Magical Teacher Professor Landry! - Episode 4: The Lady in White

[Krylo]

"To be fair," came a lilting voice from near the pavilion, "I don't think anyone should trust you right now. I don't know what happened to you, Diana, but you've been tainted by whatever it is... if that's even still you in there." The voice, of course, came from the faerie Dalbhach, in all his faeish glory, in case the normals forget that he no longer appears human. His face was rather serious, as he looked over the aura of the woman. He couldn't place it. Couldn't make it out, but it was WRONG. Twisted, and different.

The sudden hair color change didn't help either.

"I'll admit that I agree with most of what you're saying. We're in trouble, and there's more trouble coming. This bickering and arguing serves no purpose whatsoever," He said as he walked past her, keeping something of a wide berth between them. "And, indeed we all need to agree to work together, but I don't think swearing fealty is a reasonable request at the moment. If we must then I suggest..."

He stepped up to Jay sliding his rapier between the boy and the vines, and pulled back out and away, sliding the blade up and down, sawing at the thick rope-like strands, "That we follow..."

His eyes moved over the field looking for someone who seemed in full control of their faculties, a commanding presence. Adeline was busy trying to get scalding hot tea out of her face. Astarte was... being Astarte. Jack, Jay, and Sean were all tied up. He couldn't suggest himself, that would come off as a power play in such a situation. Kohana, however, stood strongly enough. He didn't know the boy, or know what had happened, but desperate times... and he did have one more ace up his sleeve if things broke down further.

Removing a hand from his sword, and ceasing his sawing for a moment, he pointed toward Koh, "Him."

Replacing both hands on his blade he resumed attempting to saw Jay out of the vines, after a moment he let out a slight sigh. "These vines are thick, and while I've no problem freeing all three of our classmates, I don't think we have the time to waste. How about freeing Jack or Sean as a show of good faith in the mean time?"

[Riin Whitewind]

As the last of the crystal fell away with a sound not unlike wind chimes, Sao gratefully stood with a lithe stretching motion. Giving her extremities a critical look, she noted with displeasure that Diana's bruise-colored creeping curse had spread to her as well. I knew it would happen before I committed to healing her. She is not to blame. Still, it was hard not to feel a little resentment... The dark-haired swimmer resisted the urge to smooth out her dress - that would only spread the curse to her fingers.

"Hey." Shin and her blue eyes broke through Sao's internal musings, trying to smile at the healer between two ivory tusks. "Someone needs help, and I can't heal like you can." At Sao's nod, the two rushed off towards the vine. Should I really risk healing again, though? I'm worried that something else might go wrong. Any further thoughts were wrestled away by the effort of climbing. She was so tired of all this. What she wouldn't give to bask in the sun next to her stream and listen to the fish take bugs from the surface of the water.

Clambering over the vine, and nearly losing her footing with her partially numb legs, Sao was surprised by her ''friend's'' sudden verbosity. Instead of giving it her full attention - Shin seemed to have whatever was going on inside the tent covered, after all - the healer's gaze was arrested elsewhere.

Crumpled into a ball outside the tent was the sorry figure of Adeline. Careful not to touch anything with her legs, the Undine knelt at her side. What she could see of Adeline's face around her fingers was red and puffy looking, and smelled strongly of tea. Hooking her arms under the light weight of the yellow-clad girl, Sao pulled her away from the tent, gently moving her toward the root they had just gracelessly climbed over.

"Let me see." Gently pulling the girl's hands away from her face, Sao noted with surprise and pride that Adeline had taken her pain stoicly - not even a single tear track marred that heat-stricken face. Maybe just a little healing won't hurt?... Concentrating power into her fingertips, the healer glowed a gentle, soothing green as her Healing Stream answered her call. With a smiled "This will help with the pain," to her patient, Sao moved to press her fingers to the burn.

[Overcast]

"Swear to obey me and I'll cut you loose!"

Her fist, her tone, her stance and everything about her reminded Jay of someone else, and this time it wasn't Landry. It was the opposite of Landry. Not about love and fightiology but pain and abuse, the darkness that he had been running from to come here, the grand source of all of his pain. The cinders in his guts started to burn, as the gun in his heart cocked back, Jay strained against the vines, the cracking returning under his tightening muscles.

But then Dal approached and started cutting him free.

For a moment Jay simply hung there listening, unlike before what Dal was saying didn't feel like a waste of his time. It didn't feel like dominance. I just felt like reasoning. The burning was slowly doused by Dal's words and when he pointed at Koh suggesting he lead Jay felt his arms steady and he nodded curtly, his mind back on point,

"You could say I've been wanting that for a while. He's the only one who has done anything right out here."

He stared at Diana a moment, his eyes betraying his feelings, a sort of disgust at her appearance, but he didn't speak. Trying to keep his mind on the task at hand, which was staying perfectly still so that Dal did not slip and nick something important.

They might just get out of this yet.

[Dracorion]

Jackson took a deep breath, trying to reason past the panic and desperation. It didn't work. "All right... I'll be calm if I can get rid of this curse before it drains me fucking completely!" He spoke in an elevated voice, not quite yelling. "If it's not gone soon, and it may already be past that point, then I'll be useless to you. So you can't believe how much I'd like to be free right now. I'll be calm afterward."

Another deep breath. Maybe he was being selfish, but... honestly, he wasn't nearly done yet. Even if a direct assault on Hannah had been proven to be folly, there were still things he could do if he had any juice left.

He shelfed Diana's weird aura manifestation as something to worry about later.

[SinrXIII]

Kohana had been watching the back and forth since Diana showed up, choosing to let the others yap like a group of mutts. He wasn't happy about it; they all seemed to realize that things were going to hell in a handbasket, but couldn't pull their heads out of their collective asses long enough to make progress.

City girl in particular was bugging him. She'd been overbearing before, but this... And when had her hair color changed?

"To be fair," came a lilting voice from near the pavilion, "I don't think anyone should trust you right now. I don't know what happened to you, Diana, but you've been tainted by whatever it is... if that's even still you in there." The voice, of course, came from the faerie Dalbhach, in all his faeish glory.

Kohana couldn't help but turn his lips up in a thin smile; the fairy was sharp.

"I'll admit that I agree with most of what you're saying. We're in trouble, and there's more trouble coming. This bickering and arguing serves no purpose whatsoever," He said as he walked past her, keeping something of a wide berth between them. "And, indeed we all need to agree to work together, but I don't think swearing fealty is a reasonable request at the moment. If we must then I suggest..."

He stepped up to Jay sliding his rapier between the boy and the vines, and pulled back out and away, sliding the blade up and down, sawing at the thick rope-like strands, "That we follow..."

Removing a hand from his sword, and ceasing his sawing for a moment, he pointed toward Koh, "Him."

Koh blinked. That had genuinely caught him off guard.

"Wait, what?"

"You could say I've been wanting that for a while. He's the only one who has done anything right out here."

Koh's hair fell over his face as he lowered his head. Though they couldn't see it, his mind was racing.

Puppy looked up at the shaman, face upside down. The wolf barked, causing Koh to smile again. He lifted his head, and shook his head to remove his hair from his eyes.

"We don't have time to fuck around. If you're serious, then alright. Let's smash a pretty face."

He tilted his head, looking at Hannah and her grandmother over his shoulder.

"As long as we focus on Teacher Shuyin, we should be fine. Wasting any more power here would be stupid, agreed?" He stepped forward, only slightly, and ran a hand through his hair.

He looked over the assembled, and frowned. "We need to get your three freed, quickly. Teacher Shuyin ain't gonna wait forever, and the more time we spend here, the less I trust the fucker. Weren't there more of us? Where are they?"

Koh flicked his eyes towards the pavilion; he'd seen movement there earlier, but hadn't caught who it was. "Let's get over there, soon. If we can force him off his homey little hut, we can rush him. Not even he could stop all of us at once, especially not if he's got a hailstorm to worry about." Could he? Koh wondered to himself as he stood in front of Hannah and Granny, tapping his foot.

He turned after a moment, and settled on one knee in front of the pair behind him. "Honored Spirit, Hannah Iriumi. I would be in your debt if you would be at my side in this fight. However, I will understand if you refuse and will remain behind, as I promised, if you ask it. I'd rather see this battle finished and our respective groups returned home without further malice or pain." He lifted his head to look at the both of them, eyes hard, if sincere.

"Please lend this humble shaman your aid."

[Astral Harmony]

"C'mon, let's stop fighting each other and get this over with," Astarte gave off a big sigh, unable to put up with all the melodrama. Were these people really supposed to be students?

Astarte approached Jay and Sean with a dutiful, yet impatient stride. While Dal worked on Jay, she started on Sean and her shaded amber aura came aglow, especially in her hands. "Don't squirm, Sean. You don't want my hands to touch you while I'm working on this," Astarte instructed him, then activated Ashes To Ashes, causing the restricting vines to start rotting. She intended to let them rot only so much that he could then break free of their own strength to buy time.

While she worked on Sean, she put Jack on her thoughts. The vines restraining him in particular seemed to be growing out of his own skin. Using Ashes To Ashes could put him in more danger than he already was if the curse affected both body and vines. She had the Astarte Drill, but she would sooner try to pry the vines away from his limbs with her own strength instead of drill them off.

[Arhra]

Shuyin had demonstrated he was more than able to defend himself.

Jo would have paled, were that possible, but girded her courage and tossed down her ultimatum.

Much to her surprise, the mummy behind her began speaking.

As Astarte spoke, Jo's mind raced through her options. Shuyin appeared to be an extremely capable fighter but for some reason had been taking a back seat to Hannah. From what she had seen of his abilities, she doubted she could handle him, even with Astarte's help.

Talking was getting them nowhere and her attempt to force the issue had backfired.

She wasn't sure what was happening outside, but what little scraps of sound made it to her ears sounded more like arguing than fighting. Was Hannah defeated? Shuyin was possibly the only enemy left standing. Except for whatever had happened to her clone on the east hallway?

Jo could, of course, try to run away. Retreat, restore her clones, reassess the situation and recapture the initiative. But wouldn't Shuyin also benefit from that? What was he capable of if left to his own devices?

Astarte finished her speech and left.

Jo felt a vast inner desolation as she made her choice.

The jotun was tempted oh so tempted to pull out, get as far away as possible and come back with the entire class in tow. But Jo knew in her heart of hearts that she could not do that. Shuyin was a danger to everyone. He could not be allowed any more chances to turn the precarious situation to his advantage or escape to plan a better trap for them another day. No matter the cost.

Jo straightened, her face a bleak mask. Her dark eyes shone with a wavering, liquid gleam. Even if it was hopeless, she'd never forgive herself if she didn't make the attempt.

Farewell to hopes and dreams.

"...I admit," Shuyin shook his head ruefully, looking at the point of Astarte's exit. "I was starting to wonder if her mother had removed her tongue when she was mummified." He turned back to Jo.

"In regards to your offer Ms. Imirsdotter, I do not particularly desire to associate with those who stoop to tactics of physical intimidation to get their way." Shuyin said. His face bore a warm smile. "I will request that you kindly remove yourself from my home, as your visage, quite frankly, sickens me."

"And, I will hasten to add, that you are only one person, no matter how many bodies you control. I strongly recommend that you consider the option of strategic retreat. As, I can assure you, so long as you are in my house, I have an insurmountable advantage."

Professor Shuyin wanted to be left to enjoy his tea in peace.

Jo's lips parted soundlessly for a moment and then noise came.

It was laughter.

The ugly, ugly sound forced its way out of Jo's throat in a single convulsive croak.

"Have you really hollowed yourself out that much?" Jo asked the fan-winged Shuyin. After that single involuntary outburst, her voice was dead. "Are you really nothing more than a caricature of yourself?" Where there should have been incredulity and disgust there was nothing. "You have scraped out your humanity, and for what?"

The tiniest trace of indignation crept into her hollow voice. "You have no right to drag us into your war, you tea sipping doll." It died again as Jo continued in a disinterested tone. "I will not allow you to do it again. You asked me what I would do faced with a superior enemy. I would do whatever is necessary. No matter what it cost me - me, no other."

A shadow loomed on the pavillion wall to her right. The white curtain parted and a muscular blue skinned ogre entered, club at the ready.

It must be Shin, of course.

"You." Chou said to Shuyin, "I request that you relinquish the talisman that binds us to this place immediately. Else tell me where on the other girl I can find it." Her face was stern, and her posture tense.

Jo didn't dare to hope, clinging to her bleak resolution.

The pale girl padded unhurriedly to the left, tracing a small arc of a circle with Shuyin at the centre. Her bare feet were almost silent on the marble dais. She glided to a halt, one foot on one of the cushions that had been used to kneel upon, ready to grip it with her toes and transfer it to her hand.

Shuyin was now faced with two very different girls, equidistant from him and ninety degrees apart.

"Shuyin has told me that the two means of collapsing of this place are either the death of Professor Landry, to fulfill the condition laid upon the Field, or Dalbach, because he is the one to have triggered it prematurely." Jo observed coolly.

"However he is, of course, a liar. What talisman do you speak of?"

[Bard The 5th LW]

"Swear to obey me and I'll cut you loose!"

That was disturbing. Sean was pretty much willing to say whatever he needed to until this point. But frankly, he was lost for words. Was this the nice girl who interviewed him the other day? Dal certainly questioned it (not that Dal was necessarily a valid source).

"Don't squirm, Sean. You don't want my hands to touch you while I'm working on this,"

"Th-thanks Astarte," Sean stuttered out as he noticed she seemed to be doing something to the vines. Were they getting weaker? Whatever she was doing certainly eluded his knowledge, but he was grateful for it. He was grateful for anything that let him not respond to Diana for a moment.

God that was unsettling.

As he began to jerk his arms to try and struggle free of the rotting roots, he took notice of Dal's nominating Kohana as leader. Kohana's nature the day earlier had certainly not inspired Sean, but this was little time for an argument. Also... Kohana did seem to try and reach a peaceful solution. Sean clearly disagreed with this course of action, he personally couldn't see it as a success, but Koh was certainly convincing enough to make the girl stop her advance.

As Koh spoke, he felt he couldn't just stay silent on his own. Maybe... he should give his reassurances? "All I want is this to end. Nothing else." He said to the group on the whole No speech, just his ultimatum. "Hopefully that's what we all want."

He gave a glance over at Jack. He couldn't quite see what was wrong with the boy, but it couldn't have been pleasant. He wanted to smash in pretty boy teacher as much as anyone else, but his violent impulsed were fading into the background as he remembered his motive for entering the conflict to begin with. All he wanted when he charged the referee was for no one to get hurt, on either side! Hannah and Shuyin were merely exceptions along the way. Jack was clearly hurt and if Sean wanted to stick then he'd have to be sure that Jack was okay before he rushed off to fight.

(OOC: Going to let Teal decide how effectively Sean is removing the vines)

[Girasol of Chaos]

The coal-eyed girl quickly approached the bluenette on his other side, in what appeared to be an attempt to intimidate the man into talking. Chou didn't think that would work, and remained in her position, neutral to the silent plan.

"Shuyin has told me that the two means of collapsing of this place are either the death of Professor Landry, to fulfill the condition laid upon the field, or Dalbach, because he is the one to have triggered it prematurely." The pale girl looked strangely calm for the fact that she was attempting to threaten an obviously dangerous individual.

Chou's eyes turned back towards the man named Shuyin, to check his reaction. The girl continued, "However, he is, of course, a liar. What talisman do you speak of?"

"A space like this is bound to an object, and destroying that object allows one to be freed of the space." This fact spilled from between the oni's tusks with confidence. "It is possible to bind an individual to this sort of dimensional field." Her brow furrowed with doubt. "However, that is not only extremely dangerous but is considered an idiotic maneuver, unless you do not value the life of the individual you bind it to.' Sizing up the adult she closed her eyes in an attempt to sense if the talisman could be felt from this man.

"When I first approached Mr. Shuyin and his ally, I could sense that the source was from one of the two." Her eyes opened again, in case the man would strike in response. "Therefore, I don't think the other individuals you mentioned are a part of this binding."

Chou's heart beat quickly. She was calming down a little due to having an apparent ally now, but it provided little comfort concerning the man before her. The blue-skinned girl remained on guard.

[Steel Shadow]

"To be fair, I don't think anyone should trust you right now." The voice was unexpected, but not unfamiliar. "I don't know what happened to you, Diana, but you've been tainted by whatever it is... if that's even still you in there."

"Huh? Dal, what's that supposed to-" Di looked back and froze. There was a moment of stunned silence from the Director as Dal continued talking, and then- "Oh my god you're a fairy!"

... It was pretty obvious that Di was not really paying attention to what people were saying after that point. Instead she was tilting her head and circling around Dal to try and get a full view of his true form. By the time he'd managed to get to the end of nominating Kohana as leader, she'd doubled back around again and closed some of the distance, leaning forward to poke at one of his wings...

"These vines are thick, and while I've no problem freeing all three of our classmates, I don't think we have the time to waste. How about freeing Jack or Sean as a show of good faith in the mean time?"

"Hm? Wha?" The statement directed at her aparently broke her out of the strange trance she'd been in, just before she could touch him. "Oh. Right. Mmm, fine, but only becuase you're pretty," she replied, bright smile on her face. Then her expression darkened. "Though fairy or no, you're the one freeing him." She gave Jay a flick of the head. "He's your responsibility now. So... Enjoy!"

The apparent washing of her hands done, she turned and walked over to Jack, taking quick strides and kneeling next to him. "See? Told you I'd be here soon. Now lemme look here..."

Hissing between her teeth, she grabbed ahold of Jack with one steadying hand and lifted her sword with the other. Quickly, but carefully, she began to cut away at the apparent source of the vines...