Aldertree Institute for the Magically Distressed.

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{slide=Gideon|center} Gideon heard the commotion as it happened, and wanted to stab the people who were so inconsiderate they'd make such a din while his head was still pounding. First, Roo ran by him, hiding in the cleaning closet. His ears heard Alex's low growl of a voice, and he suddenly realized why the little dude had decided to run away. As he looked over that way, he saw Alex and Maddie conversing - well, as much as Maddie could converse with anyone - and he felt conflicted. On one hand, he felt like he should move to be by Maddie's side, in case Alex hulked out again; he couldn't help but feel a kinship with the girl, since their curses seemed to have a similar root. Still, seeing him might cause Alex to hulk out again, and he was unsure if he could handle her again so soon. A sharp throb of pain coursing through his head seemed to confirm that thought.

On the other hand, Roo seemed to be terrified, and, unlike Maddie, probably didn't know how to process what was going on. He vaguely recalled memories of how insecure and upset he'd felt his first day in boarding school, and thought he likely needed the help more. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go check on my little buddy. I'm sorry for leaving so rudely" Getting up, he looked over at Meldito one last time and noticed just how shabby the man looked compared to him. His brow furrowed and he reached into his pocket. Digging out a couple crumpled $50 bills, he tossed them at Meldito. "I know what happened earlier wasn't your fault; if we could control ourselves, we wouldn't be here. Take this and replace whatever you lost." He said, turning away and walking toward the closet. "It looks like you need it a little more than I do." With that said, he walked away toward Roo's hidey hole, thinking about everything again.

He still didn't like Meldito, but now that he wasn't as irritable, he knew that the man couldn't really be held responsible for it. Besides, it was his own jackassery that put his shoes at risk, and Meldito had tried to warn him. It wouldn't hurt him to forgive and forget, and the money was inconsequential compared to what he still had hidden in his bags. Before he'd made the trip here, he'd taken everything left in the gang's hideout - a couple hundred grand, total - so it wasn't like he'd be running out soon.

Reaching the door, he opened it and quickly shut it back, finding Roo hiding among the cleaning supplies. Sliding down to sit on the floor with his back against the wall, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bag of gummy candy, offering it to Roo. He let out a small chuckle at the image - a strange man, hiding in the closet, giving a little kid candy to get him to come closer - and smiled at Roo. "You alright little dude? Don't worry, Alex won't hurt you, I promise." He smiled a little more, trying to be reassuring. "Maddie and I made sure you were safe last time, right? We'll do it again if we need to."

@Vaila @conman2163 @Ythania

Mentioned: @IceQueen @Red Rabbit
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{slide=Manna|center}It had been a long time since Manna had had any particular destination in mind, but it was a welcome change. Normally he simply roamed from town to town, going wherever his feet led him, trying to help whoever was in need. When he'd made it to seattle though, he'd been smacked in the face with a flyer that had been kicked up by a strong wind. As he pulled it off, he looked it over. Aldertree Institute for the Distressed. Help always wanted. Nurse Position Open. As he glanced over the flyer, he noticed something on the bottom, something that only he could see.

सर्वं भवता करणीयम् इति न । अहं तत्र आगत्य साहाय्यं करवानि ।

It's not necessary to go through this alone. Let us help you. The words were in the language of the witches, something only those touched by magic could see, let alone read. He looked over the letter for an address and noticed it was all the way down the coast. "Really? How the heck did it get all the way here?" he said to himself. He figured it was at least worth a shot; it couldn't be worse than just continuing wandering. Sitting at the bus station, his lone bag slung over his shoulder, he lit a cigar and waited for the next bus to Heldsburg.

TWO DAYS LATER
Manna slowly walked up the main pathway to the expansive mansion. He'd noticed the new arrivals coming up the drive when he arrived, but decided hang behind for a while and watch the situation unfold. As everyone went inside, he found a secluded spot away from everyone, dropped his bag to the ground, and sat against a tree. He popped out a vial of his meditation brew and downed it in one gulp before closing his eyes and dropping into a trance. He began chanting in the witch language, his scar glowing as his energy focused itself and his mind wandered.

He stayed like this for the next several hours, acclimating himself to the area's energy flow, and slowly becoming used to the signature of each of the cursed inside. Claudette, the emotionless one with a heart as hard as granite. Alexandra, with her animal nature laid bare. Gideon, the loudmouth who seemed to be more interested in exploiting his powers for his own gain than anything else. Matrona, the poor girl who wanted nothing more than to sing, or even talk. Maldito, the man ruled by fear. Roo, the poor kid whose only desire was to be normal, and not have Alien blood...He let a tear drop as he began to attune himself to the various energies. So much trauma, so much sorrow flowing over the grounds...As he came down from his trance, he stood up, the light of the early evening sun warming his bare back. It was time to go and meet his new patients it would seem.

He opened the door and stepped inside just in time to see the small child run off, and the loudmouth follow him. At the table, he noticed what he assumed would be the man in charge, sitting next to the heartless one, Claudette. "Umm, excuse me. Dr. Mayhew, correct? I'm here for the job as a healer, if it's still available." He said, feeling uncharacteristically nervous all of a sudden.

@Vaila
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"Don't call me kitty cat." Maddie lifted both hands up with her palms outward, a small grin lazily sprawling along her mouth at the silent signal of submission and agreement. "I would just walk in there but I highly doubt they serve red meat, if any meat at all. Besides, what am I supposed to do. I nearly killed everyone, again." Her head tilted to one side before slowly reaching forward to retrieve the paper from Alex's grasp. It didn't cross her mind just how tempting and edible she might be in a silly little outfit unintentionally designed to look like easy prey. She withdrew the page and placed it against the back of her journal before flipping the hood off, hoping the damp, bright colored hair on her head might be less appealing.

She shifted and inched closer to the girl so they could both see the parchment as she wrote: "OK, no kitty-cat. How about 'Tiger'?" The mute was trying to be playful, not entirely understanding that it might come off as rude and insensitive. "Meat is protein, I'm sure they have meat." Hazel orbs rolled after the sentence was completed, the smile still lingering on her features. Without a pause she continued. "You go in and apologize, I guess. No one was murdered though, so you shouldn't feel too bad. It's just..." Her lips pursed while trying to figure out the English translation of the Russian word that meant instincts. "Natural," she scribbled instead.

Matrona watched Alex from the corner of her eyes for a moment then turned her attention back to the red-covered sheet. "Let's go in. If they don't serve you meat, I'll shamelessly raid the kitchen for you." With that she tucked the page away so others wouldn't be able to read their conversation and offered the shifting woman her right hand to take. Hopefully it would encourage her to go in and finally eat, even if it was at the cost of a little embarrassment on her behalf for wearing ridiculous pajamas.

@IceQueen
 
Alex looked at the girl in front of her with a slight grin, looking down at the paper. "Relax, I am not going to eat you. I don't have enough strength in these cracking bones for that." She mumbled, rolling her eyes as she leaned back against the small piece of wall. "Apologizing isn't my forte. In fact I don't know if I can apologize for something like this. Not since it will probably happen again. Inevitably the next time I get hungry or irritated, which, admittedly is quite common now." She grumbled, looking down at the piece of paper that she had passed back. Looking over at Maddie, Alex couldn't help but think of her curse. 'Poor girl, cant even speak a sentence without spouting bubbles.' She thought to herself, shaking her head. A wave of mixed emotions passed over her for a moment and she looked at the rest of the note. "If they don't have meat, I don't think you will be the one raiding the kitchen."

Offering a tight smile, Alex turned the corner and walked into the dining room, giving a careful glance to all the people in the room before pulling up a seat as far away as possible, and sitting down. Thank the gods Gideon had left earlier, or she would have probably tried to claw him. Or worse, bite him, spill blood all over the table. She really was going to hurt him thought, her head still felt like it was imploding. "I hope you have meat." Alex half growled, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms as she gazed at the people in the room.
@Red Rabbit @Vaila @Gateman
 
"You alright little dude? Don't worry, Alex won't hurt you, I promise." He smiled a little more, trying to be reassuring. "Maddie and I made sure you were safe last time, right? We'll do it again if we need to."
Ryuunosuke heard the door open and haphazardly tossed a box of soap towards the entrance. Luckily, he missed Gideon by a couple of inches. Somehow, the little boy had managed to clamber up onto the highest shelf and squish himself between bottles of bleach and a dustpan. The position itself was precarious enough, let alone the fact he was surrounded by hazardous chemicals. His eyes were wide with fear instead of curiosity this time, and for a moment he simply remained quiet.

No child can resist the temptation of sweets, however. Gently, Ryuunosuke lowered himself from his perch, sliding down a mop and sitting cross-legged in front of Gideon. He wasn't crying this time, simply because there wasn't a large enough time gap between his initial waterworks and the present. He was still pretty worn out from the last calamity to spark up a new one. His small, pale, clammy hand reached out and took one of the gummy sweets, popping it into his mouth. Again, Ryuunosuke seemed to be mulling over his words before he spoke them; a little habit that seemed rather out-of-place for a ten year old.

"I-...I wanna call my dad," he stammered finally, drawing his knees into his chest. "I wanna go home now. I can live like I used to, b-back in England, I can-..." his body started to shake as he curled up in on himself, letting loose a whimper instead of a coherent word. Everything since he arrived at the Institute was dark, scary and uncertain; he couldn't tolerate the idea of going back and facing his fears. "I'm scared, Gideon, I don't want her to-...!"

The breathlessness, the way Ryuunosuke tensed up and started to tremble even harder...it was not how a child should look; not in a place where he was meant to be getting cured. His hands clung onto his shins so tightly he could draw blood - but his fingernails were cut down incredibly short, so the fleshy nubs pressed painfully into his legs. He remained silent for several minutes, gently rocking back and forth. Then he looked up at Gideon pleadingly. "C-...can I sit next to you for dinner?"

Ryuunosuke knew he couldn't go back and hide in his room. He could still see it vividly in his mind; some great orange shape turning the door into splinters, pouncing onto him and crushing him as he was ripped open; the thought alone made his eyes well up with tears. He couldn't face Alex alone. He simply couldn't. "I don't wan-...don't leave-, I, I don't want to be left alone in my room again."
 
Gideon was more than a little hurt by Ryu's traumatic cries. He'd thought that by doing such a stupid thing and trying to be a hero, he'd save the kid from experiencing this kind of crap. Tossing him another bag of candy, He got up and picked Roo up.

Gideon slung him over his shoulders, letting him ride piggyback out of the supply closet and out to the dining room. "I'll tell you what; you can stay in my room tonight, and if you want, I'm sure we can sweet talk our little mermaid friend into joining us." He said, looking around to see where the two girls had gone off to. "And tomorrow, I'll take you to see Alex so we can straighten this out. If nothing else, I need to apologize to her anyway.... My curse is powered by both the amount of noise i make, and the amount other people can hea; I can't imagine someonoe with the hearing of a tiger would be feeling very good after feeling it." He said, more to himself than anyone in particular as he plopped Roo down at the table next to his chosen seat. He looked up and noticed the shirtless hippie that had approached the table. What a jackass...He thought to himself.

@Ythania
 
Meldito

Meldito was surprised by Gideon's sudden display of kindness. Everything up to this point had Meldito believing the man had it out for him for no particular reason, but the fifty dollar bills in front of him said different. Meldito said nothing in return, simply because he was at a lack of words, and pocketed the money. At least now he could purchase some more clothes. With any luck there would be a thrift store nearby. With Meldito's curse, he always found it better to buy cheap and used things then pricy and new, particularly since the items would most likely get destroyed within the first few weeks of his purchase.

Meldito's stomach growled, and he suddenly realized how hungry he was. He certainly hoped they planned to serve food soon.

@Gateman @IceQueen @Ythania @Red Rabbit
 
James was taken aback by the arrival of Manna. When he'd sent out the advertisment he honestly hadn't expected much back because his knowledge of witches were limited. Growing up, his father had refused to talk about their families chosen profession even if they still completed work outside of the institute and James had no way of knowing how his message would be recieved. But it seemed that James' hunch that they couldn't all be bad was right. Or at least he hoped it was right because stood in front of him was a witch. Or a warlock if you wanted to politically correct.

James immediately stood to his feet when he noticed the subtle differences that witches showed when compared to ordinary humans, and did something that surprised even him. He smiled. "It is available," he said with a simple nod. "Please, take a seat and join us for dinner. Then perhaps we could talk further in my office," he said, extending hospitality to the man even if he was still wary. It was only natural to be wary after seeing what damage magic could do, but he knew that there had to be balance somewhere. Good to combat the bad. Perhaps every witch wasn't as he had been told? Not all craved power over all. He didn't know for now, but from the smell wafting in from the kitchens he knew dinner was about to be served and he could hardly keep a guest waiting while they all ate.

He glanced over at Claudette who was looking at Manna with disinterest, but then that was her default mode. He wondered how she might feel about him if she were holding onto her heart, if she would be as wary as he was or if she would trust him like he wanted to do. But it wasn't long before she turned back to stare at the box before her. Oh how he longed to open it, his curiousity ever growing to see the nature of her curse and how it really affected her instead of how she told him it affected her. He knew that as soon as she touched the heart her emotions came back for the duration of her hold, and that at times it was excrutiating but beyond that he still had not even seen it.

It was then that Alex entered, and James pushed his curiosity to one side. "Hello, I don't believe we've met," he said politely, bowing his head slightly to the girl whom he knew had been a large wild tiger the last time he'd seen her. "I'm Doctor James Mayhew. And yes... we have meat," he said, his lips twitching into a smile as he looked at her. He hoped that any calm influence might ease her anger, and made a mental note to work on control with her during one of their sessions. Perhaps a diary or a journal for her to keep day to day notes on what triggers her anger. He was so distracted by his own thoughts that he didn't notice the others file in.
Clo, on the other hand, did. She watched Ryu and Gideon together and knew on instinct what she should have been feeling. Jealousy. It had been so long since she'd had any kind of contact with another human whether they were cursed or not, and although she hadn't been alone here she hadn't really had the oppertunity to converse with them. She knew it was because she was without emotions, because it weirded most people out. Somehow she'd assumed that in coming here she might find people who could accept her curse and all, but even amongst them she was a freak.

Two doors opened from the opposite end of the room and a trolley covered in dishes and bowls was pushed into the room. Steaming food was held on top, cradled in dishes of silver and pristine china. Half a dozen dishes of beef and vegetables from all different places. It was odd to see them all together, but James had decided to order this for a reason. Although they wouldn't always have a cook around, after all the commotion earlier he had thought that it would be better if they had one less thing to worry about for now. During day to day running it would be far easier if there were less humans on the property, and although many of them were trusted he hated the idea of his patients being persecuted for something they couldn't control. So until they settled in, they had a cook.

@conman2163 @Gateman @Ythania @IceQueen @Red Rabbit
 
Manna smiled wide as he shook the doctor's hand. "I'm happy to hear that. I've been looking for a better way to find the cursed while I traveled; Had I known your institution was here sooner I would've come sooner. My name is Manna Walker, but most who know me just call me Samaritan. I experiment with the cursed around the country to try and heal them of the afflictions cast on them by the more unscrupulous of our kind." He sat down for a moment, dropping his bag to the floor. "I'm going to assume you don't have much direct interaction with us, and given the nature of your clinic, I can understand if any of you have ill will toward us. Thing is, just like regular humans, there are good and bad among us. I like to think I'm one of the good ones, but you never know. Everyone thinks they're the good guy in their own story, you know?"

He grabbed a roll from the cart and ate it quickly. "I can't imagine there's really much in the way of an interview for this kind of gig, and I wouldn't even know where to begin writing a resume for it, so how about a display of skill? I've got a trait that I think is a touch unique, which might come in rather handy. Allow me to demonstrate." Once Alex got to the table, he stood up and turned to her. "You are the catgirl, yes? I am truly, deeply sorry for what I'm about to do, but I feel your curse will be the best example for this. I hope you won't take it personally, and we can be friends afterward." He said, before slapping her across the back of her head before she could respond.

The tension in the room suddenly became heavy with fear as Alex snapped. She pinned Manna to the nearest wall, her freshly sprouted claws digging hard into his shoulder and wrist. Quickly speaking several arcane words once more, the lotus on Manna's back glowed with the intensity of a distant star as an arcane circle spread out under him, about 10 meters in every direction. As it swept under Alex, her transformation was halted, and she began to become docile and, for lack of a better word, normal once more. Guiding her gently toward the table with a tender smile, he sat down next to his bag, the spell circle encompassing the table easily. He closed his eyes and assumed the lotus pose as he let the realization of what had happened wash over everyone. "I cannot save you all yet, but I can offer you a short respite from your woes. Please, for now, enjoy being normal once more." He said, his tone slightly sad. He longed to help them in a more long term way, but this was all he could do for now. If he did indeed stay, he would work with each to cure them in time. Particularly, he was worried about Claudette, who he couldn't turn completely normal without risking killing her. He could at least give her a chance to feel her emotions once more, though.

@Vaila @IceQueen

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Meldito watched as the man who had entered before, one whom he had assumed was completely normal, had an interaction with the man whom Meldito could now positively identify as Dr. Mayhew, during which he demonstrated quickly with Alex a prowess with magic, and showing that he was a warlock, and not someone who had been cursed. While Meldito had heard that the man wanted to help by saying that they could enjoy being normal once more, Meldito felt his stress levels begin to rise. After all, he hadn't met the man before, what if he was lying? Besides, this man was responsible for both his woes, and most likely the woes of his mother, whom Meldito had assumed he had inherited the curse from. Why listen to the man? Meldito had more then enough trouble as is trusting a regular person, let alone one who belonged to them.

"I- I'm feeling tired all of a sudden, i'm going to go back to my room, i'm sure the meal will be good...."

Meldito stood and left, ignoring his stomach growling, and the pain that he had caused to himself by speaking, as the headache he had still hadn't subsided. He walked to his room, then entered and shut the door behind him, going to his bag, where he retrieved a small case with a special instrument called a ocarina in it. It had been one of the gifts his mother had given him. Moving over to his bed, he sat down and brought the instrument of to his lips, and took a breath before beginning to play a sorrowful tune, though he was sort of just freestyling the song.

Of course, once he was finished, he took the instrument away from his lips and stared at it.
 
Alex was less than pleased about more people entering the room, especially the guy with the white hair. Though he seemed to be quite a bit different, and smell a fair bit stranger, based on the conversation he was having with the Doctor, he would be essential in getting her life back on track, and getting the hell out of here. Seeing the doctor turn to her, Alex nodded her head simply. "Good. I hope you have raw for later, because you might need it. By the way, my favorite kind is deer." She said, her tongue tracing over her teeth as she looked around the room. To her the need of raw meat, though strange, was too necessary to ignore. Considering she was part predator, greens weren't her favorite thing.

Hearing the distant clatter of catering carts, Alex sat straight up in her seat, almost as if a dog pulling to attention at only the wisp of a distant sound. Her ears turned out to be right, as soon a food trolley came floating in, all sorts of meats covering half of it. Her eyes rounded, her pupils pushing farther than should have been humanly possible, and her tongue licked her lips anxiously. Alex was the first to dig in, not even bothering to use manners and simply taking what she had liked. Once her plate was stocked full, her eyes gazed hungrily at her feast. There wasn't a green to be seen on her plate, and it delighted her to no end. She picked up her fork and was about to dig in when the man with the white hair approached her.

Her lip lifted in a snarl as he got close to her, her arm coming in front of her food protectively as she glared up at him. Gaze narrowing, Alex kept her guard, that was until he smacked her in the back of the head. Snapping instantly, Alex shoved back her chair, letting the silverware and anything else clatter to the floor as she slammed one hand into his wrist, and the other his shoulder. Growling, Alex could feel her pupils flashing amber as she dug her claws into his skin, a soft trickle of blood was beginning to form. However, with a blinding light that left her sensitive pupils dazed, Alex was back to normal, and no longer angry, which was weird considering she almost always was. Sitting down in her seat, or more like being guided, Alex blinked several times, trying to clear the white spots from her vision. She glanced around the table, finding Gideon. Giving him a warning glare, she forgot entirely about her utensils and simply dug in, using her hands instead of silverware.
@Vaila @Gateman
 
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Maddie only smiled at Alex before watching her walk off into the dining room. It was a nice interaction in her opinion, a little short perhaps, but a good conversation to the start of a possible friendship she already enjoyed. The corner of her mouth quirked upward just a fraction higher at the fact that there wasn't even a scratch on her! Maybe Alex wasn't so dangerous after all.

To be on the safe side and make sure Alex got her meat, she hung around the corner for a few minutes, glancing in at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. Her eyes narrowed a bit at the shirtless stranger named Manna, gaze flickering between him and Dr. Mayhew as they spoke to one another. "A witch?" Just the proximity made her stomach tighten with anxiety. Could a witch really help fix them all? Her train of thought was interrupted when Meldito excused himself from the table, making her withdraw and press her back to the wall of the corridor while holding her breath. She watched him pass by with worry etched in his features, thankfully too far gone in his own mind to have even paid attention to her presence. Despite his back being turned she halfway lifted her hand and waved, the gesture of politeness and greeting failing to reach her stoic face. Maybe she'd bring him some food later in the evening if she were still awake, but she could already feel the drowsy pull in the temptation of going to her own bed.

Her shoulders lifted then fell again in a sigh that let a small bubble of black drift away from her lips and meet its demise against the opposite wall. She watched it pop and leave a spattered stain on the wallpaper across from her before poking her head back around the corner. This time her sights caught Gideon and little Roo sitting together at the table, the pair already seeming to be as thick as thieves. She almost smiled at the English phrase she had picked up a few years back and was happy to have had it as a comparison even if it didn't make a whole lot of sense to her. Across from them she spotted Clo who was staring at the two of them as well. Her face was nothing more than a clean slate, though there was something behind her eyes that seemed different from the vacant expression.

"You are the catgirl, yes?" She blinked then pulled back a bit to stare at Manna, her lips parting without words. Matrona hadn't been paying attention to him and missed what he was saying beforehand- if he had been saying anything at all. She tensed, bracing for whatever horror the Tigress intended to inflict on the witch, but was surprised to see a glow and a... Possibly lethargic Alex? Her mouth closed and eyebrows pulled together the longer she observed the pair and tried to put it together in her head, but Alex was already digging into her plate. The female stood there in awe for several moments, silently debating whether or not to go into the dining room before almost reluctantly drawing back into the hallway. She'd played spy long enough.

Mentioned- @IceQueen @Vaila @conman2163 @Gateman @Ythania
 
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Ryuunosuke had pressed his seat as close to Gideons, in such a fashion that he would not be able to see Alex from where he was sitting. He noticed that a new person had walked in and then he felt sick to his stomach; a warlock. But Ryuunosuke did not say anything, and that was perhaps the most perplexing reaction of all; he simply didn't look at the witch, nor did he speak to him or about him at the dinner table. In fact, despite the look of distaste which fluttered on his features, it seemed almost as if Ryuunosuke was completely unaware of Manna's presence in the room.

He smiled when the food carts rolled in and helped himself to a lot of broccoli and carrots, managing to snatch some lamb before the ravenous tigress took most of the meat. He was barely keeping an eye on the conversation and where it was headed until Manna decided, for reasons Ryuunosuke couldn't comprehend, that he would publicly display his powers - in the middle of dinner - by angering the very thing which tried to kill him less than 4 hours ago.

Ryuunosuke visibly flinched, to the point that he dropped his cutlery onto his plate with a clatter and shielded his face with his arms. When he peeked out again to see whether or not the warlock was dead, he noticed a bright, glowing runic pattern on the floor - being guided towards the table. Ryuunosuke grabbed his plate and hopped off the chair, pitter-pattering over to the other side of the dining room, skirting past the pattern, into the hallway and almost into Matrona's legs.

"Are you hiding from the warlock too?" he asked curiously, shooting a glance behind him at the table and, with guilt, at poor Gideon who appeared to be trapped by the warlock's spell. "It's okay, you can have some of my dinner if you want." Roo offered out his plate to the lady. "Sorry there's no cutlery or anything, I had to leave in a hurry."
 
Gideon watched the events with Manna and Alex unfold with a mix of anger, annoyance, and fear. He had almost put himself into the hospital trying to avoid her hurting anyone, and this idiot was just stepping up and assaulting her? Looks like that healer position wouldn't be filled anytime soon...Predictably, she had him against the wall in a matter of seconds. What he hadn't expected was the flash of cold light and the sudden change in Alex. The cold light of the scar seemed familiar for some reason though...reminding him of the female witch that cursed him...Still, he got Alex to calm down (admittedly from a reaction he'd caused, but still), which was impressive nonetheless. He began to eat his meal along with everyone else when he noticed Roo run off. Crap, I better go bring him back. he thought. Poor kid needs to be around everyone else right now, not hiding. As he stood up and started to walk toward Maddie, he didn't notice the duffle bag in his way until he'd tripped on it.

Gideon fell on his face, his chin making a loud crack against the hard floor. With the pain of that going through his head, he didn't really think about it when he screamed obscenities. "Motherfucker! Keep your crap out of peoples' way, you hippie jackass!" Manna said nothing in response, too focused on his spell circle. As Gideon rubbed his sore chin, he noticed something odd, no one was flinching in pain. Confused, he let out another shout; again, nothing. Finally, he screamed as he had in Alex's ear. Aside from the headache from acting like a jackass, nothing happened to him. More importantly, nothing happened to anyone else. Was what he had said true? Were they cured in the circle? He had to tell Maddie about this!

He ran to meet the two of them and smiled like an idiot. "Guys, you gotta get over there. That jackass was telling the truth! Maddie, we can actually have a conversation at dinner without any problem." He turned to face Roo. "Roo, Alex is tame right now, she's not gonna attack you. Come on guys, we should take advantage of this while we can."

@Red Rabbit @Ythania
 
She skittered back a bit when Roo came rushing at her, her mouth curling into a smile at the little tyke before crouching down to his height. Her gaze followed his back to the table full of people before shaking her head twice, once to answer his inquiry and the other to turn down his offer. With a few strands of still damp hair clinging to her face she flipped her book open and wrote upside down for him to easily read: "Thank you, but you should be the one eating it."

The woman took another gander at Manna who was still seated at the table then reeled the journal up a bit to try and comfort Roo with her red words. "He doesn't look very scary for a warlock, and Dr. Mayhew wouldn't be so eager to let him eat with us if he wasn't here to help. Right?" She focused on the child in front of her, attempting to figure out a way to ease his nerves when a sudden smack against the marble floor made her cringe and lose her concentration. "There'll always be distractions around here..." She thought with a peek over the boy's head to watch Gideon yell at the newcomer, dropping her pen and releasing her book to place her hands over Ryuunosuke's ears simply to prevent him from the hearing foul language the male used despite almost laughing at it.

Her palms stayed in place when he screamed once again even though there was no side effect to it, but it was loud all the same. Both eyes closed and her lips formed a thin line of annoyance the third time he decided to make himself heard for whatever reason, almost fearing the fact she might have busted eardrums during the rest of her stay there.

"Guys, you gotta get over there." Maddie drew in a breath of relief then removed her hands in an untimely manner from the child's head, using one to lightly palm her forehead. "Figures..." She picked her possessions up then tilted her head back to look at Decibel with a wary expression. She hadn't said an actual word in over two years... Did she even have a voice anymore? What if nothing but a croak came out? Her eyes quickly turned to the floor to hide the worry filtering through her head then stood up, halfway turning away from the dining room and the two she stood with.

@Ythania @Gateman
 
Meldito mulled over the idea of going back out and rejoining the group. After all, the food was out there. But then again so was the warlock. Here to help or not, Meldito wanted as little as possible to do with the man, best to just keep his distance and not piss the guy off. After all, a witch was the reason he was here in the first place, the very reason that he had spent his life going from foster home to foster home and then ended up in the county jail. What foundation did he have for trusting one of them? Absolutely no foundation.

I'm probably going to have to talk to him anyway. This sucks, why is there a warlock at this institute anyways? Well.... then again I suppose it makes sense for someone else versed in magic to deal with magical problems, all the same, I don't want to see that guy to often..... People like him could end up being more dangerous then the people his kind have cursed.....

Meldito dropped the Ocarina into his lap, then took his necklace off. Since no one had come padding after him, either none of them had noticed him leave or they just didn't care, either way, it didn't bother Meldito. Solitude had been his friend for the past few years now, he hadn't had any friends in a while, why worry about it now?

Still..... after being isolated for so long....

Meldito shrugged off the thought and stood, walking over to his things and then placing the Ocarina in his bag, then grabbing out a book he had read countless times. Meldito then strode back over to his bed and put his necklace back on, before opening the book and beginning to read.


@Ythania @Gateman @Red Rabbit @IceQueen @Vaila
 
Ryuunosuke peered at the sheet of paper before him and bit his lip. "If you're so sure...that means more for me." he responded cheerfully, picking at a bit of carrot and popping it into his mouth. He then read the notes on the Warlock and shook his head. "There aren't any good witches or Warlocks, they all died long ago." he replied matter-of-factly. "And Dr Mayhew looked really surprised when the Warlock showed up, so I think he didn't know that the Warlock was coming." Ryuunosuke glanced over his shoulder when he heard a smack and all of a sudden Matrona's hands were over his ears, muffling the noise of Gideon's yells. Ryuunosuke just looked puzzled and stood with a burning curiosity, trying in vain to use some hopefully-dormant lipreading skills. He didn't like what he heard after Gideon approached, though.

It was almost too good to be true, and Roo was on the defensive. He peered over at the table; the glowing light, the peaceful eating...but his uneasiness made him feel almost nauseous. He knew for a fact that Matrona (who had, of course previously covered his ears whilst Gideon was shouting, a selfless act in and of itself because Ryuunosuke had figured out the source of the screams from earlier) was not as enthusiastic as Gideon. The boy shared the look of discomfort.

"No."

It wasn't sharp or bitter, simply plain. Ryuunosuke stared at the runic circle more than its caster. "I'm not allowed to. Dad said that if I ever get mixed up with magic again, my curse will get worse." he spoke with the solemnity of a boy who was almost entirely certain that his word was nothing but the honest truth; a fact that he thought he could not disobey. "I'm also not allowed to talk to, or acknowledge, any witch or warlock because then they'd try to steal my soul back." It almost seemed like the kid didn't even understand how or why a witch would want to steal his soul but simply knew it to be true, with the sheer gullibility of a 10 year old. He seemed resolute; he sat down in the hallway and ate his cold pieces of broccoli next to Matrona's ankles. "So I can't, Gideon, I'm sorry."
 
"What would a witch want our souls for?" Gideon asked, puzzled. "I guess as a source ofpower, maybe, but we would be more useful ensorcled and drained of things like bioelectricity." Gideon said absently. He'd actually paid attention to his tutoring over the years, and had actually enjoyed biology. "Still, we outnumber him, and even if he wanted to take us all on, we could just sic Alex on him." He said with a laugh. Becoming a little more serious, he leaned in close to Roo. "Seriously, though, I heard Dr. Mayhew talking earlier." He lied. "We have anti-magic defenses to protect us from witch attacks. I'm sure that he will protect us if things go badly."

Gideon smiled and played with Roo's hair before giving him a hug. "Of course, if you like, I'll hang out here with you until you feel ready to meet the jackass witch. Though now that I think about it," He said, scratching his head. "We never discussed what you wanna do with our sleepover tonight. Do they have any games in this place? And do you want Maddie to come, or is it just us men?" He turned and smiled at Maddie. "I promise I won't grab your booty too much if you stay over."

@Red Rabbit @Ythania
 
Clo wasn't much bothered by any of the apparent conversations that any of the other residents were having. Not when she had the monotony of eating a meal to get through. While Alex was far more partial to the meat, Clo was a vegetarian and stuck to only the dishes she could tell didn't have meat in them. All the ones that were green and orange, all brightly coloured instead of browns and cream coloured flesh of living creatures. It wasn't a moral thing, and it never really had been but she'd seen how meat was processed when she was a young child and hadn't touched it since. Even now that she had no feelings what so ever, she still kept to the same kind of living style that she'd had before she was cursed. More so out of habit than necessity. Because she didn't feel revulsion either.

James was quite the opposite. He was quite thrilled and excited by this turn of events and the arrival of Manna. He would of course be naturally suspicious of any witch who came to the institute, but just as there were good and bad humans in the world he didn't see why there couldn't be good and bad witches. "Fascinating," he said, his eyes widening as he watched Manna cast the spell. It seemed to only be located in a certain area, and James was sure that it was probably only temporary. They had plenty of books in the library about magic and witchcraft, but nothing like this. There was sure to be a lot of things he could learn from this warlock, and James just hoped that they had something to offer him in return. Something that might keep them as friends instead of enemies.

(I apologise that this has taken so long. I'm working on the building layout and images now, so they'll be up ASAP. Thanks for being patient with this)

@IceQueen @Gateman @Ythania @Red Rabbit @conman2163

Clo wasn't phased by the interactions in the dining room, instead she was too busy bashing her head against the keyboard as she tried to find out what she wanted to say. bhdjeiojeqwmxas nxshMLLASW[/spoiler]​
 
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