly paired together. The two often spent nights in the courtyard chatting and they just clicked well. He was a good friend and surely in a team challenge they’d excel together… or so she hoped.

Now that the unknown of her team had been solved, she continued on her direct path back to the dorm. She’d find the two of them later to chat, but for now, she needed to be on her own. Why was she so startled by that daydream? She couldn’t put her finger on where it had come from and why it was so haunting. Shaking off the anxious feelings that were currently making themselves apparent, the redhead disappeared towards the residence hall.