diatuooc | Test Drive #2

Test Drive #2

That Wand Is a Wonder!

You pulled down a book from a tall shelf in the Library of Starchime and promptly got hit in the head by a wand that was resting atop it. It looks innocuous, a cylinder of wood, but as soon as you pick it up, light streams out of the end. The barest motion is enough to make fantastic colors, and with a gesture you send light streaming across the library!

Light is all it does, right? Right?

Pranks for the Memories

Diatu Magicademy is a school -- one with different social groups, different Houses, different classes, different levels of experience... in short, pranks are inevitable. The latest one to make the rounds is the Sticky Glyph: step on a certain mathematical rune and the next person you touch sticks to you like glue. Casually brush against them, shake their hand, bump backwards into them -- however you did it, you have a new friend now, like it or not. The glyph wears off in about an hour -- do you wait it out, ask for help, or try to undo it yourself?

The Dueling Club

One of the more popular magical clubs, the Dueling Club is precisely as it sounds: wizards crossing spells, each trying to be the one to 'defeat' their opponent. How to do that varies by the sort of duel -- knocking your opponent off a platform, or getting them wet, or just good old rendering them unable to keep dueling. Less experienced students, like you, get the "water duel" treatment. Use your spells to get your opponent off of their stool in a small pool of water before they do the same to you! Losing means soggy shoes and a laugh at your expense; winning means pride, respect, and a chance for advancement into the club's informal ranks.

Chimera!

Transporting chimera is highly illegal without proper permits -- which is precisely why smugglers do it, and precisely why smugglers are valiantly struggling to extinguish their airship, while the beast responsible ambles down the gangplank and people flee like crazy. A small chimera, its shoulders are about shoulder height to a man. The goat head jabs at the cargo and building it passes, the lion head maintains a watchful forward guard, and the dragon head has taken the "burn it all, burn it all!" approach to greeting its new circumstances.

This is your chance to be a hero, and save the city of Anastara from certain doom at this beast's claws, heads, horns, and fiery breath. Or your chance to run like heck and hope it doesn't notice you.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Nessa didn't think anything of it either--every place she'd ever been had its hustle and bustle of people, and Diatu Magicademy was no different. Didn't bother her a whit--until the large fella who'd brushed up against her started dragging her along with him.

That was a little bit startling, to be honest. But he seemed sheepish about it, and about as surprised as she was.

"Gonna guess you didn't expect this either," she chirped up at him brightly. At least the arm she was stuck to him with was the one not holding her guitar, so she wasn't inclined to be upset about it yet, if at all.

Hunk shook his head, looking plenty embarrassed. "Man, this place is weird," he sighed, noting that the other girl seemed pretty relaxed about this whole thing. "This has to be a magic thing, right? But we haven't learned anything about this sort of stuff in my classes, yet."

"Yeah, it is," Nessa agreed. Even being from a place where magic was really real didn't mean she didn't think it was weird, or the Tenscore Kingdoms were weird, too.

"Let me borrow your arm a sec," since that's where they were connected. She managed to sling her guitar over the unoccupied shoulder, and tried to push herself off him a little, to no avail. She didn't think it was because she was doing it one-handed, either.

"Yeah, me neither, they're still covering the basics. Hey, could be worse, you could be really grumpy about all this!" Nessa said cheerfully. "Or I could, but that wouldn't be like me. Well, if you're busy we could try to find a teacher, they probably could dispel it. That or we could wait it out. It'd be an interesting way to say we made a new friend. I'm Nessa, by the way. I'd shake hands, but." She just laughed, then.

That had been worth a shot, at least. Hunk forced a smile and shrugged his free shoulder. "Yeah, I guess it could be - you're being really cool about all this."

Which he appreciated, even if he found it a little strange. But Hunk was the kind of guy who tended to catastrophize. On that note, he wasn't entirely sure they should just wait this out - who could say how long it'd last? But... She seemed nice, this Nessa. Hunk's smile grew more genuine.

"Nice to meet you, Nessa. My name's Hunk."

"Well, it's not gonna help if I flip out, right? You didn't do this on purpose, why should I get mad?" That didn't make sense to her. It wasn't really scary after a brief moment, just kind of weird. There were worse things, in Nessa's scope.

When he introduced himself, her grin got just a bit wider. "Is that your name, or what you are? Nice to meet you too, though!"

She laughed a little at that, but then patted him where they were connected. "Okay, okay. So what do you want to do about our little predicament, then?"

"Right... Thanks," he chuckled, only to quickly blush when she made the joke about his name. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, then opened them with another small laugh. He could do this - it was just talking to someone. That wasn't scary, at least. "It's really my name. And... I guess we can give it a little time. If things go on for a few hours, then maybe we should find a teacher."

Nessa just grinned again for a moment. "I can think of a lot of worse things to do than talk to a nice guy, though, if you ask me. And you seem like a nice guy. So tell me about yourself, then? Or is that too much putting you on the spot?"

She nodded, then. "I hope it doesn't go on that long, we'd have to flip a coin or something to see who misses class, though I'd be happy to let you win. Or help sweet talk your teacher if you lost. I don't like the idea of anyone getting in trouble over a prank. Though this is kinda harmless, as they go."

No one was really getting hurt, after all. It was just a little awkward. Or maybe a lot awkard, depending on who you asked.

"Thanks," Hunk mumbled. Yeah, to him, this fell more into the a lot awkward department. He'd been around just the same handful of people for so long, after all. Socializing with anyone beyond the other Paladins was stressful, now. Still, they were stuck together, and she did seem very sweet. The least he could do was tell her a little about himself.

"Well, I was studying to be an aerospace engineer for Galaxy Garrison, which is space exploration and military work. Um..." He pauses, trying to decide if he wants to bring up the whole 'Paladin of Voltron' thing. It's not that he has any reason not to, it just sounds like bragging in his head. "But me and some friends ended up doing some other stuff."

Ugh, that sounded so dumb. He shook his head. "But what about you? You play guitar, right?"

"Space exploration? Okay, no, now that is cool. I guess where I come from isn't as technologically advanced as where you're from? Still, that rocks! I take it that wasn't boring, was it? It doesn't sound boring to me!" She grinned up at him. "And doing stuff with friends is always cool!"

Not that she had enough friends to really know...But hey, that could change!

"Yeah, I love music! I play guitar, and I can play a couple other instruments. Piano is easy. I've played the oboe too--I like it because the sound can be so eerie and haunting. I'd like to learn to compose someday, but I wonder if I'm up to it. Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?"

Test Drive #2

Pranks for the Memories

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