[ You all sit in one of the many tree-shaded fields that dot the campus of the Bygasse School for Adventuresome Youngsters. Most of these fields are commonly used for the more combat-oriented classes, such as the one you're waiting for, but they're pleasant enough when not covered in blood that people sometimes just come here to enjoy the surroundings. Especially students inclined towards being rangers or druids. ] [ The instructor for this class, Professor Arthur Combaticus, has yet to arrive, but this is not normal - whenever he has a class outside of an actual classroom, he usually gets involved in a few duels on the way to class. Thus, you have time to kill before you are instructed in the killing of other things.] [ Minisession start! ] * Tia looks cheerful, her tail wagging absently. She seems to be trying not to fidget too much, but her claws clench and unclench the grass underfoot, tearing out random chunks and tossing them to either side. * HKenji kneels in a patch of pleasantly shaded grass in his usual immaculately clean kimono, holding a brush at the ready as he contemplates his latest poem. ( Describe yerselves, of course. You know the routine. o/` ) * Seylin is perched in one of the trees, wings folded behind her, legs idly dangling over the edge. She's a tall, thin girl, with auburn hair that comes just past her shoulders, and pale grey eyes. And wings. Large, white-feathered wings. (Err, edge of a branch.) * Tia stands out from the other students quite drastically, especially since she towers at least a foot over many of them. From waist up, she appears to be a young human woman with slightly draconine ears, fair skin, a muscular build, and long reddish-blonde hair in a loose, roughly waistlength braid. From waist down, however, her body is that of a silver-blue dragon. She is dressed in an adamantine breastplate and carries a huge double-edged greataxe over her shoulder. * Patrick leans back against the tree Seylin's on. He's a fairly average looking boy with grey eyes, short black hair, and a few freckles on his face. His skin's lightly tanned, and he's a bit on the tall side, as well as being very well built. A quiver's at his side, as is the backpack brand that is oh-so common here: The Haversack brand. * Hkenji whips his brush quickly across the paper, scribing in just a few seconds an entire poem, then carefully cleans the brush, packs it away, and stands, letting the poem dry. He stands quite short for a human, just over five feet, but unlike many small people, he's a tad on the heavy side, though much of that is masked by his kimono, done up in light yellow and brown. His black hair is kept neatly in a topknot, and beside the small writing desk sits the school's signature backpack. ( And yes, Haversack Inc. Deos great buisness on this campus. ) (Aha. XD) ( I just figured they put the apprentice mages to making them for detention. :P ) (*snicker*) ( *snerk* ) * Tia is standing a little ways from the tree where Seylin and Patrick are located, but she glances in their direction and winks. * Patrick smirks the smirk of smirkyness. * Seylin peers at Tia and grins. * HKenji walks slowly over to this gathering-tree. "You look as though you're planning some mischief." * Tia 's tail beats a merry tattoo on the ground, causing some students to turn and wonder why the earth is shaking. Mischief? * Seylin stifles a giggle. * Tia looks perfectly innocent, but she smiles at the stranger. Of course, _I_ know you'd never plot such a thing, especially not just before a class that allows you to drench the trees with blood. * Seylin makes a face briefly, although her face is probably conveniently hidden behind some branches. * Tia is grinning fit to split her face in two, though her expression has the bemused look of one who doesn't understand what's going on. (Robin, is this their -first- class?) ( "Heehee! That's funny! ...I think." ) ( I strongly doubt it. ) (Oh, wait. You said they're graduating. Durr.) (Does this mean they should know each other already?) ( They're prolly all juniors or seniors by now. If nothing else, they prolly nkow *of* each other. ) We wouldn't? Of course not. And you certainly wouldn't let me in on it. * Patrick nods. "Well, that would make the most sense, wouldn't it? I mean, an upstanding gentelman like yourself would never consort with the kind that would play a prank just before a most interesting class." * Tia nods enthusiastically. Of course not. And, as we are talking right now, that makes us the least likely suspects, if suspects at all. * Tia looks at Patrick. "Why would we be suspects...?" * Seylin busies herself with braiding her hair, since right now it's hanging loose around her shoulders. She's grinning madly, though her face is mostly hidden by the branches. [ Meanwhile, two students from rival on-campus houses are having an argument just out of earshot. These two houses tend to get into lots of fights, so the argument probably isn't very interesting. ] (A PLAGUE ON BOTH YOUR HOUSES!) I also wouldn't think of taking said exploit and immortalizing it by painting a tributory poem somewhere exceptionally visible. Completely anonymously, of course. * Patrick grins. "Because we're not." ( I bite my thumb at you! ) * Tia looks delighted. "Wow, you write poems?" * Patrick nods. "Where would the work of art stand?" I certainly try, though I often fall short of my goal. * Tia bends down and tries to decipher the brush strokes on Kenji's paper. * Seylin , satisfied that things are in order, jumps from the tree and glides the short distance down to land next to Patrick. * Patrick turns to Seylin. "So, how long were you waiting up there? I know you were here before me." :P Were I to do such a thing, I would certainly do it on someplace exceptionally visible. Perhaps the front of Stone Fist Hall? [ The Stone Fist is a rival house, consisting mostly of fighters and barbarians - in short, the obnoxious jocks of the adventuring world. ] * Seylin giggles. "Oh, not that long." She peers at Kenji. [ Night nice fighters and barbarians, either. Nu-uh. ] (So who is in which house?) Hypothetically, of course, I'm not sure they would appreciate the full extent of your poetry. You must make it exceptionally accessable to the simpletons. ( If there is such a thing, than Kenji would likely be housed in "Pen and Sword Hall" with the Bards. ;_; ) [ So far? I've got Tia, Seylin, and Patrick in the Flying Couches house. No, really. ) (*cracks up*) (Serious? o.o Haha!) (Yay!) (@_@) (Woot!) * Tia frowns. "But I don't like the people in Stone Fist..." she begins dubiously. Why would you want to put one of your nice poems there? * HKenji grins deviously at Tia. "That... is exactly the point." * Tia thinks this over for a little while. * Patrick grins. "I like your style." ( You can almost hear the gears turning in Tia's head. ...anyone got some WD40? ) * Tia looks blank. (HAHA. XD) "I don't get it." ( WD40. One of the two sacred tools. ) (Sure it's not Sofa Del Vuelo?) The idea, dear lady, is that the Stone Fisters will not understand the poem... but everybody _else_ will. ^_^ Oh! * Patrick looks over. "So, what do you have there?" * Tia grins widely. (I do believe we have another prankster... Oh dear.) * Seylin giggles again. "I gotta agree with Patrick... I *like* your style." ( I'm lawful good, but when the law of the land is inter-house warfare... MWAHAHAHAHAHA! ) (^_^) ( There's nothing strictly against the rules about this, after all. ^_^) ...I like it too. You have a very pretty robe. I'm thinking we can make it look like a... celebratory thing. You know, with the banners and things. That way, they'll think it's something very important... * HKenji smiles. "Why thank you, dear lady. Might I be favored with your name?" I like, I like! * Tia grins. "Tia!" She holds out a meaty hand. "And what's yours?" * Patrick shakes his head if/when Kenji decides to grab it. * HKenji hesitantly takes Tia's hand. "Ikoma Kenji, of the Hosokawa." (Descretly, might I add.) * Tia shakes Kenji's hand vigorously. Her grip is strong. Very strong. o_<;; * Seylin stifles yet another giggle when Kenji takes Tia's hand. * HKenji easily maintains his smile, even though his grip is nowhere nearly as strong as Tia's. I am pleased to make your acquaintaince. Nice to meet you! I like your name, too....ah, Ik...Iko... Just Kenji, miss Tia. Oh, okay! Nice to meet you, Kenji! * Tia thumps her tail on the ground. * Tia motions to her two friends. "This is Patrick, and this is Seylin. We blow up couches!" And I imagine you do that quite well. * Patrick shakes his head. "She jests, I assure you." He winks. I am pleased to make your acquaintances. * Tia nods proudly. "Patrick is really good at it, too." * Seylin grins. "Well, that's not *everything*..." * HKenji bows deeply to Patrick, and even more deeply to Seylin. And it's nice to meet you, too! * Seylin smiles pleasantly. * Patrick bows, remembering his manners. * Seylin bows back as well as she can. * Tia follows suit. * HKenji smiles pleasantly back at Seylin and reaches into his kimono sleeve, slowly withdrawing a small flower. He offers it with only a slight flourish. For me? Thank you! * Seylin takes the flower and tucks it behind her ear, then smiles again. "You're very polite." Such is the task of the Omoidasu. I am pleased that you have enjoyed my small and insignificant gift. ( *resists the urge to have Sakura blossoms stream by Kenji in the wind* ) (Haha!) ( Save that for when he has superhuman charisma. :P ) (Hee. ^_^) ( He's only got an 18 right now. :P ) ( Which won't be too long. ^.~ ) (*cackles* ouuu~!) (I already got superhuman dex. :P) (And Tia's got the superhuman str *cackle*) (Heh, but I guess she's not human, so it doesn't count, eh?) (Same here. ^_~) ( Now, now, kids. ^.~ ) (*chews on GM's shoes*) So, what do you like to do besides write poetry? Oh, oh! Can you make music? * HKenji scowls. "Do you mistake me for a bard?" (*cackles) You don't necessarily have to be a bard to make music. But I guess we should take that as a no. * Tia looks disappointed. "No music?" Not unless you count the lamentations of the women who belonged to my slain foes. ...what are lamentations? You know, I bet you can make a song with that... I don't think I'd be very good at lamentations, though. And I'd rather that I didn't have to do them. Not fun at all. Are lamentations like exams? * Tia winces. Not exactly. Nope! They're sad things. Wailing, sad songs... grieving. Definitely not fun. But it is not something you are likely to be doing anytime soon. Unless you fail your exams, mind. ...Oh, okay. * Tia looks fretful all of a sudden. "Do you think I failed my exams?" [ By now, the two students who were arguing have formally challenged each other to a duel. One of the wizards who acts as judge of such things has appeared from thin air and is casting the spells that'll keep the two kids from hurting eachother too badly. ] Nah, you probably did just fine. I am sure you did well enough. * Tia brightens. "I hope so!" She looks over toward the duel. Oh my, a duel. What fun, eh? * Seylin looks over. "Oh, not again." I want to watch! ( "But Tia, you seem to know all the answers. How'd you dail the test?" "I... I think I forgot to write my name on the test form." "..." ) (*sniggers*) Let's hope this one doesn't go like the last one. Man, I don't think they'll ever get all that blood out. * Seylin makes a face. "Yeah. So messy." * Tia doesn't seem to mind any of the things the others have mentioned. She charges toward the front row, so she can have a closer look. Yes... the duels here are so messy. So little like the Battoujutsu duels of my home. You have unmessy duels? * HKenji strolls calmly towards the duel, gathering his pack and writing desk along the way. (Hitokiri Battousai!) * Seylin looks over at Patrick. "You want to go watch, too?" Our duels are often messy, but the mess is usually well contained, because the loser dies in a single strike. * Tia has scattered a bunch of students and is now standing near the front. She turns and waves madly for the other to come over. Over here! I saved you guys spots! * Tia grins more. * HKenji continues his sedate stroll towards the massive... whatever she is. * Patrick grabs his quiver and backpack. "Too bad the instructors always tell me to hold back.." * Tia is stamping her forepaws in excitement. * Seylin sighs and grabs her backpack as well, slinging it over one shoulder. "There are better things to do than to just go charging in at people. Really." Most certainly. [ The duel begins! There's a lot of cursing and inappropriate gesturing, and then the two - both using longswords and shields, as the case would be - start clashing. There's nothing exceptional about either combatant, but hey, it's a fight! ] FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! * HKenji yawns a little. * Tia cheers emphatically, though not for any particular side. * Patrick eyes the two combatants. "Sloppy stance, for one." They both need improvement. * Seylin peeks at the duel. "Ehh. Lame. And he's leaving his guard *way* open." * Tia looks down at the other three. "Isn't this fun?" [ One needs more improvement than the other, it seems, as he begins steadily loosing. Too bad not everyone has the adrenal gland of a Dracotaur, or you'd find it as enjoyable as Tia. ] * HKenji smiles a little. "It may, perhaps, be better than nothing." * Tia swings her arms and flails her limbs in imitation of the two duelists. It's okay, I guess. Heehee! * Patrick shrugs. "There's a weak point in the left one's armor. One quick strike to the elbow would disable his sword-arm."" * Tia is beginning to churn the ground underfoot into a fine mess with all her prancing about. Yeah, but is his opponent going to notice that? Not likely. He seems content to attack the shield. They have much room for improvement, but they have time. Years yet before graduation. I imagine none of us were much better at that age. [ A druid student, meanwhile, is grumbling while replacing the divots Tia left at the last spot. ] (Heh.) True enough. * Seylin grins. "I was better! At other things, though." (Hahah XD) [ And then one of the combatants does notice that opening, and takes advantage of it, giving his opponent a good cut on the arm and thus drawing first blood, which was the condition of the duel. They must not be used to the whole Resurrection spell thing yet. ] (Of course not. I'd take one of them out in one hit.) * Tia roars a mighty cheer. First blood? Now that is *lame*. There is no dishonor in dueling to first blood. [ The two seconds go to the looser, one administering a healing spell while the other reminds him that, under the conditions of the duel, he must behave as would a dog in the middle of one of the more popular on-campus restaurants during lunch tomorrow. And that dogs tend to be naked. ] ...Aww. It's over? I myself fought a number of duels to first blood before coming here, though I preferred things such as duels of Go and poetry. What's Go? Um... a game, right? Yeah, I think it is. * Tia , already distracted, has almost forgotten about the duel already. Yes, a game. A game of stones, territory, and war. Stones! I'm good at throwing stones! Can I play? Strategic games? I like those! Would you teach me to play sometime? Please? If that's all right, of course. I will do what I can to teach you, if that is your wish. I am, at best, a mediocre player, unfortunately. * Patrick smiles. "It seems the ladies want to learn how to play." * Tia nods. "Yes! I want to play!" ( Yes, the game Go, created in ancient days by the legendary Hikaru. ) (*sniggers* I didn't know that series was popular...) And I could teach you, um, well, maybe I could help you study for something. Thank you! There is no need for such a thing. This is my gift to you. ( Hikago is WILDLY popular. ) Most important thing's first, though. (Maha sucks at go x_X) ( The manga's already been licensed. ) (Whoa. A couple years ago, it was virtually unknown! o.o) When do you want to conduct the extracurricular activites? * Seylin smiles. "You're very nice!" She then looks at Patrick. "Oh, yeah." She grins. ( Thank Toriyamaworld.com ) (It's awsome. *_*) More important things....? I think that perhaps later this week would be most advantageous, given that the Stone Fisters will be taking exams. Works for me! Okay! * Tia grins. (pekopeko x_X) ( Pacopaco! ) ( Azalyn-chan! ) [ And about now, Professor Combaticus finally shows up. Which means it's time for class, and that the game should draw to a conclusion for now. ^_~] (Haha! XD Who's Azalyn-chan?) * Patrick smirks. (Aww, we can't show off our mad combat sk33lz?) (D'oh.) ( Empress Azalyn, from Irresponsible Captain Tylor. ) ( I gotta get to bed soon anyway. ) (Yagh, it's almost my bedtime, too. :( ) (Ahh, okay. I've only watched 1 ep of that. :) ) (Man, I ran out of Twinkies... :( ) (Twinkies... *shudder*) ( Get Zingers instead. Twinkies with FROSTING! ) (Sorry, Zeg. I forgot you don't like 'em. :) ) [ Session End! I guess. ] ^_^