Oddity High
Coralie paused her rummaging through a nearby bush. "You WHAT?!" she snarled and stalked back over to round on Alex. "Why, you treasonous dog, I ought to have y..."
Caught off guard, Coralie unthinkingly proffered her hands, only to have them sprayed. She stood and blinked momentarily, looking at the backs of her hands as her anger subsided into confusion. She raised them to eye level, examining them for a moment. She gave a quick, experimental sniff, and pulled a face like a stretched-out frown of bemusement.
"Uh...thanks? I think?" Not truly knowing how to react, Coralie rubbed the spray over her hands and wrist as though washing them. "...So, what is this, like, a...werewolf musk or something?"
THE SLORG!
Monday, Little Haven, outside Oddity High and around the corner - Alex Palencia the werewolf who no, doesn't have a lot of experience with girls, why do you ask?
Alex's brow lowered slightly as his eyes widened, and he took a half step back from Coralie. "M-musk!? Ew, no! What do you think I'm doing, trying to mark you or something? chica loca,"note he said, turning his eyes aside. Was that a hint of a blush forming on his cheeks, or just a trick of the light? Whatever it was, it was gone as he looked at her again with a more serious and slightly sympathetic expression. "It's just vinegar and lavender. I made it to cover up the smell of cigarette smoke," the young werewolf explained. He normally wouldn't be quite so forward with his reasoning to have it, but with Coralie he felt it prudent to make it clear what he made it for, lest she get some wild idea that he made it for something more embarrassing or unscrupulous.
"Like I said, I just didn't want to embarrass you, because, you reek right now," Alex added, unable to help but scrunch his nose a bit and frown. "I'd guess you've been diving in every dumpster in town, or at least all the bad ones, and maybe something worse, too. I would know; I've been around all the dumpsters too," he added, still not quite getting why he was so good at identifying smells like that.
Edited by FirockFinion on May 6th 2023 at 8:43:53 AM
You are reading this.
Outside Oddity High
“Heh. I suppose to most people, my fashion sense probably does seem a little… theatrical and on the nose, yes. But yes, I am indeed a real vampire - a daywalker, thankfully. I do still have to be careful around certain things that can hurt me, but I definitely lucked out in that respect.”
She curiously glances over at the other quadruplets for a moment.
“Hm… so what brings you and your siblings to this school? Are you psychics, or wizards or something? Regardless, it is nice to meet you.”
Fwomph
Oddity High, Monday Morning
With Gill in tow, Blake headed off back to the car where his mom was just kinda sitting there with the window open expectantly.
"Hey mom, brought Gill over like you asked."
"Thank you dear. So, you're the kid who needs a home on dry land, yeah?"
For the Horde!
Jackie let out a terrified squeak and backed away from the new girl as she introduced herself. Her eyes were terrifying. And her teeth... and her deadly pale skin. And that accent... was she some kind of vampire or something? Even Heidi was put off.
>>"Wow, that's fucking messed up,"<< Heidi muttered in Jackie's head, unnerved. >>"So there are actual fucking vampires at this school? What the fuck?"<<
Meanwhile Gill, oblivious to the reactions of the others, and not noticing the new girl arrive, walked right over to Mrs. Smith's car and reached out to shake her hand happily.
"Hi, I'm Gill!" he introduced. His eyebrows raised when she mentioned a home on dry land. "Did Blake tell you I'm a merman?" he asked. "Yes, I need a home on dry land. I wanna be a real human more than anything in the whole world. Can you help? Do you know where I could stay?"
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
Winner of Elim Game Round 78
Outside Oddity High
Mindy backed up a bit to get herself in a defensive position when she hears the talk about the new vampire chick. She doesn't know what will happen. She's trying to keep in mind what Gill has said, but when it comes to vampires, it's probably a good idea to stay on guard. While keeping watch, she notices Gill talking to Blake's mother. Could he finally have a home, she wonders.
And Layla, like Jackie, is also on edge over the vampire as well. She winces as she too backs up, feeling the goosebumps form up her body.
"W... we're all going to die here, aren't we?" she ponders... "And without a head, she'll probably drink my blood through my neck like a straw..., she whispers.
Edited by MatthewLMayfield on May 8th 2023 at 3:50:45 AM
Outside School
Coralie drew back with an insulted sneer. "Hey!" she said, and continued in a self-righteous tone, "I'll have you know dumpster diving is an essential part of my process. Some of us can't get government grants for research and construction, so some of my best work comes from tech that's been thrown out or otherwise liberated!"
Her umbrage now spent, she glanced down and spoke with a more sheepish tone. "'course, I, uh, do usually shower after I do my resource gathering, aheh...like a regular shower, with soap and shampoo...in a private space. With my own bathroom.... in my own house...with my own bed and bedroom with breakfast and dinner with mom and my brothers and-"
She jerked her gaze back to Alex, clearing her throat and barely hiding a sniffle. "So! You got any more of that spray? Enough for my clothes or my coat, even?"
THE SLORG!
Monday, Little Haven, outside Oddity High - Lynn Polyhymnia the quadruplets who wonder how many times they'll have to explain this.
Also starring, around the corner, Alex Palencia the werewolf who is sure now that there's a bigger problem, but isn't sure what it is.
Carolyn let out a little sigh, and shrugged her shoulders while shaking her head. "Nope, just normal. Our parents are making us come here because they think that we're psychics, but like, we're not? We're just quadruplets." With that, the quadruplet dressed in red looked at Vivian with a raised eyebrow. "You're not gonna go around drinking anyone's blood, are you?"
...
Meanwhile, Alex wasn't fazed by Coralie's little rant about dumpster diving. Instead he just raised an eyebrow with a slightly incredulous expression, as he thought he just made it clear that he'd done it too, hadn't he? He wasn't sure why she was so embarrassed about it. After that though, when she got more somber, he put on a concerned expression and rubbed the back of his neck. At her question, he put on an apologetic look. "Just what's in that bottle. Go ahead and have it," he replied, putting his backpack on again and turning back towards the corner. He took a couple steps, then stopped, perking up as it occurred to him that there was a two birds one stone solution to this. Well, it wouldn't solve it immediately, but...
"But, I could make more!" Alex said, turning back towards Coralie quickly. "Why don't you swing by my place after school?" he offered, pointing his thumb over his shoulder in a metaphorical gesture. (It probably wasn't even in the correct direction, technically speaking, but he wasn't thinking about that.)
You are reading this.
Outside Oddity High
Vivian scratches her chin.
“That’s odd. I wonder how many of the other students are also normal people…”
She notices Jackie and Mindy both become panicked in her presence, and Layla apparently outright thinks she’s going to kill people. Vivian sighs. She wasn’t exactly surprised by this reaction, but she’d be lying if she said it didn’t hurt her a bit regardless.
“I'm not going to bite or hurt anyone. I get my blood from blood banks, so there’s no reason for me to go around chomping on people’s necks. I just want to go to school, live my life, and… well, try to live normally with humans. I know I look like one, but… I’m really not a scary person once you get to know me, I promise.”
THE SLORG!
Monday, Little Haven, outside Oddity High - Lynn Polyhymnia the quadruplets with questions...
Carolyn put on an awkward, apologetic look. "Right, my apologies. The thing is, until just a couple of days ago we still thought that everything like vampires and stuff was, well, fictional," the red dressed quadruplet admitted, holding her palms up for a quick shrug. "Would you mind if we asked you some things? I'm really curious about what is and isn't true," she added, giving Vivian a friendly smile.
You are reading this.
Outside Oddity High
Vivian seems to relax a bit.
“It’s alright,” she reassures Carolyn. “Most people don’t even believe we exist, and when they actually do meet one, well… their only reference points are fictional depictions of us, which are generally not very flattering. Vicious predators that go around biting people as we please, that only see humans as food and nothing else. When I step back and try to put myself in the shoes of a non-vampire, it makes sense that people generally have concerns or fears regarding us.”
She nods to Coralyn.
“Certainly, I’d be happy to answer any questions you might have about vampires. I imagine you probably have quite a few of them.”
Outside School
Coralie took the spray and set to work. Three or four sprays as a shower over herself, a couple on her front, one under each pit, and the labcoat...Actually, no. Looking over how long the coat was and how much spray she actually had, she instead elected to take off the coat and spray the back of her shirt.
Coralie stopped and blinked in surprise. "...uh, sure! Why not? Could use a stock-up on a scent right now. Maybe later I could get a look-in at the chemical components." With that, she folded her coat under her arm and followed Alex back around the corner, smelling somewhat more sanitary.
"Woah!" She cried suddenly, catching sight of the newcomer. "Well hello, tall, dark and vampish!" She quickly scuttled over and adjusted her goggles to examine Vivian from black hair to boots. "Might you be of the nosferatu? No, wait, don't tell me...strigoi stock, am I right? Wow, I haven't run into one of your breed since World-28. Or was it World-10? Oh, if only I could still check the files..."
Outside School
Vivian is taken by surprise by Coralie’s sudden appearance. But it’s her smell that she notices before anything else.
“Did you dip your hands in cleaning supplies or something?” she asks as the scent wafts through her nostrils. “Heh, sorry. I just have a very sensitive nose, you see.”
She seems both surprised and a bit relieved that Coralie is not shocked by the existence of her kind.
“That’s correct, I am of the strigoi. The strigoi originate from Romania, whereas the nosferatu are Germanic. They tend to have pointy ears, incisors for teeth, and hooked noses, whereas our appearance tends to be more typical.”
Coralie doesn’t appear to be undead herself, or anything out of the ordinary at first glance. But something she mentioned gave a hint of why she might be here.
“World-28? World-10? Wait, have you been to other planets before? Is that like your thing? That’s really cool!”
THE SLORG!
Monday, Little Haven, outside Oddity High - Alex Palencia the werewolf finally meeting his (not) fated enemy.
Also starring Lynn Polyhymnia the quadruplets whose questions will have to wait.
Alex turned and resumed his walk back towards where the other students were. As he walked though, something occurred to him that made a blush form on his face again. He'd just invited a girl, to his home. He shook his head and tried to chase off that thought, because obviously this wasn't like that at all. It did so happen that this was the first time he'd ever done so though, and it was not in the circumstances he was expecting it to happen. (Or rather, that he hoped for.)
The thoughts became a lot easier to chase off when Alex spotted the new arrival, and was immediately very amused.
Meanwhile, Carolyn had smiled a bit more and nodded when Vivian responded to her. "Thank you. So first, if you- huh?" The red dressed quadruplet's question was interrupted by Coralie arriving and suddenly asking several questions of her own. Carolyn had actually responded before Coralie had entered her field of vision, since one of the boys saw the scientist coming.
As the quadruplets were taken aback, and unsure of how to reinsert themselves in the conversation, Alex was abruptly chuckling as he walked up. "Seriously? You're trying too hard; it's like you hit every cliche in the-" Alex stopped abruptly as he got closer to Vivian, his eyes widening as he caught some of her scent, and his instincts flew into overdrive. "No mames! Vampira!"note he said in a hushed yet frantic tone, taking a step back and holding his arms out slightly. The hair on the back of his neck and all over his arms was standing on end, and the orange of his eyes was a bit more vibrant than normal as his fight or flight response was starting to trigger.
You are reading this.
Fwomph
Oddity High, Monday Morning
"Yeah. If all goes well, Blake and I should be able to take you in. There's enough room at home and well..."
She shifts her gaze to the side to look at Blake just kind of happily vibing next to Gill.
"Yeah, I think this could work out. It's just that for boring adult document reasons I gotta have an interview with you and get some stuff down on paper. You gonna be available after school today?"
It's clearly a case of backroom political albumizing.
Outside School
Coralie quickly hid her arms behind her back and grinned sheepishly. Privately, she was glad that this girl's nose wasn't able to pick up the smell of garbage and manure she'd been sporting thirty seconds prior to cleansing.
No sooner than Vivian had said 'Romania' was Coralie's full attention gained. Quickly, she dropped her grubby folded labcoat and rummaged to fish out her notebook and ballpoint pen. She spent the end of Vivian's explanation and a few seconds after hastily scribbling down the valuable lore before she forgot it.
"Ah, well, nooo, not quite. Haven't made the interstellar jump. Not yet anyway. You see, new friend, I actually come from a parallel universe thirty-three doors down the way." Coralie shifted into full lecturer mode, striding back and forth as she pontificated for all to hear. "In my world, the technology is advanced enough that society has made great strides in quantum engineering. The applications of this are many and varied, but various government research groups use it to observe alternate realities, and even send barges to colonise worlds where mankind never evolved. HOWEVER, yours truly was the first scientific genius, and so far the only one, to perfect a way to travel between alternative universes that already have people living in them! Thank you, thank you, hold your applause."
With her self-imposed ego boost, Coralie was already starting to act like her old self again. So engrossed was she that she completely overlooked Alex's burgeoning panic attack.
For the Horde!
Gill's eyes lit up with excitement as Blake's mom offered to take him in. She would just have to interview him after school. He bounced excitedly.
"YES! YES! ABSOLUTELY YES!" Gill exclaimed happily. "I'd love to speak with you after school! And I'd love to be part of your family! You have no idea how much this means to me! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" he cheered, He resisted the urge to sing in bliss, knowing full well the effect of his magical voice, considering what happened the previous Saturday.
Meanwhile, Jackie looked back at Vivian with unease, but when she said she had no intention of hurting anyone, she relaxed a little bit. She stood up, walking up towards Vivian and taking a tentative, but fearful, closer look at her.
"Are you... are you really a vampire?" Jackie asked. "And you're not gonna hurt us?"
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
Outside School
"Wait," Vivian tilted her head. "So you're telling me that there are other realities and universes out there? That's not just a thing writers invented to sell comic books? I uh... wow, I'm not really sure what to make of this. I wonder if there are worlds out there where being a vampire is considered normal, where there are neither vampire hunters nor vampire attacks."
She closed her eyes for a moment, wistfully hoping that there might be such a utopian place out there somewhere in the cosmos. She is brought out of her thoughts when Jackie, in spite of her earlier fear and apprehension, approaches her.
"That's correct," she affirmed. "I understand you may be scared right now. To tell you the truth? I’m a little bit nervous, too. I wasn’t really sure what sort of reaction everyone would have to me coming to this school."
Then she notices Alex. Oh dear, he’s quite on edge… She tries to calm him down as best she can.
"It’s alright," she attempts to reassure him. "Yes, I’m a vampire, but I promise I’m not going to bite you. Please, take it easy."
THE SLORG!
Monday, Little Haven, outside Oddity High - Alex Palencia the werewolf who is not ready for a supernatural blood feud.
Also starring Lynn Polyhymnia the quadruplets hoping that this won't be a daily occurrence.
Alex muttered quietly in Spanish, taking another step back as his body continued shaking, and getting sweaty. Vivian's words did little if anything to dissuade his fears yet. "S-sure, you won't try to kill me now, but what about later?" he asked, still on edge. "I-I swear, if there's some secret war going on between our people, I don't know anything about it! I didn't even know I was a werewolf, even a month ago! It's not fair to drag me into it!" the young lycan continued in a paranoid, almost frantic tone.
"Alternate universes? Werewolves too? How many surprises does this school have?" Carolyn wondered out loud, as she and the other quadruplets moved back slightly from the other students now.
"Hey, nobody's going to start a fight, yeah?" Linton asked in a concerned tone.
You are reading this.
Outside School
Vivian doesn't seem particularly surprised by Alex's admission of being a lycanthrope, indicating that she's probably met one of his kin before.
"So you're a werewolf," she said, now understanding why his body hair seemed to be moving on its own. "Ok, look. This is not Underworld, or some other hollywood movie. There is not some big secret war between vampires and werewolves - not as far as I know, at least. Here's what I do know. Both our kind are viewed as monsters by many people, to the point that there exist vampire and werewolf hunters. People that hate us so much that they want to kill us. I had an encounter with one, and had my identity as a vampire outed to the hunters in Romania. That's actually the whole reason I'm here."
She gives a sad sigh as she recalls this. There is a silent exasperation within her eyes as she finds herself uncertain of what to say, unsure of how to keep rephrasing that she doesn't want to attack people.
"The world is cruel enough to both our kinds. I see no reason that we should hurt each other."
THE SLORG!
Monday, Little Haven, outside Oddity High - Alex Palencia the werewolf who thankfully can sometimes listen to reason.
Also starring Lynn Polyhymnia the quadruplets who can listen to reason a lot of the time.
"Yeah, c'mon man calm down. This is just school, remember?" Linton added towards Alex, to reinforce what Vivian said.
Alex still looked very on edge, until he blinked as a realization hit him. The worry nearly vanished as a different, much larger priority took hold in his mind. "Wait, how much do you know about werewolves? What could you tell me?" he asked, ignoring the part of his mind still trying to be wary of what he could sense as a dangerous predator in front of him.
"You think she'd know more than you?" Linton half asked, half pointed out.
"I said I didn't even know I was one," Alex reminded the quadruplet in response, and shook his head. "I don't know why I am a werewolf, either," he added, in a rather frustrated tone.
"You don't? So you weren't attacked by one, like in stories?" Linton replied, in a confused tone.
"If I was, I don't remember it," Alex replied, folding his arms.
You are reading this.
Winner of Elim Game Round 78
Outside the school
Layla approaches Vivian slowly, tugging at her veil. "I... it's my first day. I've been on edge before then. I'm just afraid of how I'll do here myself." Layla was just hoping she can break the ice. As while Vivian didn't help her, she really was nervous prior to showing up.Mindy just listens in to Gill's excitement. She wonders what that's all about.
Outside School
"Well," Vivian began explaining. "Lycanthropy doesn't spread by biting or clawing people - maybe there's some odd exceptions to this, but that isn't the general rule as I understand it from any werewolf I've ever met. It's a genetic condition, passed down by one or both of the werewolves' parents. So… if you only found out about this a month ago, that means at least one of your parents didn't inform you of your condition. I can't help but wonder why that might be, given how important it is that you're able to prepare for full moon transformations when they happen."
It was not unusual for vampires and werewolves to live in the same areas, at least where Vivian grew up. If both your kinds are being actively hunted by humans, after all, you can't really afford a lot of in-fighting.
"So another important thing to know is how werewolves transform. You probably know this already, but werewolves do indeed transform during the full moon. There are other scenarios where this happens, however. It also commonly occurs when a werewolf is hungry and smells something tasty, most often meat, or when they encounter a dangerous situation and enter a fight-or-flight response. That, I believe, is what nearly happened when you saw me. Now, it is possible for you to transform at will, but that is something that will require you to get a better handle on your abilities. Definitely too advanced for someone who has only been aware of what they are for a month."
Being aware of her nature and the greater world of 'monsters' (at least, as most considered them) from the beginning gave her a considerable well of knowledge to draw from.
"What else… I know that you guys are allergic to wolfsbane. Oh, and not all werewolves become violent in their wolf forms - that's a misconception. Though I think that really depends on the person, so you need to figure out what your behavior is like when you're in your wolf form, if you don't remember afterwards. The other stuff is kind of obvious - you probably are already aware your kind has super strength, speed, senses, that sort of thing. But yeah, hopefully this information proves useful to you."
She nods to Layla as she sees her approaching.
"Don't worry too much about it, honestly. I understand that you're nervous, and I don't hold that against you. Hopefully over time, we can become more comfortable with each other and our 'oddities', as this school calls them."
Edited by HilarityEnsues on May 16th 2023 at 11:10:02 AM
THE SLORG!
Monday, Little Haven, outside Oddity High - Alex Palencia the werewolf who won't be going to school today.
Also starring Lynn Polyhymnia the quadruplets who will still be going to school.
Alex looked confused and doubtful when Vivian first mentioned lycanthropy being a genetic condition. However, as she continued and mentioned at least one of his parents not informing him, his expression turned to shock, a realization slowly but inevitably dawning on him, like a car crash in slow motion.
Alex just kind of stood there as Vivian kept talking, but he wasn't really listening to her. After Vivian's explanation was done and she briefly spoke to Layla, Lindon looked over with a somewhat confused look. "So you're saying, one of his parents would have to be a werewolf too? How would he not... Oh..." Lindon's expression changed to understanding while he was still looking at Vivian, as Linton and Carolyn were both still looking at Alex.
Alex was trembling, and scowling with an expression of rage; that particular, impotent rage of a rebellious teenager finding out that the world is inherently unfair, and having that knee jerk response of wanting to tear it all down.
With an expression of nervous concern, Carolyn took a step closer to Alex. "Hey, it's okay-" was all she managed to say before Alex turned and sprinted away down the sidewalk, going rather fast for a guy who was only five foot four. The quadruplets just stood there, and glanced at the other students with a worried expression, unsure of what to do.
Edited by FirockFinion on May 16th 2023 at 11:42:47 AM
You are reading this.
Monday, Little Haven, outside Oddity High - Lynn Polyhymnia the quadruplets now wondering what other classic monsters are real.
Carolyn's attention was next caught by the arrival of a new girl, who rather wore her shtick on her sleeve, as it were. "Well, if we were anywhere else, I would have said something about Halloween being too early," Carolyn said, and gave Vivian an acknowledging nod. "You're really a vampire, then, huh? I'm Carolyn, those are my siblings," the red wearing quadruplet added, motioning to the other three quadruplets, who each raised a hand in greeting without actually looking over at Vivian.
You are reading this.