Codi Bailey
Judging from the recent turn of events, it looked as though Codi was losing her training partner, because even though she could tell he seemed reluctant to go along with it, the nice healer who had saved the injured patients in the jungle was seen as more preferable. At the same time, though, this allowed Codi to draw what she suspected was a strong conclusion: Jago was a person, who wanted to go ahead with whatever business he was conducting, but he also had an excessive amount of pride, to the point that it would work against him. The sudden way he had decided to take a break told her he had used it as an excuse to avoid any more blows that he worried would break his shield, and the warning he gave Nicholas told her he didn’t want that shield broken, even though it was clear that there was some sort of limit to what it could handle. He had dumped the urchin-girl because she was perhaps too strong, and might wound his pride. Ultimately, though, if Jago took that approach, his strength wouldn’t increase as much, because it didn’t matter if you worked until you were tired; in order to truly increase your strength, you had to break something down so it could be re-built, just as Codi had clearly done to whatever muscles were present in Reef’s arms.
In the end, if Codi wanted to train with someone, it was clear she needed to find a person who was like her, in the sense that they didn’t view training as some sort of ridiculous competition where you’d suffer if you lost. Codi didn’t care, because what visible or overweening pride could an urchin-girl have, when she had an enormous marine-themed parasite on her back, and a hunch as a consequence? Codi might have been beautiful, but her powers made people look at her, and completely ignore the features that would have been seen as pretty. In her mind, anyone who might have insulted her got belittled and peppered with mental derision, although she never outright said it; in reality, it was really just a way of coping with the fact that such treatment was extremely hurtful. She supposed she could cut training at this point, since she had successfully managed to wear out Reef, but she knew she would need to increase her overall physical strength, too.
She started walking out of the gym, whispering ‘Hi,” as she passed by Nicholas, aware that she would probably only hurt herself if she decided to say anything else in this decidedly awkward and uncomfortable situation. She then exited, with mental notes having been taken, and the urchin on her back twitching in a form of sore discomfort.
Rosette Sauveterre
Just what Rosette had needed: someone poking fun at her because she had been unfortunate enough to lose the benefits of physically aging to her early-twenties. She was honestly worn out, regarding such things, “I can honestly tell you I have nothing pleasant to say to you in response regarding that comment.” She said, starkly, an almost tired look creeping into her eyes, mixing with the rancor, which had distinctly tainted whatever innocence could be present in a human being. “My childhood suffered a symbolic death at the age of eleven, I have had to act like an adult and be mature for eleven years since then.”
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Codi Bailey
Codi was actually starting to feel stress from the exertion of delivering blows, and the very tips of the first pair of arms on Reef that she had used since the beginning of the exercise had actually started faintly shaking, although Codi was the only one who noticed the quality in them. She wasn’t the only one becoming tired, the parasitic urchin was also getting worn out, but she also saw that the shaking was a good thing. The shaking meant that to some extent a kind of physical limit had been reached and now working past it could yield an increase in overall strength, although chances were the appendages would reject movement tomorrow, and she would have to figure out a way to work out the soreness. She intended to keep going, though, because the faintest of spasms told her all six of the arms were about to start behaving as though they were ‘burning’. She looked at Jago through the shield, “Well, if the arms won’t work, I’ll charge you with spikes, but if it gets to that point, stand a good few feet away, just in case.” She advised.
Nothing about her manner or tone suggested she was mocking him or returning the bravado in any form or fashion, but genuinely giving a warning meant to protect his safety. It was not difficult to examine Reef on her back, and at least suspect that it was one of a stinging variant. Its bright colors and patterns, which were highly reminiscent of flames to the point that they almost gave the illusion of having a glow, practically screamed ‘fire urchin’ to anyone that looked at it. The spines themselves looked like swords, because of their length, and paired with venom, the prospect would be unappealing even to those with armored skin. Hitting this urchin would not cause splinters, but perhaps completely spear through a limb.
Codi then returned to performing the fourth set of her barrage, four arms at once striking the shield, the same number as before, but it was to be expected now that she would add a fifth after the next pause.
Atticus Fowler
Atticus, upon Adam’s prompting, took into account that he was holding his instrument case, “Ah, my saxophone. I had been playing it, and I suppose I brought it with me on a whim. It isn’t really of any use here, but if I’m thinking too much over something, I find myself doing things and not remembering why I did them in the first place. No, though, I wouldn’t play it in here, there’s too many people who need to rest. I’m glad everyone is alright, though. That should settle my thoughts, a bit.”
Rosette Sauveterre
Rosette looked at the person who had noticed that she had a complete absence of animal protein in her meal, a touch of ire in her gaze at the comment referring to her as a little girl. She might have snapped in an extremely harsh fashion, if she wasn’t exhausted from a life-threatening chase, so instead, she decided to more calmly correct the error, “I know that my appearance is highly deceiving, but I am in reality twenty-two years of age.” She said, forcing the anger back down, and to prevent herself from saying anything else, took a bite of her baked potato.
Codi was actually starting to feel stress from the exertion of delivering blows, and the very tips of the first pair of arms on Reef that she had used since the beginning of the exercise had actually started faintly shaking, although Codi was the only one who noticed the quality in them. She wasn’t the only one becoming tired, the parasitic urchin was also getting worn out, but she also saw that the shaking was a good thing. The shaking meant that to some extent a kind of physical limit had been reached and now working past it could yield an increase in overall strength, although chances were the appendages would reject movement tomorrow, and she would have to figure out a way to work out the soreness. She intended to keep going, though, because the faintest of spasms told her all six of the arms were about to start behaving as though they were ‘burning’. She looked at Jago through the shield, “Well, if the arms won’t work, I’ll charge you with spikes, but if it gets to that point, stand a good few feet away, just in case.” She advised.
Nothing about her manner or tone suggested she was mocking him or returning the bravado in any form or fashion, but genuinely giving a warning meant to protect his safety. It was not difficult to examine Reef on her back, and at least suspect that it was one of a stinging variant. Its bright colors and patterns, which were highly reminiscent of flames to the point that they almost gave the illusion of having a glow, practically screamed ‘fire urchin’ to anyone that looked at it. The spines themselves looked like swords, because of their length, and paired with venom, the prospect would be unappealing even to those with armored skin. Hitting this urchin would not cause splinters, but perhaps completely spear through a limb.
Codi then returned to performing the fourth set of her barrage, four arms at once striking the shield, the same number as before, but it was to be expected now that she would add a fifth after the next pause.
Atticus Fowler
Atticus, upon Adam’s prompting, took into account that he was holding his instrument case, “Ah, my saxophone. I had been playing it, and I suppose I brought it with me on a whim. It isn’t really of any use here, but if I’m thinking too much over something, I find myself doing things and not remembering why I did them in the first place. No, though, I wouldn’t play it in here, there’s too many people who need to rest. I’m glad everyone is alright, though. That should settle my thoughts, a bit.”
Rosette Sauveterre
Rosette looked at the person who had noticed that she had a complete absence of animal protein in her meal, a touch of ire in her gaze at the comment referring to her as a little girl. She might have snapped in an extremely harsh fashion, if she wasn’t exhausted from a life-threatening chase, so instead, she decided to more calmly correct the error, “I know that my appearance is highly deceiving, but I am in reality twenty-two years of age.” She said, forcing the anger back down, and to prevent herself from saying anything else, took a bite of her baked potato.
Rosette Sauveterre
In the cafeteria, near the lunch-lines, a small girl who physically looked to be about eleven years old suddenly phased into view, but was still transparent, giving her an extremely ghost-like appearance, given that her skin was rather pale. When she materialized, she appeared to have been running at full speed, but stopped once she had seemingly ‘arrived’ in the world of the living, as much as what was possible for her. She breathed hard, and her limbs shook a bit, her eyes were wide, as though she had been scared of something. She looked over her shoulder, as though checking to affirm something, and whenever she had confirmed that nothing was behind her, she seemed to visibly relax a bit. She did, though, retain a frowning expression on her face, as she straightened up, and adjusted the scarf around her neck, adjusting her hair so that it was tucked behind her ears, also.
Rosette did a bit of controlled breathing until her heart rate returned to normal, and then finally calmed down enough so that she was semi-normal. She inwardly mocked herself, though, as she had been careless, thinking she wouldn’t be followed by her most dedicated adversary to the Academy. She had hoped that the rainstorm would confuse them when they tried to track her scent; sometimes it worked. She hadn’t taken into consideration that she had to actually be standing in an area where it was raining, in order for them to lose her scent. When she was nice and dry, it might as well have remained a sunny afternoon, as far as anything pertaining to olfactory senses was concerned.
The relief only came in knowing that she had phased back before her assailant managed to catch her again. She had survived once, but she was not going to risk it a second time; she was fortunate she had lived at all. Taking in her surroundings, she noted the smells of food, and found that she had been lucky enough to arrive in the cafeteria, when she was actually quite hungry, right after the chase. Fear only dulled her appetite when she was in danger; once it had subsided, her body demanded food to replace the ridiculous amount of energy she lost in running for her life. Composing herself, she went and got a tray so that she could have what she supposed would be considered dinner, at this point.
As a vegan, she completely avoided the meats, cheeses, and eggs, although if anyone thought she was a tree-hugger or animal-rights person, they made a huge misconception. There was a different reason for why she didn’t like animal products, but it was a long, complicated explanation for why, and it was too tiring for her to get the point across, since nobody believed her, anyway. She grabbed a baked potato and seasoned it with salt, pepper, and a few chives, so that she had some carbohydrates, which she needed the most, presently. She got a certain amount of a mixture containing carrots, broccoli, water chestnuts, and edamame, and to add more protein, she grabbed a side of black-eyed peas, as well, so that she was not getting an incomplete diet. Altogether, the meal looked like more than a person Rosette’s size could eat, but it was actually about the amount as well as variety she needed if she wanted to avoid taking vitamin pills.
With her tray in hand, she walked around the lunch room, and found that the only place that wasn’t crowded was in one corner of the large eating area, where there was one person, probably sitting there for the same reason as Rosette would have. She walked up to the seat at the table across from her, “Excuse me, do you mind if I sit here?” She asked.
In the cafeteria, near the lunch-lines, a small girl who physically looked to be about eleven years old suddenly phased into view, but was still transparent, giving her an extremely ghost-like appearance, given that her skin was rather pale. When she materialized, she appeared to have been running at full speed, but stopped once she had seemingly ‘arrived’ in the world of the living, as much as what was possible for her. She breathed hard, and her limbs shook a bit, her eyes were wide, as though she had been scared of something. She looked over her shoulder, as though checking to affirm something, and whenever she had confirmed that nothing was behind her, she seemed to visibly relax a bit. She did, though, retain a frowning expression on her face, as she straightened up, and adjusted the scarf around her neck, adjusting her hair so that it was tucked behind her ears, also.
Rosette did a bit of controlled breathing until her heart rate returned to normal, and then finally calmed down enough so that she was semi-normal. She inwardly mocked herself, though, as she had been careless, thinking she wouldn’t be followed by her most dedicated adversary to the Academy. She had hoped that the rainstorm would confuse them when they tried to track her scent; sometimes it worked. She hadn’t taken into consideration that she had to actually be standing in an area where it was raining, in order for them to lose her scent. When she was nice and dry, it might as well have remained a sunny afternoon, as far as anything pertaining to olfactory senses was concerned.
The relief only came in knowing that she had phased back before her assailant managed to catch her again. She had survived once, but she was not going to risk it a second time; she was fortunate she had lived at all. Taking in her surroundings, she noted the smells of food, and found that she had been lucky enough to arrive in the cafeteria, when she was actually quite hungry, right after the chase. Fear only dulled her appetite when she was in danger; once it had subsided, her body demanded food to replace the ridiculous amount of energy she lost in running for her life. Composing herself, she went and got a tray so that she could have what she supposed would be considered dinner, at this point.
As a vegan, she completely avoided the meats, cheeses, and eggs, although if anyone thought she was a tree-hugger or animal-rights person, they made a huge misconception. There was a different reason for why she didn’t like animal products, but it was a long, complicated explanation for why, and it was too tiring for her to get the point across, since nobody believed her, anyway. She grabbed a baked potato and seasoned it with salt, pepper, and a few chives, so that she had some carbohydrates, which she needed the most, presently. She got a certain amount of a mixture containing carrots, broccoli, water chestnuts, and edamame, and to add more protein, she grabbed a side of black-eyed peas, as well, so that she was not getting an incomplete diet. Altogether, the meal looked like more than a person Rosette’s size could eat, but it was actually about the amount as well as variety she needed if she wanted to avoid taking vitamin pills.
With her tray in hand, she walked around the lunch room, and found that the only place that wasn’t crowded was in one corner of the large eating area, where there was one person, probably sitting there for the same reason as Rosette would have. She walked up to the seat at the table across from her, “Excuse me, do you mind if I sit here?” She asked.
Is anyone open for interaction with Rosette?
Codi Bailey
Codi nodded, and pulled Reef’s arms back into an offensive position, readying them to start striking at Jago’s barrier. “Alright, then, that sounds good.” She said. It was then that without any further hesitation, Codi swung the first arm at the shield, angling it so that it came down on Jago’s left. It was less like a punch, and more like swinging a whip, which she had already judged to be more effective, based on what she had done to the dummies. There was an audible crash as the arm collided with the shield, and it bounced back, having caused no damage, unless there was an increased struggle in maintaining its integrity when it was being buffeted by stronger blows. The power behind it, though, was extremely obvious, and almost a bit scary.
Having aimed a side blow instead of one that was straight-on, Codi was spared the embarrassment of being injured by her own appendage, but she raised an eyebrow, visibly thinking about what her next move was. She then decided to just keep hitting the shield for a bit in various places, wondering if perhaps there was a better angle to go at. She also knew the best exercises started slowly, and then intensified until you couldn’t go on anymore. Crash after crash followed, as single arms hit in individual blows, but after about three sets of blows, three blows delivered by each arm, she paused, and pulled them back again. It didn’t look like she was giving up, though, but preparing a different form of attack. All of the arms had bounced off of the shield, but because Codi now deliberately aimed to ensure their bounce-back angle didn’t hit, she was not harmed by it.
The next set of blows consisted of two arms hitting in different places at once. She kept going at this, the sound of crashing getting louder and more violent, and not stopping until she had completed eighteen of these blows. Once again, the pause, and the pressure was increased further. Striking in three different places using Reef’s arms, once again, eighteen sets, she added yet another arm in the pattern. She would keep doing things in this fashion, until either she was using all six arms at once, or Jago’s shield broke, in which case, she would immediately stop. She did not focus on what he was doing, as she was not trying to get at the person behind the shield. Her target was the shield itself, and she was going to do everything she could to compromise it, just as Jago wished for her to do. Jago would also note that as this rhythm progressed, there was also less and less time between each blow.
Atticus Fowler
Atticus looked up at Adam, “Yes, that’s my name. I’m here to see how everyone who got hurt at the jungle is doing. I don’t exactly know what happened, but I can’t get involved carrying the injured and not come and see if they made it or not. Thanks to the healer, they’re probably really well-off, but I still felt like I had to come and check on them.” He rested his webbed hands on the saxophone’s case, his face inscrutable, “I also want to know if Dana’s alright or not. Her wheelchair got smashed after she was attacked by some animal…I think it was a bear, and she crawled and hid in a bush and told us to leave her behind. We didn’t want to leave her, but when we were going to insist she come with us, she was already gone, using whatever power she has, I guess. Is she back at the school, yet?”
Codi nodded, and pulled Reef’s arms back into an offensive position, readying them to start striking at Jago’s barrier. “Alright, then, that sounds good.” She said. It was then that without any further hesitation, Codi swung the first arm at the shield, angling it so that it came down on Jago’s left. It was less like a punch, and more like swinging a whip, which she had already judged to be more effective, based on what she had done to the dummies. There was an audible crash as the arm collided with the shield, and it bounced back, having caused no damage, unless there was an increased struggle in maintaining its integrity when it was being buffeted by stronger blows. The power behind it, though, was extremely obvious, and almost a bit scary.
Having aimed a side blow instead of one that was straight-on, Codi was spared the embarrassment of being injured by her own appendage, but she raised an eyebrow, visibly thinking about what her next move was. She then decided to just keep hitting the shield for a bit in various places, wondering if perhaps there was a better angle to go at. She also knew the best exercises started slowly, and then intensified until you couldn’t go on anymore. Crash after crash followed, as single arms hit in individual blows, but after about three sets of blows, three blows delivered by each arm, she paused, and pulled them back again. It didn’t look like she was giving up, though, but preparing a different form of attack. All of the arms had bounced off of the shield, but because Codi now deliberately aimed to ensure their bounce-back angle didn’t hit, she was not harmed by it.
The next set of blows consisted of two arms hitting in different places at once. She kept going at this, the sound of crashing getting louder and more violent, and not stopping until she had completed eighteen of these blows. Once again, the pause, and the pressure was increased further. Striking in three different places using Reef’s arms, once again, eighteen sets, she added yet another arm in the pattern. She would keep doing things in this fashion, until either she was using all six arms at once, or Jago’s shield broke, in which case, she would immediately stop. She did not focus on what he was doing, as she was not trying to get at the person behind the shield. Her target was the shield itself, and she was going to do everything she could to compromise it, just as Jago wished for her to do. Jago would also note that as this rhythm progressed, there was also less and less time between each blow.
Atticus Fowler
Atticus looked up at Adam, “Yes, that’s my name. I’m here to see how everyone who got hurt at the jungle is doing. I don’t exactly know what happened, but I can’t get involved carrying the injured and not come and see if they made it or not. Thanks to the healer, they’re probably really well-off, but I still felt like I had to come and check on them.” He rested his webbed hands on the saxophone’s case, his face inscrutable, “I also want to know if Dana’s alright or not. Her wheelchair got smashed after she was attacked by some animal…I think it was a bear, and she crawled and hid in a bush and told us to leave her behind. We didn’t want to leave her, but when we were going to insist she come with us, she was already gone, using whatever power she has, I guess. Is she back at the school, yet?”
Codi Bailey
Codi gave a small nod, quickly considering Jago’s words, “My name’s Codi, and sure, I’m up for helping you train. What exactly do you want me to do, though?” She made Reef’s arms fold behind her, and hang low to the ground, so that their fashion seemed more like a flowing cape in appearance, if such a comparison could be drawn. She could sense that this person was all about business. Jago probably didn’t want anything slowing him down in whatever goal he had set, so small-talk probably wasn’t an option. Codi didn’t mind this, though, because if training with him helped her improve her own powers, then she was not bothered by assisting him in developing his.
Atticus Fowler
Atticus arrived at the hospital, and went in, before trying to figure out where everyone was. After a bit of consideration, he chose to take a seat in a waiting-room area for guests, to see if anyone came and asked him who he was present to see. He didn’t come with any sort of gifts or flowers, but Atticus wasn’t exactly poetic in that sort of fashion. He felt that it was appropriate just to come and see how everyone was. It was there that if anyone walked into the area, they would see a black eel-like creature in a wetsuit with a hard instrument case.
Codi gave a small nod, quickly considering Jago’s words, “My name’s Codi, and sure, I’m up for helping you train. What exactly do you want me to do, though?” She made Reef’s arms fold behind her, and hang low to the ground, so that their fashion seemed more like a flowing cape in appearance, if such a comparison could be drawn. She could sense that this person was all about business. Jago probably didn’t want anything slowing him down in whatever goal he had set, so small-talk probably wasn’t an option. Codi didn’t mind this, though, because if training with him helped her improve her own powers, then she was not bothered by assisting him in developing his.
Atticus Fowler
Atticus arrived at the hospital, and went in, before trying to figure out where everyone was. After a bit of consideration, he chose to take a seat in a waiting-room area for guests, to see if anyone came and asked him who he was present to see. He didn’t come with any sort of gifts or flowers, but Atticus wasn’t exactly poetic in that sort of fashion. He felt that it was appropriate just to come and see how everyone was. It was there that if anyone walked into the area, they would see a black eel-like creature in a wetsuit with a hard instrument case.
Wow, there are a lot of people who are six feet tall. Also, I have succeeded in making the shortest character out of them all, I see....
Codi Bailey
After having arrived in the training hall and putting on her special gear, Codi had went to the first area that had seemed suitable for her powers. Because of unusual circumstances, and the fact that faculty hadn’t been present to give her a better idea of how to train her powers, she mostly just wound up attacking dummy after dummy. They weren’t always stationary, there were machines to make them simulate moving targets, but Codi still couldn’t help but feel a bit dissatisfied with the whole system. A real moving target wouldn’t have a pattern that she could easily predict, and there were very few cases when Codi didn’t see a predictable pattern in machines. She built robots in her spare time, typically, so she understood how a machine could have repetitive behavior, on a deeper level than most people did. A machine was only as good as the person who had programmed it, and just as smart.
It wasn’t as though the simulation machines weren’t useful, though. Things jumping out from random places, either in front, to the side, or behind, did still catch her off-guard at first, before she got into a sort of rhythm for the whole exercise. She was soon questioning how the school afforded training dummies, when there were students who would completely destroy them in exercises like this. In Codi’s case, they could probably be repaired, but they were still messed up pretty badly, a lot of fabric was going to be rendered useless by Reef’s spikes tearing into them. The real difficulty, though, was that at first, Codi had to figure out how to give a sort of backwards-hug. Such a hug sounded strange, but considering what was present on Codi’s back, it sounded more like getting locked inside of an iron maiden.
In the end, the exercise was actually perhaps a lot more satisfying than Codi first thought, because she knew it wouldn’t be long before the human component of her, at least, started to get tired from the exertion. She knew that any sort of physical training, though, did not have any effect unless you pushed your boundaries beyond what made you exhausted. Until her muscles started to shake and burn with fatigue, she could not afford to stop, or she would not gain anything from what she was doing. She did not know if the same thing could be done to Reef, but if she could increase the power of its grip, she knew that probably nothing would be able to get out of it. Although she knew that the six limbs it possessed were arms, they would be mistaken for tentacles, although generally, she and Atticus both had to make an active effort to be politically correct. Codi additionally attacked dummies that came in front of her or to the side with her own secret weapon—hidden syringe-like claws under the regular nails—which injected bacterial toxins, along with a small live culture to keep it maintained for just a bit longer in the victim. She was so quick in swatting her nails through the fabric pieces of the dummy, though, that nobody would see anything more than a quick tap where the dummies seemed to catch on something.
When Codi had been training for a bit, she didn’t notice that a person had walked into the room, as her back had been turned. Her parasite, Reef, though, noticed, and a few of the spines gravitated to point in his direction, almost threateningly. Not all of them did this, though, as there were still other objects that were more immediate dangers, at least to the simple mind of the insect that the urchin really was. There really wasn’t an intelligent mind, so to speak, but the urchin valued its own survival, and therefore, the survival of its host, as it was fused to her and it relied on her blood supply. Codi felt the urchin tugging one of its arms against her control, which she found unusual, so when she turned to look at what Reef seemed to be noticing, she saw the stranger who had appeared.
Codi then walked out of the simulation area, and turned off the machine, so that power wasn’t being wasted, before looking at the other person who was now in the room. “Hey,” She said, raising one hand up in a greeting. She smiled a bit, but considering that her heart rate was already elevated and still needed to slow down, she couldn’t say a long, detailed sentence introducing herself. She took a deep breath and let it out, so that her heart settled. She couldn’t straighten up, though, because as always, Reef’s incredible weight bearing down on her spine didn’t allow it.
After having arrived in the training hall and putting on her special gear, Codi had went to the first area that had seemed suitable for her powers. Because of unusual circumstances, and the fact that faculty hadn’t been present to give her a better idea of how to train her powers, she mostly just wound up attacking dummy after dummy. They weren’t always stationary, there were machines to make them simulate moving targets, but Codi still couldn’t help but feel a bit dissatisfied with the whole system. A real moving target wouldn’t have a pattern that she could easily predict, and there were very few cases when Codi didn’t see a predictable pattern in machines. She built robots in her spare time, typically, so she understood how a machine could have repetitive behavior, on a deeper level than most people did. A machine was only as good as the person who had programmed it, and just as smart.
It wasn’t as though the simulation machines weren’t useful, though. Things jumping out from random places, either in front, to the side, or behind, did still catch her off-guard at first, before she got into a sort of rhythm for the whole exercise. She was soon questioning how the school afforded training dummies, when there were students who would completely destroy them in exercises like this. In Codi’s case, they could probably be repaired, but they were still messed up pretty badly, a lot of fabric was going to be rendered useless by Reef’s spikes tearing into them. The real difficulty, though, was that at first, Codi had to figure out how to give a sort of backwards-hug. Such a hug sounded strange, but considering what was present on Codi’s back, it sounded more like getting locked inside of an iron maiden.
In the end, the exercise was actually perhaps a lot more satisfying than Codi first thought, because she knew it wouldn’t be long before the human component of her, at least, started to get tired from the exertion. She knew that any sort of physical training, though, did not have any effect unless you pushed your boundaries beyond what made you exhausted. Until her muscles started to shake and burn with fatigue, she could not afford to stop, or she would not gain anything from what she was doing. She did not know if the same thing could be done to Reef, but if she could increase the power of its grip, she knew that probably nothing would be able to get out of it. Although she knew that the six limbs it possessed were arms, they would be mistaken for tentacles, although generally, she and Atticus both had to make an active effort to be politically correct. Codi additionally attacked dummies that came in front of her or to the side with her own secret weapon—hidden syringe-like claws under the regular nails—which injected bacterial toxins, along with a small live culture to keep it maintained for just a bit longer in the victim. She was so quick in swatting her nails through the fabric pieces of the dummy, though, that nobody would see anything more than a quick tap where the dummies seemed to catch on something.
When Codi had been training for a bit, she didn’t notice that a person had walked into the room, as her back had been turned. Her parasite, Reef, though, noticed, and a few of the spines gravitated to point in his direction, almost threateningly. Not all of them did this, though, as there were still other objects that were more immediate dangers, at least to the simple mind of the insect that the urchin really was. There really wasn’t an intelligent mind, so to speak, but the urchin valued its own survival, and therefore, the survival of its host, as it was fused to her and it relied on her blood supply. Codi felt the urchin tugging one of its arms against her control, which she found unusual, so when she turned to look at what Reef seemed to be noticing, she saw the stranger who had appeared.
Codi then walked out of the simulation area, and turned off the machine, so that power wasn’t being wasted, before looking at the other person who was now in the room. “Hey,” She said, raising one hand up in a greeting. She smiled a bit, but considering that her heart rate was already elevated and still needed to slow down, she couldn’t say a long, detailed sentence introducing herself. She took a deep breath and let it out, so that her heart settled. She couldn’t straighten up, though, because as always, Reef’s incredible weight bearing down on her spine didn’t allow it.
Well, in that case, Atticus probably will, since he's decided to walk around checking in on people, along with his tenor saxophone until he feels like he can play it again. A fun fact is that I used to play guitar, and switched to violin, and I can affirm that it is almost always harder to play an instrument when you are stressed, and generally, it reflects in the sound.
In this case, watching Atticus play would be amusing. He's switched into the wetsuit he wears specifically for his creature form, since he hasn't changed back into a human yet, and therefore, it is not a person playing the saxophone, but this big eel-creature-thing.
In this case, watching Atticus play would be amusing. He's switched into the wetsuit he wears specifically for his creature form, since he hasn't changed back into a human yet, and therefore, it is not a person playing the saxophone, but this big eel-creature-thing.
Codi Bailey
Codi, after safely bringing the people who had been injured, along with the healer, to the hospital, had retreated into her room to hide for a bit, and was thankful to see that her roommate wasn’t there. She did not recall ever having a formal conversation with her, but she was not in the mood to talk with anyone, not even the person she would be sharing living arrangements with. She had to let the stress of the day wear off, and it was particularly difficult, even though she was a person who could reach Zen in the worst of situations. She used the term ‘Zen’ on multiple occasions, although she also had to affirm that she didn’t hold Buddhist beliefs. It was primarily her figure of speech for being calm and at peace, although what had happened today was deeply troubling, for her.
She didn’t quite know what had happened, but even as someone who had to do the research on both Atticus’ powers and her own, she hadn’t recognized that roar she had heard in the distance as belonging to any sort of man or beast. Although she was sure, due to the fact that they were on an island, that the wildlife could be extremely unique, the thing that had attacked everyone had been anything but natural. As strong as what had gone up against it was, people had nearly died. Codi and Atticus weren’t even on their level of skill, and mentally calculating the odds, things didn’t look good for them. She was also aware that if it could happen once, it could happen again, and next time, it might happen to her, and she might be all alone by herself with no assistance.
Sitting on her bed, blankets piled up under Reef’s bulk, she reflected, and resolved that she wouldn’t be as trusting as she had been when she had first arrived. She enjoyed placing her trust in others, but already too many incidents had taught her that even the planning of the faculty and staff had major holes in it. There weren’t plans that had been arranged in case something went wrong, and people took challenges of strength so seriously that they might have brutally maimed someone if others weren’t monitoring them to ensure safety. If she was forced to fight in order to survive, she didn’t want to be the one dead or lying on a hospital cot. She wanted peace, but if she was seen as easy prey, then there was no hope of getting it in this school, or anywhere on this island.
Taking a deep breath, the unsettled fears turning into a strange mix of determination, and perhaps a deep-burning anger at herself, Codi stood up, pulling in Reef’s six arms so as not to knock anything over. The parasitic urchin felt bulky and awkward where he was fused to her back, and he was so frequently ignored by his host that he tended to just flail his arms about at whatever the insect’s simple mind thought was a threat. Codi needed to change her way of thinking about that, too. Reef was fused to her back, and their blood supply was the same, which meant that the parasite was an extension of her own body. She could even control him, but perhaps she needed to gain more control of the insect than what she had seen as sufficient in the past. She would force herself to always make sure the arms were held in a certain way, and that she could prevent even the slightest inclination the urchin had to swat anything that she didn’t see as a threat herself. She wouldn’t let it have free reign over unconscious actions, anymore.
Now hooked on a specific goal, Codi got up, and left the dorm room, heading off for the training hall. She was going to go train, until she was capable of protecting herself, so that she could finally enjoy some peace. It didn’t matter how many times she had to do a backwards-hug, or scratch at a dummy.
She would do it, because once she set her goal, she didn’t stop going after it until she had succeeded.
Atticus Fowler
Atticus took out his Tenor Saxophone and tried to play it in his dorm room, but to any well-trained musician’s ear, the music had a tense quality to it that would have indicated clear stress in the person who was performing it. Because Atticus did, in fact, have such a trained ear, he gained no satisfaction as the person who laid claim to being the source of the music. He tried to play jazz, but instead of sounding calm and peaceful, the tune was somehow harsh and uneasy, as though the notes were eager to leave the air and flee to some dark corner where they would never be found again. He tried pieces of music that were intended to sound uneasy or skittish, but the quality of the notes was still sub-standard. Atticus finally lowered the saxophone, still in his creature form, and looked at the instrument with a distinctly dissatisfied expression on his face, even though his features were already warped by an inhuman appearance.
He then sat down on his bed, and laid the silver saxophone down next to him, before putting his face in his hands, and shaking his head, forcing the stoic, unreadable expression it normally had to return. The people who had been hurt were fine, nobody had died. As much as he tried to reassure himself, the fact that the fight had happened at all still deeply worried him. What kind of environment was this school, if the first thing to happen when you wandered off alone was that you were attacked by some predatory species? Secondly, when students got lost, shouldn’t there be an easier way to locate them, versus simply sending a search party, when the search party just wound up in another bad situation at the same time? Actually, how did students get lost in the first place? Why would anyone wander off in such a dangerous place? It was pretty obvious that even strong meta-humans could die out there.
Atticus stood back up, and looked at a calligraphy paper he had hung up on his side of the room, bearing the Japanese word for ‘Courage’ that he had written himself. There were other words, too, but this one, in particular, applied to him the most strongly right now. This school seemed to bring out the most extreme aspects of a person’s nature, enough that it had seemed abnormal. Atticus was now thinking that it was actually probably more normal than he thought, if perhaps there were more incidents like the one that had just happened. What kind of things did that do to a normal person’s mind, thinking that if you weren’t careful, you would wind up on a chopping block?
If he knew anything, Atticus was aware that this would probably have a worse effect on Codi’s mental state than his own. He deeply cared about her, as his best friend, but he had always been aware that she could be a bit ‘off’ or ‘misguided’ in her actions, even if they were often well-intended; some might say they were more disturbing, or an indication of something far worse, however. As kind as she could be, when she set a goal, she went to dramatic lengths in order to achieve them. Everyone had forgotten about punishing her for pushing Atticus over the waterfall after the fight that had injured several people, but that didn’t mean that it hadn’t happened. In the end, Codi hadn’t done it for the sake of a prank, but to finally prove whether or not Atticus’ creature form could breathe underwater. She was generally a follower, or someone who was willing to accommodate others, but in the end, if she felt like she was forced to do so, Codi could take control, and be ruthless with it, not allowing anyone else a say-so.
The controlling aspect of Codi’s personality was a part of her that Atticus was somewhat afraid of, even though he still greatly liked her. It was what had driven her to push him over the cliff in the jungle, and when she had just been learning her powers, what had caused her to take Atticus’ advice, which he still in certain ways regretted offering. In the past, when Codi had still been learning the exact nature of her powers, she had been aware of the bacterial toxins she could inject with the hidden syringes under her nails. The problem was that she did not know what each toxin was, or what it could do. She didn’t know if it had been lethal or not. The suggestion Atticus had given her was perhaps the most logical option, to obtain mice and test the toxins on them, but if it were not for the actual researching aspect of what she had done, Codi still strongly felt as though she had been torturing small mammals. Atticus felt guilty, because the research showed that although the toxins were non-lethal, they existed primarily to cause pain and hinder whatever was injected. Codi now knew the exact nature of each toxin, but the knowledge came with the intense guilt of knowing that innocent creatures had been harmed to learn such things.
Atticus didn’t want to think about what this incident would do to Codi’s mind, but knowing how they had never really trained to fight, it was possible that right about now, she would be heading off to train and become more powerful. In the end, he knew her well enough to properly guess what her actions might have been. She probably was going off to train, although Atticus was not as quick as his friend to build any sort of new goals or resolves based on recent events. He felt drained, and much of it was because his own body had been forced through a certain degree of stress. The automatic change into a fish-creature without a conscious effort was a defense mechanism, and even though he wouldn’t get sick because of the way Codi had timed it, it still messed him up, to a certain degree.
Sighing, he got up, and decided to go and check on the people who had been hurt, to see if they were okay. Pausing, he grabbed his Tenor Saxophone, and put it in its hard-back case, where it would be safe, before heading out the door. Maybe it would give him some peace of mind to play for anyone who was interested in listening.
Codi, after safely bringing the people who had been injured, along with the healer, to the hospital, had retreated into her room to hide for a bit, and was thankful to see that her roommate wasn’t there. She did not recall ever having a formal conversation with her, but she was not in the mood to talk with anyone, not even the person she would be sharing living arrangements with. She had to let the stress of the day wear off, and it was particularly difficult, even though she was a person who could reach Zen in the worst of situations. She used the term ‘Zen’ on multiple occasions, although she also had to affirm that she didn’t hold Buddhist beliefs. It was primarily her figure of speech for being calm and at peace, although what had happened today was deeply troubling, for her.
She didn’t quite know what had happened, but even as someone who had to do the research on both Atticus’ powers and her own, she hadn’t recognized that roar she had heard in the distance as belonging to any sort of man or beast. Although she was sure, due to the fact that they were on an island, that the wildlife could be extremely unique, the thing that had attacked everyone had been anything but natural. As strong as what had gone up against it was, people had nearly died. Codi and Atticus weren’t even on their level of skill, and mentally calculating the odds, things didn’t look good for them. She was also aware that if it could happen once, it could happen again, and next time, it might happen to her, and she might be all alone by herself with no assistance.
Sitting on her bed, blankets piled up under Reef’s bulk, she reflected, and resolved that she wouldn’t be as trusting as she had been when she had first arrived. She enjoyed placing her trust in others, but already too many incidents had taught her that even the planning of the faculty and staff had major holes in it. There weren’t plans that had been arranged in case something went wrong, and people took challenges of strength so seriously that they might have brutally maimed someone if others weren’t monitoring them to ensure safety. If she was forced to fight in order to survive, she didn’t want to be the one dead or lying on a hospital cot. She wanted peace, but if she was seen as easy prey, then there was no hope of getting it in this school, or anywhere on this island.
Taking a deep breath, the unsettled fears turning into a strange mix of determination, and perhaps a deep-burning anger at herself, Codi stood up, pulling in Reef’s six arms so as not to knock anything over. The parasitic urchin felt bulky and awkward where he was fused to her back, and he was so frequently ignored by his host that he tended to just flail his arms about at whatever the insect’s simple mind thought was a threat. Codi needed to change her way of thinking about that, too. Reef was fused to her back, and their blood supply was the same, which meant that the parasite was an extension of her own body. She could even control him, but perhaps she needed to gain more control of the insect than what she had seen as sufficient in the past. She would force herself to always make sure the arms were held in a certain way, and that she could prevent even the slightest inclination the urchin had to swat anything that she didn’t see as a threat herself. She wouldn’t let it have free reign over unconscious actions, anymore.
Now hooked on a specific goal, Codi got up, and left the dorm room, heading off for the training hall. She was going to go train, until she was capable of protecting herself, so that she could finally enjoy some peace. It didn’t matter how many times she had to do a backwards-hug, or scratch at a dummy.
She would do it, because once she set her goal, she didn’t stop going after it until she had succeeded.
Atticus Fowler
Atticus took out his Tenor Saxophone and tried to play it in his dorm room, but to any well-trained musician’s ear, the music had a tense quality to it that would have indicated clear stress in the person who was performing it. Because Atticus did, in fact, have such a trained ear, he gained no satisfaction as the person who laid claim to being the source of the music. He tried to play jazz, but instead of sounding calm and peaceful, the tune was somehow harsh and uneasy, as though the notes were eager to leave the air and flee to some dark corner where they would never be found again. He tried pieces of music that were intended to sound uneasy or skittish, but the quality of the notes was still sub-standard. Atticus finally lowered the saxophone, still in his creature form, and looked at the instrument with a distinctly dissatisfied expression on his face, even though his features were already warped by an inhuman appearance.
He then sat down on his bed, and laid the silver saxophone down next to him, before putting his face in his hands, and shaking his head, forcing the stoic, unreadable expression it normally had to return. The people who had been hurt were fine, nobody had died. As much as he tried to reassure himself, the fact that the fight had happened at all still deeply worried him. What kind of environment was this school, if the first thing to happen when you wandered off alone was that you were attacked by some predatory species? Secondly, when students got lost, shouldn’t there be an easier way to locate them, versus simply sending a search party, when the search party just wound up in another bad situation at the same time? Actually, how did students get lost in the first place? Why would anyone wander off in such a dangerous place? It was pretty obvious that even strong meta-humans could die out there.
Atticus stood back up, and looked at a calligraphy paper he had hung up on his side of the room, bearing the Japanese word for ‘Courage’ that he had written himself. There were other words, too, but this one, in particular, applied to him the most strongly right now. This school seemed to bring out the most extreme aspects of a person’s nature, enough that it had seemed abnormal. Atticus was now thinking that it was actually probably more normal than he thought, if perhaps there were more incidents like the one that had just happened. What kind of things did that do to a normal person’s mind, thinking that if you weren’t careful, you would wind up on a chopping block?
If he knew anything, Atticus was aware that this would probably have a worse effect on Codi’s mental state than his own. He deeply cared about her, as his best friend, but he had always been aware that she could be a bit ‘off’ or ‘misguided’ in her actions, even if they were often well-intended; some might say they were more disturbing, or an indication of something far worse, however. As kind as she could be, when she set a goal, she went to dramatic lengths in order to achieve them. Everyone had forgotten about punishing her for pushing Atticus over the waterfall after the fight that had injured several people, but that didn’t mean that it hadn’t happened. In the end, Codi hadn’t done it for the sake of a prank, but to finally prove whether or not Atticus’ creature form could breathe underwater. She was generally a follower, or someone who was willing to accommodate others, but in the end, if she felt like she was forced to do so, Codi could take control, and be ruthless with it, not allowing anyone else a say-so.
The controlling aspect of Codi’s personality was a part of her that Atticus was somewhat afraid of, even though he still greatly liked her. It was what had driven her to push him over the cliff in the jungle, and when she had just been learning her powers, what had caused her to take Atticus’ advice, which he still in certain ways regretted offering. In the past, when Codi had still been learning the exact nature of her powers, she had been aware of the bacterial toxins she could inject with the hidden syringes under her nails. The problem was that she did not know what each toxin was, or what it could do. She didn’t know if it had been lethal or not. The suggestion Atticus had given her was perhaps the most logical option, to obtain mice and test the toxins on them, but if it were not for the actual researching aspect of what she had done, Codi still strongly felt as though she had been torturing small mammals. Atticus felt guilty, because the research showed that although the toxins were non-lethal, they existed primarily to cause pain and hinder whatever was injected. Codi now knew the exact nature of each toxin, but the knowledge came with the intense guilt of knowing that innocent creatures had been harmed to learn such things.
Atticus didn’t want to think about what this incident would do to Codi’s mind, but knowing how they had never really trained to fight, it was possible that right about now, she would be heading off to train and become more powerful. In the end, he knew her well enough to properly guess what her actions might have been. She probably was going off to train, although Atticus was not as quick as his friend to build any sort of new goals or resolves based on recent events. He felt drained, and much of it was because his own body had been forced through a certain degree of stress. The automatic change into a fish-creature without a conscious effort was a defense mechanism, and even though he wouldn’t get sick because of the way Codi had timed it, it still messed him up, to a certain degree.
Sighing, he got up, and decided to go and check on the people who had been hurt, to see if they were okay. Pausing, he grabbed his Tenor Saxophone, and put it in its hard-back case, where it would be safe, before heading out the door. Maybe it would give him some peace of mind to play for anyone who was interested in listening.
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