SilverPaw

Hunter X Hunter: Heavens Children

They are very sensible, coherent lines. But yeah, enhancement is known as the nen type which just builds up on the basics, and gets very effective at that.

Hunter X Hunter: Heavens Children

There are other postulations I have regarding this ability, but it was already a bit overlong reading-wise lol

@Octo

Lmao, the length of conditions/notes when I tried figuring out things for conjuration was one of the reasons I decided against it. It can get way too finicky very fast if you're not careful.

Hunter X Hunter: Heavens Children

Yeah, from what I can remember, Crazy Slots was the only conjuration ability that provided multiple objects. Of course, Kurapika's chains were capable of multiple functions, but then, each had quite the limitation as well (inl. risking his life if he broke those restrictions, which I doubt many do).

Hunter X Hunter: Heavens Children

You can do really dumb stuff like decide "I want to base my powers off of Christmas" and then make it work.

@Octo

Hey, it's not dumb if you can make it work. I think the randomized gift giving (and accumulating of those previously conjured) is pretty neat. Especially since I initially considered conjuration, but couldn't get the conditions/limitations and subsequent effects to make sense in a way that'd satisfy me.

Hunter X Hunter: Heavens Children

Shei Vivem

Shei Vivem

Informal or Preferred Name
Shei

Age
16

Birth Place
Republic of Rokario

Birth Date
7th of November

Gender or Preferred Pronouns
she/her

Height & Weight
163 cm and 52 kg

Notable Physical Attributes
Focus. Compared to others, Shei finds it easier to get ‘in the zone’ for any given activity. She’s capable of incredible concentration, which helps her with everything from learning to hyper-analyzing enemy weaknesses to escaping in a pinch. When in danger or under great pressure, she will instinctively begin processing information so quickly, that time will slow down for her. She is so familiar with this focused state of mind that she can slip into it on command – though for very brief periods. When it happens spontaneously, it tends to last longer. The more intense and longer her periods of concentration, the more tired will she be afterwards. It is because of this that meditating to develop Nen has come to her with ease.

Related to her inborn ability, Shei has learned to fall asleep in under a minute, and always wakes up clearheaded. She also has her senses attuned to danger when asleep, and will be up the moment something is off. She’s also pretty great at faking being asleep or unconscious.

Nen

Discovery of Nen
Though she did not yet know what she was doing, she was one of those potential geniuses who instinctively and due to extensive practice imbued nen into her creations. However, she truly realized what she was doing years later, after her mentor revealed nen to her when she passed the hunter’s exam.

Nen Type
Emission

General Ability
Shei is capable of performing all of the Nen techniques. She is best at Ten, Shu, and Ken. She is currently focused on developing a better sense and control of Ryu, and is making decent progress.

Hatsu
Gremlins’ Revelry. The user emits nen and shapes it into small humanoids. Their appearance is reminiscent of goblins; with odd proportions, various skin tones (green, blue, red etc.), mildly grotesque faces, and features such as claws, sharp teeth, and pointed ears. They wear simple clothing (sometimes armor) and wield basic weaponry (sometimes none). Though small, they are surprisingly strong and vicious.

Self-imposed restrictions:

• Before emitting the nen constructs (dolls), the user must first envelop a physical mask with their nen and put it on their face.
• The mask the user wears must have some special significance to them.

Shei can currently summon three nen dolls. If given no other commands upon being summoned, the dolls will act autonomously with the condition of ‘help me fight against my opponents’. Otherwise, Shei can give them other commands or even take over control of them manually at any other time.

The user can also summon one doll at a time; when that is done, each doll will have a more specialized role. The dolls are described below.

Nen doll 1: Fawn. A simian goblin of a light brownish orange color, wearing an outfit reminiscent of a pirate. Fights hand-to-hand, seamlessly weaving in attacks with its tail. Good at coordinating with others, but becomes more focused when on its own. In general, it is a decent climber and acrobat.

Nen doll 2: Soot. A nervy dark grey goblin wearing ratty bandages, a cloak, and some minor jewelry. Fights either using its claws or with a knife, using its allies for cover. When summoned on its own, it will focus even more so on stealth, scouting, and ambushes. Functions better at night or in dark environments.

Nen doll 3: Glacier. A fuzzy blue goblin dressed in furs. A hybrid combatant who uses a bow for long-ranged combat and a dagger when up close. Prefers to keep its distance, evading its enemies. Acts as a support for allies. It has a higher rate of fire when no other dolls are present.

Weapons or Equipment

• A pair of tonfas. She uses this to fight, enveloping them with nen if necessary.
• A straight-flying boomerang. Her option for range combat, enveloping it with nen if needed.
• A utility knife. Sheathed in her belt, which has some empty pouches hanging from it.
• A mask. The last mask she made under the apprenticeship of a master crafter. Carved out of wood and painted over. This is what she wears as a condition for her Hatsu.
• A backpack. This is what she uses to store things acquired on the road. Currently contains a spool of rope, a bottle of water, a first-aid kit, and a small amount of physical money (little enough that she won’t mind it getting stolen).
• Her hunter’s license. Worn in an inner pocket of her shirt.

Trained Skills or Knowledge
Mask making. Shei has spent the earlier parts of her life apprenticing under a master crafter, and if a hunter (her master) hadn’t happened to meet her, she would have likely continued on the path of handcrafting. In general, this makes her quite dexterous. She is also an expert when it comes to evaluating the quality and make of masks, and to a lesser extent, of other similar items as well.

Combat. From a young age, she has learned a ritualized variant of hand-to-hand combat that was performed in the form of a slow-moving exercise (similar to tai-chi), which she refined under her master’s guidance. She is also proficient with her tonfas and boomerang.

Scouting and Information management. Expanding upon her natural focus, she has become excellent at noticing minor signs, environmental changes, and other oddities, and as such, is great at tracking, information gathering, and analyzing that information.

Basic survival. She knows enough to survive in the wilderness, even if it’s a largely unfamiliar territory to her. Under the guidance of her master, she has been exposed to a variety of landscapes, such as forests, mountains, the desert et cetera. So, she knows how to build shelter, find food and water, and navigate the environment. She can find her way around an unfamiliar cityscape as well.

Basic first aid. She knows how to treat wounds, burns, hypothermia, frostbite, dehydration, bandage various appendages, and stabilize broken bones. She could probably provide a very basic, emergency suture.

Notable Scars or Physical Appearance Traits
Shei has rough, worn hands, with many little cuts on them. Her nails are clipped short, as she doesn’t want them getting snagged on things.

A few scars here and there from her training and life as a hunter, but nothing major.

Personality
A lively, adventurous girl, who’s opened up a lot since becoming a hunter. Shei’s curious, with many things catching her interest, so can be a bit whimsical and sometimes noncommittal. Though for the few things (or people) that she deeply cares for, she will show her serious, dedicated, meticulous side. She smiles often, and enjoys meeting new people, but despite her generally pleasant attitude, she doesn’t trust easily. She tends to hide her wariness beneath a carefree mask, because she’s learned that if people misjudge her as naïve, they tend to show their true colours.

Past Affiliations or Experience
Republic of Rokario
Crafters' Association
Heaven's Arena

Notable Relations
Tiay Vivem. Her grandfather and the mask crafter she apprenticed under before beginning her hunter training.

Lam Nu. Her non-biological mother, whom she loves dearly.

Hushed. Her master, a two-star hunter. An oddly named, mysterious hunter with who was willing to take on an unknown girl as their apprentice, simply because they recognized that she was subconsciously beginning to use nen when crafting masks – so did her grandfather, in fact, but obviously, the old man wouldn’t benefit from their training. Shei believes they allowed her to travel with them and learn under them mainly as a curiosity and an experiment. Since teaching her about Nen, they've gone off on their own, who knows where.

Zena Vivem. Her biological mother, deceased.

Qin Vivem. Her father, deceased.

General History
Shei was born in a small, rural town, which bordered on a vast patch of forest which ascended into a nearby mountain range. She was raised by her parents until she was about four, and has a scant few memories of them. As far as she knows, they’ve both died in an accident while on a business trip. Afterwards, she was raised by a friend of her mothers, Lam Nu, whom she eventually came to consider as her mother as well. She was also taken under the care of her grandparent, under the influence of whom she learned the art of mask making from a young age. In fact, she’d begun helping him with small tasks as soon as she could wield a knife – under his careful supervision and instructions, of course.

Even when young, she was an active girl, enjoying exploring the forest and the mountains. She begged for trips to other places often, though she never did get to leave the Republic in those few years. She joined a group of performers, from whom she learned the basics of combat – though she did not quite grasp initially that the moves she practiced had such applications. She was told that their art descended from a militant practice, of course, but she fully learned how true this was only later on.

Her life until she was about 13 years of age continued normally, being schooled, learning from her grandfather, and enjoying her hobbies. Then, one day, a hunter arrived to their town, and came into her grandfather’s shop while they were there. They seemed terribly intent on some of their masks, though their tastes didn’t seem to have anything to do with aesthetics. They insisted on inspecting all their wares themselves, and asked if they could observe the crafting process. Reluctant, but honored by the respect showed, her grandfather allowed it. This was when the stranger proclaimed to Shei that she could become a hunter.

Naturally, she’d been aware of the existence of hunters, but she’d never before considered it as a profession. But those words were enough to change the world for her. She immediately insisted that she wanted to become this hunter’s apprentice. Of course, her mother and grandfather opposed initially. It took perhaps a month of dedicated effort on her part, and various reassurances and such on the hunter’s part, before she was allowed to leave. From then on, she accompanied Hushed for the following two years, whom tutored her on the remainders of her elementary schooling. But more importantly, they taught her how to fight, hunt, and survive.

After two years, they deemed her ready to take the hunter’s exam; she was, and she passed. Then, they told her of Nen, and explained that seeing her imbue her aura subconsciously while apprenticing under her grandfather made them intrigued enough to agree to take her on as an apprentice when she showed the determination to become one. She accompanied Hushed a year more, to learn all the basics of Nen that they deemed necessary. It was not long after they parted ways that she received the letter from The White Tiger, and decided to accept the mission.

Hunter X Hunter: Heavens Children

@SilverPaw What anime is the FC from if you don't mind me asking

@Renny

The show's called Radiant. I don't watch it, but really like that girl's character design.

Hunter X Hunter: Heavens Children

Shei Vivem

Shei Vivem

Informal or Preferred Name
Shei

Age
16

Birth Place
Republic of Rokario

Birth Date
7th of November

Gender or Preferred Pronouns
she/her

Height & Weight
163 cm and 52 kg

Notable Physical Attributes
Focus. Compared to others, Shei finds it easier to get ‘in the zone’ for any given activity. She’s capable of incredible concentration, which helps her with everything from learning to hyper-analyzing enemy weaknesses to escaping in a pinch. When in danger or under great pressure, she will instinctively begin processing information so quickly, that time will slow down for her. She is so familiar with this focused state of mind that she can slip into it on command – though for very brief periods. When it happens spontaneously, it tends to last longer. The more intense and longer her periods of concentration, the more tired will she be afterwards. It is because of this that meditating to develop Nen has come to her with ease.

Related to her inborn ability, Shei has learned to fall asleep in under a minute, and always wakes up clearheaded. She also has her senses attuned to danger when asleep, and will be up the moment something is off. She’s also pretty great at faking being asleep or unconscious.

Nen

Discovery of Nen
Though she did not yet know what she was doing, she was one of those potential geniuses who instinctively and due to extensive practice imbued nen into her creations. However, she truly realized what she was doing years later, after her mentor revealed nen to her when she passed the hunter’s exam.

Nen Type
Emission

General Ability
Shei is capable of performing all of the Nen techniques. She is best at Ten, Shu, and Ken. She is currently focused on developing a better sense and control of Ryu, and is making decent progress.

Hatsu
Gremlins’ Revelry. The user emits nen and shapes it into small humanoids. Their appearance is reminiscent of goblins; with odd proportions, various skin tones (green, blue, red etc.), mildly grotesque faces, and features such as claws, sharp teeth, and pointed ears. They wear simple clothing (sometimes armor) and wield basic weaponry (sometimes none). Though small, they are surprisingly strong and vicious.

Self-imposed restrictions:

• Before emitting the nen constructs (dolls), the user must first envelop a physical mask with their nen and put it on their face.
• The mask the user wears must have some special significance to them.

Shei can currently summon three nen dolls. If given no other commands upon being summoned, the dolls will act autonomously with the condition of ‘help me fight against my opponents’. Otherwise, Shei can give them other commands or even take over control of them manually at any other time.

The user can also summon one doll at a time; when that is done, each doll will have a more specialized role. The dolls are described below.

Nen doll 1: Fawn. A simian goblin of a light brownish orange color, wearing an outfit reminiscent of a pirate. Fights hand-to-hand, seamlessly weaving in attacks with its tail. Good at coordinating with others, but becomes more focused when on its own. In general, it is a decent climber and acrobat.

Nen doll 2: Soot. A nervy dark grey goblin wearing ratty bandages, a cloak, and some minor jewelry. Fights either using its claws or with a knife, using its allies for cover. When summoned on its own, it will focus even more so on stealth, scouting, and ambushes. Functions better at night or in dark environments.

Nen doll 3: Glacier. A fuzzy blue goblin dressed in furs. A hybrid combatant who uses a bow for long-ranged combat and a dagger when up close. Prefers to keep its distance, evading its enemies. Acts as a support for allies. It has a higher rate of fire when no other dolls are present.

Weapons or Equipment

• A pair of tonfas. She uses this to fight, enveloping them with nen if necessary.
• A straight-flying boomerang. Her option for range combat, enveloping it with nen if needed.
• A utility knife. Sheathed in her belt, which has some empty pouches hanging from it.
• A mask. The last mask she made under the apprenticeship of a master crafter. Carved out of wood and painted over. This is what she wears as a condition for her Hatsu.
• A backpack. This is what she uses to store things acquired on the road. Currently contains a spool of rope, a bottle of water, a first-aid kit, and a small amount of physical money (little enough that she won’t mind it getting stolen).
• Her hunter’s license. Worn in an inner pocket of her shirt.

Trained Skills or Knowledge
Mask making. Shei has spent the earlier parts of her life apprenticing under a master crafter, and if a hunter (her master) hadn’t happened to meet her, she would have likely continued on the path of handcrafting. In general, this makes her quite dexterous. She is also an expert when it comes to evaluating the quality and make of masks, and to a lesser extent, of other similar items as well.

Combat. From a young age, she has learned a ritualized variant of hand-to-hand combat that was performed in the form of a slow-moving exercise (similar to tai-chi), which she refined under her master’s guidance. She is also proficient with her tonfas and boomerang.

Scouting and Information management. Expanding upon her natural focus, she has become excellent at noticing minor signs, environmental changes, and other oddities, and as such, is great at tracking, information gathering, and analyzing that information.

Basic survival. She knows enough to survive in the wilderness, even if it’s a largely unfamiliar territory to her. Under the guidance of her master, she has been exposed to a variety of landscapes, such as forests, mountains, the desert et cetera. So, she knows how to build shelter, find food and water, and navigate the environment. She can find her way around an unfamiliar cityscape as well.

Basic first aid. She knows how to treat wounds, burns, hypothermia, frostbite, dehydration, bandage various appendages, and stabilize broken bones. She could probably provide a very basic, emergency suture.

Notable Scars or Physical Appearance Traits
Shei has rough, worn hands, with many little cuts on them. Her nails are clipped short, as she doesn’t want them getting snagged on things.

A few scars here and there from her training and life as a hunter, but nothing major.

Personality
A lively, adventurous girl, who’s opened up a lot since becoming a hunter. Shei’s curious, with many things catching her interest, so can be a bit whimsical and sometimes noncommittal. Though for the few things (or people) that she deeply cares for, she will show her serious, dedicated, meticulous side. She smiles often, and enjoys meeting new people, but despite her generally pleasant attitude, she doesn’t trust easily. She tends to hide her wariness beneath a carefree mask, because she’s learned that if people misjudge her as naïve, they tend to show their true colours.

Past Affiliations or Experience
Republic of Rokario
Crafters' Association
Heaven's Arena

Notable Relations
Tiay Vivem. Her grandfather and the mask crafter she apprenticed under before beginning her hunter training.

Lam Nu. Her non-biological mother, whom she loves dearly.

Hushed. Her master, a two-star hunter. An oddly named, mysterious hunter with who was willing to take on an unknown girl as their apprentice, simply because they recognized that she was subconsciously beginning to use nen when crafting masks – so did her grandfather, in fact, but obviously, the old man wouldn’t benefit from their training. Shei believes they allowed her to travel with them and learn under them mainly as a curiosity and an experiment. Since teaching her about Nen, they've gone off on their own, who knows where.

Zena Vivem. Her biological mother, deceased.

Qin Vivem. Her father, deceased.

General History
Shei was born in a small, rural town, which bordered on a vast patch of forest which ascended into a nearby mountain range. She was raised by her parents until she was about four, and has a scant few memories of them. As far as she knows, they’ve both died in an accident while on a business trip. Afterwards, she was raised by a friend of her mothers, Lam Nu, whom she eventually came to consider as her mother as well. She was also taken under the care of her grandparent, under the influence of whom she learned the art of mask making from a young age. In fact, she’d begun helping him with small tasks as soon as she could wield a knife – under his careful supervision and instructions, of course.

Even when young, she was an active girl, enjoying exploring the forest and the mountains. She begged for trips to other places often, though she never did get to leave the Republic in those few years. She joined a group of performers, from whom she learned the basics of combat – though she did not quite grasp initially that the moves she practiced had such applications. She was told that their art descended from a militant practice, of course, but she fully learned how true this was only later on.

Her life until she was about 13 years of age continued normally, being schooled, learning from her grandfather, and enjoying her hobbies. Then, one day, a hunter arrived to their town, and came into her grandfather’s shop while they were there. They seemed terribly intent on some of their masks, though their tastes didn’t seem to have anything to do with aesthetics. They insisted on inspecting all their wares themselves, and asked if they could observe the crafting process. Reluctant, but honored by the respect showed, her grandfather allowed it. This was when the stranger proclaimed to Shei that she could become a hunter.

Naturally, she’d been aware of the existence of hunters, but she’d never before considered it as a profession. But those words were enough to change the world for her. She immediately insisted that she wanted to become this hunter’s apprentice. Of course, her mother and grandfather opposed initially. It took perhaps a month of dedicated effort on her part, and various reassurances and such on the hunter’s part, before she was allowed to leave. From then on, she accompanied Hushed for the following two years, whom tutored her on the remainders of her elementary schooling. But more importantly, they taught her how to fight, hunt, and survive.

After two years, they deemed her ready to take the hunter’s exam; she was, and she passed. Then, they told her of Nen, and explained that seeing her imbue her aura subconsciously while apprenticing under her grandfather made them intrigued enough to agree to take her on as an apprentice when she showed the determination to become one. She accompanied Hushed a year more, to learn all the basics of Nen that they deemed necessary. It was not long after they parted ways that she received the letter from The White Tiger, and decided to accept the mission.

Persona - Soldiers of Fortune

Caelum Harrington

“Better than nothing, I suppose,” he agreed with a stiff nod towards Dakota. He could have broken, cracked, or twisted something on top of everything. If that had happened, he would not even have had the option of contemplating escape.

When the jacket man had his breakdown, Caelum turned away with a grimace. Though unlike Vincent’s disdain, it was merely due to a discomfort of witnessing such a vulnerable moment. He did not try to help, mainly because the thought of doing so didn’t occur to him in the first place. He did check his phone for a signal, just in case, but as Dakota had said, there was none.

“A group hallucination?” he commented when Barney mentioned the possibility. The idea did get him thinking though – it wasn’t impossible, and actually less probable than this being real. Still very strange though. He watched horrified as the young man went and tried to jump into the sea, but was too paralyzed to move. Thankfully, he seemed to change his mind. “What–what were you thinking?” he asked, with an edge of panic to his voice. “Even if it’s a dream, dying could be dangerous,” Caelum said, shaken at what he perceived as a suicide attempt.

He brushed a hand through his hair, and exhaled tremulously, trying to calm himself. It wasn’t like him, trying to be helpful. This situation was messing him up, getting him to butt in other people’s business needlessly. He said nothing when Barney went towards the prison, choosing to stay where he was.

But then, the decision to move was made for him with the appearance of the humanoid though possibly not quite human guards. Caelum stared at them, bewildered, but immediately put up his hands, and followed obediently where they pointed.

He did his best not to look at the junkie-criminal who ran for it, hoping fervently the man’s idiotic behavior wouldn’t get the rest of them in trouble. He did not want to get beaten up or his legs broken, especially not on account of another’s insubordination. Who knew what these psycho guards were capable of doing to them? Though he did dread as to where they would be taken, and to whom, the fear of these psychos’ immediate retribution was greater.

Persona - Soldiers of Fortune

Caelum Harrington

The guy with the phone answered with some enthusiasm, and Caelum was struck by how effortless such meaningless conversation with a stranger could be. Probably because he hadn’t gone and screwed up that initial good will people tended to have towards those they didn’t know yet. “Yes, very strange,” he replied quietly, with his mind half elsewhere. He didn’t know what else to say about the warm air – he honestly hadn’t noticed it, but didn’t want to kneel down beside the other student to check. It’d be too awkward for one, and he didn’t want to chance his clean trousers getting muddy, or something.

Just as he had that thought, the person who’d ruined his previous set of clothing – which he hadn’t even yet taken to the dry cleaners, damn him – appeared behind him. He turned towards her when she issued something between a greeting and a mousy squeak of fear. Caelum blinked, bewildered, but carefully returned the greeting with an, “Afternoon.” He had no idea why out of all times, the girl was afraid now, when she’d been so apathetic and calm earlier.

Perhaps, the reason for her fear was the man who appeared next. He was large, obviously on the run from something based on his threatening words. Whether he was just some crazed junky or a genuine criminal, Caelum couldn’t tell, but he was spooked in either case. He considered departing and calling the police, but then, what if the man prevented any witnesses from leaving? He didn’t look in the state to do so, given that he’d collapsed, but…Caelum shifted, uncomfortable and hesitant. He eyed the others, to see what they did, but whether they stayed because they’d taken him seriously or because they hadn’t done so at all, he couldn’t tell. So, he remained as well, throwing the occasional wary glance at the fallen man.

Several others arrived as well, though Caelum recognized only a couple. A teaching assistant from university, and the jacket-man he’d encountered earlier. He noticed that the youth had a jacket that looked exactly as his previous one did, though this one was clean. He had to have had two of the same model in his possession, because there was no way he’d gotten the one from before cleaned so quickly. Frowning, Caelum turned away from him, not keen to chance further interaction. It didn’t matter that he too could see the cracks and that he’d been worried for his sanity; they were two strangers who had already formed a mutual dislike for each other, and whatever else happened, that was unlikely to change.

Of course, he couldn’t have possibly known that ‘whatever else’ would just so happen to be a disaster. As the cracks begun widening with ominous creaking and snapping, Caelum had the brief thought that he’d foolishly tempted fate, and he would now pay for it. Though he turned to run away, a sudden fatigue overtook him. His mind was hazy, and his body would not obey him. Then, the world shifted, and he fell alongside the others.

---

---

When he came to, he was lying on his side, bruised, and night had fallen. Confused, he stood up, clutching at his sore ribs, looked around – and this was when the terror set in. The surroundings were vaguely reminiscent of earth; the docks, nearby buildings, and the cityscape were familiar if you squinted, but the absurdist details all over truly made it an alien sight. The sea was a writhing mass of iridescent tar, the distant buildings were crumbling and being sucked into vortexes of debris which then rushed back to another part of the city in arcs of unimaginable destruction – and perhaps re-construction, for all he knew.

He tore his gaze away from the scenery, because he had the feeling if he stood staring at it, his sanity might start to unravel – if it hadn’t already. Instead, he studied the large jail which stood where the university building should have been. Inexplicably there were also a cathedral and a courthouse among the other buildings on the prison yard.

Caelum didn’t know what to make of that, either, so examined the people who’d been transported here. All of them had gathered at the pier, so presumably those were the people who’d seen the cracks…But no, why was he thinking of this as if made sense, as if there was some logical sequence of events to follow? How could he possibly claim that this was real? It was much more likely that he was delusional, and had imagined this all…But why then, did it feel as real as anything else?

He shifted on his feet, noticing the pink splashed – but they disappeared as soon as he’d made them without consequence. Maybe he’d go like that too. Here one moment, gone the next. Maybe he was already gone, yet unaware of it. Locked up in some psych ward, mumbling incomprehensibly as he wandered the figments of his own imagination. Didn’t they say though that those delusional weren’t aware of it in the middle of an episode? If so, then what did his realization that this didn’t match the reality he knew mean?

Frustrated, Caelum scrubbed at his eyes. “This can’t be real,” he murmured, but he wasn’t convinced. Maybe that’s what he should be afraid of – that he was starting to have an inkling of belief? But then, he knew that if he doubted the existence of whatever this was, he wouldn’t nor couldn’t act. Just like two others had said, he wanted out of here, but it didn’t look like just thinking would get him anywhere.

When the guy who’d filmed the cracks asked if everyone was alright, Caelum couldn’t help but laugh, and it was a hysterical sound. “Okay?” he questioned, in disbelief. “Physically fine, I think, but otherwise…” he trailed off, shaking his head as he smiled wryly. He’d not been entirely truthful, as the ache in his side reminded him, but considering everything, that was decidedly inconsequential.

Persona - Soldiers of Fortune

Caelum Harrington

Caelum ignored the lingering looks from the part of the student body occupying the cafeteria, and hurried outside. He avoided stepping on one or two cracks as he went – they were odd, and he couldn’t recall seeing such structural imperfections before, but he had greater things on his mind just then.

His foremost priority was getting back to his flat, change his clothes, and just…be alone for a while. Oh, and he supposed he’d have to pick up something to eat somewhere. His stomach was still twisting on itself, though he wasn’t sure the cramps were purely from the hunger; the shame, anger, and irritation likely had something to do with it too.

The flat was empty, as expected. Matt wouldn’t be coming over during lunch. Relieved, Caelum retreated into his bedroom, getting a change of clothes. He then flopped down onto the bed tiredly. Lying down, he dragged his phone out of a pocket, and checked for the nearest dry cleaner. Before he could properly map a path to the one he’d found, his phone vibrated. He carelessly tapped to unlock it. It was a message from his sister.

Dread pooling in his stomach, he opened it up. ‘Father’s upset,’ was all it said. Caelum exhaled harshly, thinking, when isn’t he?, but typed ‘What happened’ nonetheless. The reply was immediate, and short. ‘You.’ That stung, even though he had an inkling Vesper hadn’t meant it that way. Still, his immediate response was a sharp, bitter sense of rejection. Even Ves… He clenched his fists, and heaved himself into a sitting position.

Just in time too, as his phone vibrated once again, now because of a call. It was from his father. “Oh,” he uttered. He realized the meaning of his sister’s message just then – it’d been a warning. Choosing not to contemplate that, and accepted the call.

“Hello, Caelum.” The greeting was cool and calm, but with a hint of danger underlying it. Or maybe that was all in Caelum’s mind, because it’s not as if he were ever the endangered by the man. But his mouth was suddenly so dry, and his heart had started racing.
“Hello, father,” he tried to match the tone, but he was afraid some of his anxiety inadvertently leaked into his tone.

What followed was another uncomfortable lecture, though Caelum didn’t really follow it besides the occasional automatic and prompt reply of “Yes, father,” and “I understand,” and similar. When the call was ended, Caelum stared at the screen blankly. 9:08. That’s how long their talk had lasted, and Caelum barely remembered any of it. He had a general idea of what it’d been about, but none of the specifics.

As he sat there, dazed, the phone slipped from his loose grasp, and fell onto the floor. Slowly, he craned his head to look at it. He didn’t feel like doing anything, not even bending over to pick it up, but forced himself to move. The screen was broken. Of course.
A few more minutes passed as Caelum gathered his awareness, and he stood up slowly. He made himself return to classes, forgoing the dry cleaning and the lunch entirely. The classes were a welcome distraction, though his concentration was barely up to par. At some other time, these lessons would be engaging to him, but today…

At least he only had one more to go through for the day. It was just in line with what had happened so far, that Charlie intercepted him just then.

“I heard what you did to that poor girl today,” she looked up at him, expression scrunched up in angry confusion.

For one, Caelum resented the accusation. He had not done anything to her, he’d just lost his temper at her. Charlie's ambiguous wording certainly made him sound much more villainous. For another, her words reminded him eerily of what his father had told him – that he had heard of Caelum’s actions. He’d not thought to ask whom had told him, but he was curious now. To Charlie, though, all he said was, “So?”

“I thought–Last time, with me, I thought it was my fault. But it wasn’t; you’re just like that, aren’t you,” she stated.
Caelum stared at her blankly, and after an awkwardly long moment of silence, he asked, “What about it?”

Apparently, this frustrated Charlie. She scoffed sharply. “You–it’s people like you!” she cut herself off at the exclamation, recollecting herself. “Never mind,” she affected a thin veneer of neutrality, and turned around to leave. Not before muttering “Selfish scum,” though, just loud enough that she likely intended him to hear it.

Aware of the stare of a couple of students who’d likely seen the exchange, Caelum left for his last class, one that he thankfully didn’t share with Charlie.

It was over soon. Caelum was reminded that he’d not eaten much by the protest of his empty stomach, and once again stopped at a vending machine. It was the simplest option. He input the code and money for a croissant, and watched as it was slowly pushed, hinging just there…then it stopped, stuck.

“Oh, c’mon,” he complained, and pushed the machine. It knocked against the wall, and dislodged his item. As he bent down to retrieve it, however, he noticed a crack one the wall, at the corner of the vending machine. Shit. As he watched there paralyzed, thinking he’d damaged school property, the thing elongated. He blinked several times, but it continued spreading, all over the wall, to the floor, through the whole corridor, and even further. “What the fuck,” he swore quietly, astonished.

Mind boggling, croissant forgotten, he stood up and followed the phenomenon. He must be going crazy. Can lack of sleep do this?! He wondered, following the trail of broken surface. He was led to the pier looking out at the sea. There were several students there. The most notable one, however, seemed to be filming the cracks.

Caelum approached the young man, and asked quietly, “Are you filming the–this?” Rather than say anything outright about the unnatural sight, he simply scuffed the toe of his shoe along the floor, pointing at the congregation of fissures. If he wasn’t the only one who could see these…Well, it would be a relief, honestly, because so far, no one else had been paying them any attention at all.