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Persona: Gardens and Graveyards (R)

Skillfulness

Well-Known Member
|~ Everyone ~|
'~ Location: Courtyard ~'


It was working. Their combined abilities were tearing away at the Shadow and though Kat was the only one with a formal weapon, the students hadn’t run off yet. They all managed to summon their Persona and she was excited to have so many potential allies. Assuming they made it through this mess. Most of them instructed their Persona to attack the legs which was good; that would bring it down to their level. The large bird Persona flew up and blinded the monster, quick thinking. It seemed they were already catching on to the abilities their Persona were capable of. After a few bouts, Kat noticed the unconscious girl from earlier was up and about.

“H-hey, what’s going on? Is there any — anything I can do?” she said meekly. Kat caught her breath while the girl addressed her. She was prepared to help despite being knocked out just a few minutes ago. This girl’s got some spunk.

“If your Persona can fight, instruct him to fight. Fortunately, we’re just about to end this thing.” Looking up, Kat noticed the chess-themed Persona leap on the back of the Shadow. With a cry and a mighty swing she stabbed the beast. It roared in pain, the sound vibrating through the courtyard. It’s knees buckled and as it went down it was wildly swiping at the aggressor on its back. Slowly it fell to its side and rolled, trying to knock off the Persona.

“Distract it!” Kat called out to the group. This was their chance. Dashing forward, Kat contacted Nyx.

I’m going for the kill, make sure no one gets hurt. Nyx, flying above the team, nodded and kept an eye out for anyone injured. Meanwhile, Kat rushed forward with her hook swords and jumped to reach the Shadow’s arm. Quickly climbing up, she made her way to the torso and head, keeping her balance while it trashed and started to roll over again. Using the hook swords, Kat stabbed into its shoulder and continued making her way up while it supported its weight on hands and knees. She had to hurry before it had a chance to get back up.

Using her embedded blade to swing, Kat released and was airborne. This gave her a perfect view of the two shining eyes of the Shadow. Grinning, she used her second blade to jab the right eye. The Shadow cried out again, this time weaker and more shrill. It crumpled back to the ground and Kat continued to dig the blade in. Dark red smoke began spilling from the two shining white eyes. It bubbled to the ground and faded away to a mist. The Shadows thrashings slowed and its limbs started to flake away. It was fairly surreal to watch, but it’s over in a moment.

Panting, Kat brushes some hair from her face and walks back to the gathered students. There was a mixture of expressions on their faces as Kat took a second to observe them all. A motley crew, to say the least, but one she saw potential in.

“Alright, before we talk about anything, I’ll take you all to a safe place.” Kat fished a violet colored key from her pocket and approached the nearest door in the side of the school. “I’m sorry you’ll just have to trust me on this, but I know this has been exhausting and…” Kat paused. Hesitating, she looked at the scraggly group of teens and sighed. “If you want to turn away now, you can. Unfortunately, the monsters won’t stop and your Persona, and Shadow Self, will still be around, but if you think you can do this on your own or just don’t want to associate with me, I can’t make you. I hope you’ll follow, we need your help.”

Kat gave them a moment to collect their thoughts and make a decision. She didn’t give them long though as she knew they didn’t have long. The real world would start back up again and they shouldn’t be seen out in the courtyard. Kat took her key and inserted it into the lock of one of the exterior doors to the school. It glowed slightly and fit perfectly. She gave a reassuring smile over her shoulder to the students and pulled the door open.

-------------------------------------------
'~ Location: The Velvet Room ~'


Beyond the door was a stony interior. It was a small foyer with loose stones and vines scattered about. There were some piles of crumbled rock and there were strange, intricate carvings made in the walls and columns of stone. Long, thick roots clung to every surface, but their color was a mystery as everything was bathed in a dark, deep, violet light. The lightly colored stone brightened the room slightly though, making it easier to see. Across the foyer was a rectangular opening leading to another, larger room. A velvet carpet ran from the door to the open entryway.

“Hey Sonder!” Kat strolled in and called out, looking comfortable. She stood by the inner doorway and waited. The students who followed were given a chance to take everything in. The closest real world equivalent of what the room looked like would be a temple, but the light covered everything in a bluish purple tinge and made it all feel quite supernatural.

“Alright, wait here a sec, I’ll be right back.” Kat leaves for a moment and you are all alone together. An opportunity to discuss the night's events or simply take in the strange new environment. Eventually she returns with a slightly annoyed look.

“Well looks like they ain’t ready yet, but that means we have time for some questions. What’ve you got for me?”
 

GoldenHouou

antagoonist
Sofiya Mikhailovna Ignatova
The Sun
Courtyard


André didn't seem to be hurt - at least, not physically. He did say something about a mercy bouquet, though, which Sofiya found a little strange. Was he asking her to show mercy to the monster? If so, no way! It didn't deserve any of that, not after attacking her friends. Bouquets weren't meant for that, anyway - they were for funerals and weddings. Wait-! Did André want to marry the monster?! He could do so much better than that!

Before Sofiya could finish pondering the intricacies of bouquets or scold her friend over bad marital choices, André practically threw himself at her. He wrapped her into a sudden hug, catching Sofiya off guard. She rushed to return the hug before he could think her rude, but by that time he'd already pulled away enough to greet her with a kiss on each cheek - and one on the forehead, for good measure. The cheek kisses themselves weren't a gesture unfamiliar to Sofiya; that was how girls back home greeted each other as well, but... but, wait, wasn't he a--- no... could it be that he wasn't a he at all? Was he-- she, a girl?!

It made sense, now that she thought about it. The other person she'd seen in the yard earlier had looked more masculine than André did, and yet she was definitely a girl too. Ohh, how could she not notice before?! She must've misheard her name, too. It was probably Andrea. Stupid, stupid her and her inability to spell names. She should've just--- punched herself, here and now. With a good whack.

She had already raised one hand for that specific purpose, when Andrea spoke again, and the words she said made Sofiya slowly lower her fist.

"... M-me too," she managed to mumble, fighting back a sudden rush of tears. Someone, even if it was just one person, was happy to see her. As long as that remained true, she would never, ever give her life to some stupid old shadow monster. No matter how much it looked like her, or how much it knew about her, or how right it wa---

With the sudden deftness of a cat, Sofiya swatted at her eyes, clearing both her tears and her thoughts. When she lowered her hand, she was beaming again. Her voice trembled a little still, though. "I-- Imean, I'm--- happy to see you. Not me. I just saw a me, and it wasn't a nice me. Unlike me. I'm... nice."

... I hope.

A loud, thunderous roar startled Sofiya out of her thoughts. She turned to find the monster on the ground, about to meet its end in the hands of the woman Sofiya had seen earlier. She wielded her weapons fiercely, and Sofiya found herself staring in awe. The shadow writhed, much as her other self had, only this one did not shake it off and proceed to laugh. Nope. This one slowly faded from existence, melting into the very shadows it seemed to have come from.

The yard looked almost empty without it.

Sofiya looked around to try and find her bird friend. Instead, she saw--- "Morrey!"

She glanced behind her at Andrea, giving her a quick nod. "Morrey's hurt! It should be safe now, so you'll be ok! Just--- no marrying monsters, ok?"

With that, she dashed towards her roommate, intent on checking up on her. "What are you doing here?! You should've stayed in the room! Who hurt you? Was it the monster?! Who's your new friend? Is-" Sofiya was so focused on her questions that she forgot the most important part of running: actually stopping. So, a few steps later, she crashed straight into Morrey with the peak velocity of a worried friend.

They both toppled over.

~​

The Velvet Room

When the brave monster slayer lady had asked for help, Sofiya had imagined they'd go and fight more monsters. Instead, they'd went inside the school - which looked way different from what she remembered. But-- why school? Were they gonna study? Was monster slaying a new class she hadn't noticed in the curriculum? She didn't really understand what was going on, but she had understood what the lady had said about monsters themselves. They wouldn't stop. So... if there was no one to stop them, they'd keep hurting more people. As a soldier, no--- even as just a person, she couldn't allow that. So whatever it took, she'd do her best to help!

The woman left for a moment, only to return a moment later with a sour look. Apparently, someone wasn't yet ready, which meant they could ask questions. Ooh, this really was like a real class!

Sofiya instantly jabbed her hand in the air. "Ooh, ooh, me, me!" she jumped up and down, waving her hand frantically as if trying to stand out from a hundred-headed crowd. Seeing as she was standing among only a handful of people, it was highly unnecessary. She only barely waited to be acknowledged, then immediately launched into a barrage of questions. "Are you a teacher? What's your name? What's the name of this class? Why is the school all creepy now? Ah--" she looked around, then leaned forward to whisper, not that she lowered her volume any, "what's gonna be in our first test? I'm actually not very good at studying."
 
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Vern

Why not both?
Morgan Valentine
The Moon
Courtyard -> Velvet Room


“If your persona can fight, instruct him to fight.” The lady said, “Fortunately, we’re just about to end this thing.” As if on cue, the beast let out an anguished cry and fell down to its knees. “Distract it!”

Morgan looked over her shoulder at her persona. “Could you…”

I can. Hyde says, and his human form morphs into a large, black monster, leaping towards the downed shadow with an inhuman roar. Morgan watched as he slashed at the monster’s arm, catching it as it swiped at him and digging his sharp claws into its flesh. Meanwhile, the lady had run up the monsters arm and… dispatched it. It was almost surreal, how quickly it melted away into nothing. Hyde returns to her side in a single leap, gives her a smile, and fades away into nothing.

“Hey,” Morgan whispered, looking at the space where Hyde was standing moments before, “Are you still there?”

We will always be here, with you. Jekyll’s voice said, echoing in her mind. Call, and we will be by your side.

Unsure of what else to do, Morgan nodded at the air and turned around to look at the others, just in time to see a familiar face approaching her at a speed that was a little too fast, surpassed only by the speed of her questions. Before she could react, Sofiya had already collided with her, knocking them both onto the floor. It hurt, and it made her head spin, but Morgan couldn’t help but let out a relieved laugh as she awkwardly wiggled out from underneath her roommate — I’m glad she’s safe.

“We’ll have plenty of time to talk later,” she said, pulling nervously on her gloves as she stood up — a bad habit, of sorts, “I… we should probably get going.”

— — — — —​

They walked through the normal-looking door into a distinctly not-normal looking room — Morgan had been attending this school for years, and she’d never been aware of any such place on the premises. The violet light gave everything a mysterious air, and the velvet carpet running across it clashed horribly with the otherwise fairly run-down looking aesthetic. Nevertheless, it was pretty — I wish I had a sketchbook on me…

She stayed close to Sofiya, finding her presence comforting — while she recognised some of the faces in the room, they were nothing more than acquaintances, if even that. Her ever-cheery roommate was probably the closest thing she had to a friend. When the woman returned and offered to answer questions, it was unsurprisingly Sofiya who spoke first, bombarding her with the usual rain of questions. Does she seriously think this is a class? she thought to herself, with a bemused smile.

When her roommate finished, Morgan began raising a hand to speak, only to find that not only did the motion take far more effort than she’d expected, her voice wasn’t quite working either. She allowed her hand to drop down back to her side. Whatever questions she had, she was sure others would ask anyway.
 

InnerFlame

Fire and Ice Combo
Jamie Austin Moore
The Emperor
Courtyard???



With a group effort, the curly-haired girl finishes off the monster. After it spurts out a bunch of red smoke, it disappeared like it was never there. The people outside begins to converge to one area. Before Jamie could examine the new people that popped up in the courtyard the brunette pulls out a key and opens a door. She explains that it was a safe place to talk and if one so desires they could go off on her own. Somewhat a tempting offer but Jamie didn't want to make such a decision without first getting some understanding of what is going on. She calmly followed her into the 'safe zone'.

A Velvet Room

The place Jamie follows Curly into turns out to be some temple-like place with lightings that bathes everything in purplish-blue color. The other people that enter as well is just a bunch of girls. Great. Jamie merely let out a sigh as she crosses her arms. Thinking for a moment about toughing it alone, but then decided against that again as she did want some answers. Now that she can see Curly clearer in the violet lighting, she didn't appear to be a teen, an adult woman...? She offers to answer some of the group's questions while they wait for someone... something?

The smaller girl with the knife she met earlier chimes in first... Half the questions she asks are pointless as far as Jamie is concerned. As she began talking about tests Jamie couldn't help but sigh again. This girl is one of those airhead types, she wasn't a fan of dealing with them. The messy-haired girl sticking close to the small knife girl her raises her hand but almost immediately put back down silently. A quiet girl, that is an easier type to deal with despite them being annoyingly sensitive. With no else speaking up, not even Curly to answer the questions Jamie thought she thrown in her own questions she liked to be answered.

"I like to know what's going on here. And why was there a greyscale doppelganger trying to kill me?" Jamie speaks with a sternness in her voice that seems to demand an answer. Her light blue eyes stare firmly towards the woman as the blonde waits for answers.
 

Monster Guy

Fairy type Trainer
André Bellamy
The Lovers
Courtyard


Finally! The monster was down. That woman had been the one to deliver the killing blow. Thank goodness that's over. Maybe now that was finally down, they could go back to bed, and get on with their nights.

Unfortunately, that would not be the case. The woman pulled out a key and opened a door. She said they were free to go off on their own, but apparently monsters would attack them. Seriously? You would have to mad to take that offer... So, André followed the group into the safe space.

Velvet Room

The place André had followed the woman into was like something he had only seen in movies he was in. It looked like some sort of ancient temple, with a violet light shining on everything. It gave the area an eerie feel... Was this a part of the school? Why on earth would they have such a strange place here?

The woman went off, only to return shortly thereafter and said whoever they were waiting for was not ready yet. André could understand that. He knew how it important it was to be fashionably late. After all, the longer you kept them waiting, the more people would want you when they finally did arrive. Although judging by the state of this room, he didn't think their mysterious guest wasn't exactly fashionable...

In the meantime, the woman offered to answer quetions. Everyone present spouted up to ask questions. André decided not to speak up. Everything he had to say would no doubt be answered in a moment.

Narcissus on the other had a lot to say. He suddenly appeared and angrily approached the woman. "How dare you! You call me a creature. You compare me to one of those hideous beasts, and then promptly ignore me when I demand an apology for insulting me in such a vile manner. I am offended! No one can possibly deny, I am the most beautiful being in this room!" He flipped his long blonde hair, and made it blow in the wind that he created himself. "Now apologize woman! I'm waiting..."

André brought the palm of his hand to his face, sighed, and shook his head. "Non non non non..." Even he was feeling secondhand embarrassment for his Persona.
 

TheSequelReturns

Faithful Crusader
~ Cassandra Winter ~
- The Velvet Room -


With the monster defeated (Dispelled? Disintegrated? Banished? Cassandra's brain didn't have the context to find the right word.), the group gathered together and made their way through a doorway in the side of the school. But the place they entered into was definitely not part of the school unless there had been some drastic remodeling.

It looked like a temple of some kind. That was the best way Cassandra could think to describe it. The walls looked like stone and there were vines and carvings all over them. But strangest of all was the light. A soft but all-saturating blue-ish light that washed over everything and seemed to come from everywhere all at once. Another opening up ahead led farther into this strange, otherworldly temple, but it seemed their guide, who Cassandra was starting to think was a teacher of some kind by the way she handled the students around her, was content to keep them in this room for the time being. As before, Nemesis was standing beside her when she turned to check on her though Cassandra could not remember the huge figure ducking through the normal sized doorway.

“Hey Sonder!” the woman called out as she walked in. She was cool, confident, relaxed. She knew this place, Cassandra realized. Knew someone here. How long had this room been here? How long had this woman been fighting creatures that shadowy monster?

“Alright, wait here a sec, I’ll be right back.” the strange woman leaves for a moment, but returns quickly enough. “Well looks like they ain’t ready yet, but that means we have time for some questions. What’ve you got for me?”

They? Who, exactly, were they meeting in this blue-hued dimension? For the moment, Cassandra couldn't possibly narrow down the millions of questions that were swarming around her head. Luckily, some of the others were quicker to speak up.

The first girl, who Cassandra was sure she recognized from somewhere in school but couldn't match up a name given present circumstances, took care of all the obvious questions. Another student asks about their evil twins, which was one of the primary concerns Cassandra had as well. But the next question came not from André (who anyone at this school would recognize for one reason or another) but the inhumanly handsome, mostly nude figure that appeared floating next to him.

"How dare you!" the figure said, as it angrily approached their guide, "You call me a creature. You compare me to one of those hideous beasts, and then promptly ignore me when I demand an apology for insulting me in such a vile manner. I am offended! No one can possibly deny, I am the most beautiful being in this room!" He flipped his long blonde hair, and made it blow in the wind that he created himself. "Now apologize woman! I'm waiting..."

If André looked embarrassed for his Persona, Cassandra was about to feel absolutely mortified.

"Silence, you insufferable whelp." Nemesis said to Narcissus as she stood beside Cassandra. The Persona struck her greatsword into the ground with a loud scrape of metal on stone and stood defiantly, like the statue of a Templar. "It is only thanks to her efforts that you and that..." she glanced at André, "soft, pink human of yours, are able to speak at all. Express your gratitude or be silent."

Cassandra slowly placed a hand over her face. Maybe if she was really still, no one would notice her.
 

Skillfulness

Well-Known Member
|~ Kat Dyson and Everyone ~|
'~ Location: The Velvet Room ~'


"Ooh, ooh, me, me!" One of the girls jumped up and down, waving her hand in the air. Amused, Kat gestured for her to speak as words started to spill out. "Are you a teacher? What's your name? What's the name of this class? Why is the school all creepy now? Ah-- what's gonna be in our first test? I'm actually not very good at studying."

Before Kat had a chance to respond, one of the other girls spoke up. As her eyes darted to the one with short hair she noticed the quiet girl putting her hand down. I’ll have to make sure she doesn’t slip under the radar. We’ll need to go over names too...

"I like to know what's going on here. And why was there a greyscale doppelganger trying to kill me?" Her voice was strong, not surprising given how steeled she appeared out in the courtyard. Kat nodded in acknowledgement then opened her mouth to speak.

"How dare you!” Suddenly, the tall blonde Persona was in her face. She inhaled sharply and coughed as she choked on the words that she was about to speak. “You call me a creature. You compare me to one of those hideous beasts, and then promptly ignore me when I demand an apology for insulting me in such a vile manner. I am offended! No one can possibly deny, I am the most beautiful being in this room! Now apologize woman! I'm waiting..."

“I uh, heh well…” Kat started.

"Silence, you insufferable whelp." Now the chess Persona stepped forward. “It is only thanks to her efforts that you and that… soft, pink human of yours, are able to speak at all. Express your gratitude or be silent."

Now two of the students were covering their faces, the embarrassment palpable. Kat put a hand up to her mouth to hide her smile. “I’m sorry, this is all happening pretty fast isn’t in. I meant now offence, dear and great Persona.” Kat offered a slight curtsy in his direction. “Thank you for your patience during this confusing, and dangerous, time. I guess telling you my name would be a good start though.” She gave a tired smile. The events of the night were starting to settle in, the adrenaline starting to wear off. Nyx mentally teased her about getting too old for this.

“So I’m Katherine Dyson, Kat, or you might know me as Ms. Dyson. I’m one of the Study Hall teachers here and I own a bookstore in town. What you experienced doesn’t have anything to do with the school, well, ah, hmm nevermind. I’ll explain later. But besides the point, you all went through essentially a test with your shadow doppelganger. Something we literally call your Shadow Self. You all passed. The next step is here, in the Velvet Room. You’ll become awfully familiar with this place in the coming months, trust me. Now if they would jus-”

A tall figure appeared in the doorway and addressed them with a stiff nod. Kat put her hands on her hip and smiled.

“Welcome back Katherine. I see you’ve gathered our new companions. Holly and I have the paperwork prepared if I could lead you to the main room.” The man, Sonder, had gentle violet eyes with short sandy hair. He wore a simple, light blue bellboy uniform with white trim, white shoes, and white gloves. His eyes were hooded as he gestured towards the larger room past the foyer. Kat walked eagerly through and looked back, waiting to see how the guests would react.

Past the foyer was a huge, open-ceilinged room. Layers of columns rose to the ceiling, ended far above where it became too dark to see. A few nondescript, geometric statues and structures gave the room a busy feeling to. Around the walls were a few things of note; more open doorways, some shelves filled with books, stone tables with modern chairs, two small fountains. It felt like an extravagant lobby. The carvings continued around the room and more vines littered the walls. A few plain flowers clung to the vines, most of them tinted purple by the ambient, omnipresent light. One far corner of the spacious room had a piano, a figure seated at it and a curious melody emanating from it, almost familiar. At the back of the room, centered in the wall, stood a long desk with a man seated behind it.

Sonder led them towards the tables where seven sheets of paper were placed, an elegant pen beside each one. He motioned the students to sit and looked to Kat for her to take over.

“Right, thank you Sonder. We can do introductions soon. First, is the contract. This will allow you and your Persona free use of this room and it enhances the bond between you two. In reality, this means you will have full control of your Persona when requested. They will maintain their will and act autonomously, but your commands will be followed no matter what.” With that said, Kat summoned Nyx.

“Nyx, please demonstrate by flying upside down for them, please. It helps to be polite, they still have feelings.”

“Yes and I feel like you are having too much fun with this,” Nyx said, crossing her arms and putting on a pouty face. Still, she tilted forward and flapped her wings harder to balance. Her skirt flipped up and she rushed to adjust it, but she still stayed upside down and Kat giggled.

“Alright, alright, thank you Nyx you’re done. So this contract is fairly important for us in moving forward. Also I should note if you don’t sign it, you will not be able to enter this safe space again without express escort, only approved by the owner of this room. An owner with important knowledge and resources you don’t want to miss out on for the future. Please sign it and we’ll get to the next thing. Don’t hesitate to ask questions, but we shouldn’t linger too long. Talk with your Persona too if needed, they’re safe here as well.” She let them look over the paper and stood beside Sonder, stance relaxed. He was looking down at her, she could feel his gaze, but she was doing her best to ignore it as long as she could. Nyx sat on her shoulder emitting an aura of smugness. He knooows ~

Yes Nyx I know! How could he not? Sighing, Kat tilted her head up towards her taller companion.

“So one of them decided to turn away,” she said in a hushed tone so the students wouldn’t hear. “He looked a little shook from the experience so I let him go. These Shadow Selves might be getting nastier. I never found the seventh one though. Was kinda busy.”

Sonder nodded and seemed satisfied with the statement. They waited for the high schoolers to finish. Kat reminded herself to do names first before going up to see Igor. Once they were done, the papers collected, she looked to them all with a smile and said, “So, what are your names? It’s been a long night and I’d love to have something to call each of you, we’ve got a bit more to go before we can part ways.”

The Contract
As follows, I (character name), of sound mind and body, take full responsibility for my actions moving forward. I accept all future consequences regarding any such actions. I accept that my brothers and sisters have a free will of their own and are allowed to take their own actions that may conflict with my own. I cannot change what has already happened, but I can change things yet to come. I will write my own destiny.

Name
________________
 
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Monster Guy

Fairy type Trainer
André Bellamy
The Lovers
Velvet Room


Before Narcissus got the apology he wanted, a Persona in Chess themed armor stepped forward. "Silence, you insufferable whelp It is only thanks to her efforts that you and that… soft, pink human of yours, are able to speak at all. Express your gratitude or be silent." The girl that owned the Chess Persona was just as embarrassed by their Personas behavior as André was.

Narcissus, rolled his eyes. Why on Earth should he listen to someone that covers up their entire body in armor.

“I’m sorry, this is all happening pretty fast isn’t in. I meant no offence, dear and great Persona.” The woman offered a slight curtsy in his direction. This seemed to pacify Narcissus for the moment, and he smirked and vanished. André was relieved, While he enjoyed all kinds of attention, Narcissus outburst probably reflected poorly on him.

Next, the woman introduced herself as Katherine Dyson. She was apparently a teacher at this school. They had all passed some sort of test by facing off against those dark duplicates of themselves from earlier. The young movie star shuddered at the thought. Exactly what they were being tested on, Katherine didn't explain. Now they were in someplace called the Velvet Room. So far, this room didn't look particularly velvety.

Then, a tall man appeared at the doorway. This man was quite handsome. He had beautiful violet eyes, short sandy hair, and was dressed in a stylish blue bellboy uniform. They were lead into another room. This one, vaguely reminded André of a hotel lobby. There was a even man playing the piano at the far corner of the room. Overall, this room had a much nicer presentation than the room they were in previously. Although, it would never compare to André's own home... It also lacked velvet...

They were led to some tables and chairs, where seven sheets of paper were placed, and a elegant pen beside each one. They were instructed to sit, then they were told to sign the contract in order to be able to enter this room again, as apparently it would be useful to them. It also would give them more control over their Persona. Which would no doubt be a big help going forward.

As follows, I André Bellamy, of sound mind and body, take full responsibility for my actions moving forward. I accept all future consequences regarding any such actions. I accept that my brothers and sisters have a free will of their own and are allowed to take their own actions that may conflict with my own. I cannot change what has already happened, but I can change things yet to come. I will write my own destiny.

André read the contract up and down. He knew better than to carelessly sign a binding document without reading it in it's entirely. He couldn't find any fine print, and nothing on this document seemed bad... So, he picked up the pen, and signed his autograph. He even added a heart after the Y in Bellamy.

After the documents were collected, Katherine asked for everyone's names. This woman taught at this school, and she didn't already know his name? Well, he would have to fix that immediately! André stood up from the chair. "Bonsoir, mademoiselle Dyson. "Je m'appelle André Bellamy." He gave a flourish and a bow. "Enchantée. Everyone in the school knows who I am." André laughed haughtily.
 
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TheSequelReturns

Faithful Crusader
~ Cassandra Winter ~
- The Velvet Room -

If the room they had just left looked like a temple, then the room they entered looked like a temple themed hotel lobby. Columns were lined up in rows across the large space, but looking up Cassandra couldn't see the ceiling. Only a veil of shadows where the light simply ran out of reach. For a moment, Cass wondered if the room even had a ceiling but that thought was quickly shelved for later. There was only so much reality bending she could handle at once, and she was still dealing the with the fact that a large armored entity was somehow bound to her.

Th man who led them into this new space, Sonder, was an interesting character. If this really was a hotel, he was certainly dressed the part. He looked like a bellboy from a supernatural romance novel. But the violet eyes were unnerving enough that Cass didn't feel inclined to look directly at them.

As they crossed the threshold, a strangely familiar, haunting tune rose up in the quiet air. It was coming from a piano in the back corner. Another figure sat at the keys, playing away. The melody was odd. Cass was certain she had never heard it before, yet it created in her a strange feeling of nostalgia. Welcoming and comforting, like the soundtrack to a forgotten childhood memory.

Their strange guide led them to a collection of neatly arranged tables and chairs. Each chair had a piece of formal looking paper and an expensive looking pen resting in front of it. Cassandra took a seat as instructed and read the contract a few times while she listened to the explanation.

As follows, I Cassandra Winter, of sound mind and body, take full responsibility for my actions moving forward. I accept all future consequences regarding any such actions. I accept that my brothers and sisters have a free will of their own and are allowed to take their own actions that may conflict with my own. I cannot change what has already happened, but I can change things yet to come. I will write my own destiny.

Under that was a place to sign. Cassandra wasn't sure which part of it unnerved her the most. The fact that it already had her name on it was creepy enough, especially since she had chosen this seat at random. But it was the talk of accepting responsibility that unnerved her the most. Responsibility for what? Did all of this not end with the monster attacks? But... apparently if she didn't sign it, she wouldn't have access to this safe room. And Nemesis would be more fully under her control, which was tempting.

There didn't seem to be a downside. But wasn't that always how the Faustian Deal was sold? Either way, Cassandra didn't see any other option. Picking up the pen with slight trepidation, she carefully and deliberately signed her name. And that was that.

Kat chimed up after a few moments. “So, what are your names? It’s been a long night and I’d love to have something to call each of you, we’ve got a bit more to go before we can part ways.”

To what Cassandra had to assume was no-one's surprise, André went first. When no one else jumped up, Cassandra figured she may as well get it over with.

She stood up carefully, making sure to slide the chair out first. "Hi, um..."

Focus Cass. Don't get flustered now.

"I'm Cassandra Winter." she continued, her confidence returning. "I'm a third year student. It's nice to meet you all, even if the circumstances are a little unorthodox."
 

GoldenHouou

antagoonist
Sofiya Mikhailovna Ignatova
The Sun
Velvet Room


Before the woman could answer any of the questions flung her way, the tall blonde man that had accompanied Andrea practically jumped at her face. He was clearly offended, but... Sofiya didn’t really understand why. He used difficult words, and spoke about things she clearly had not been around for. ... Ah! Wait, wasn’t he--- almost naked?!

Sofiya quickly covered Morrey’s eyes. She would not let her friend fall to ruin!

Another figure, this time a super-duper tall armored lady, stepped up to the blonde man. The words she used were difficult as well, but her tone was definitely annoyed. She was probably reprimanding him for being naked in public - as she should have! That was a crime, right? Why did they have a criminal with them, anyway?!

Just then, Sofiya realized some of the armored knight’s disapproving words were directed at Andrea. She puffed out her cheeks. Before she could join in on the conversation in her friend’s defense however, monster fighter lady - or, as she introduced herself as, Kat - calmed the situation and started to explain what was going on. Sofiya got the gist of it, or at least she believed she did. What they'd gone through was a test with their shadow dopp... drop... uh, droppings, and they'd all passed.

Wait, she passed an exam? And she didn’t even study?!

“Morrey, I might be a genius,” she whispered under her breath.

In the end, the rest of Sofiya’s many questions had to wait. A tall man in an uniform entered the room, and they were all instructed to follow. Sofiya nodded and took Morrey’s hand to lead her forth. Though she might’ve seemed too distracted to pay attention to her surroundings, her roommate’s earlier hesitance when about to ask a question had not gone unnoticed. Sofiya figured it was because she was scared - and holding hands helped with that! Together, everything was less scary.

Oh, and she had a knife. That made things less scary too. If there were scary things waiting ahead, she was ready!

The room they entered next was anything but scary. Looking like a mix between a temple of old and a modern lobby, it seemed like a thing of dreams-- And Sofiya loved it! She gasped upon entrance, eyes wide at the sight. Soon enough she was walking backwards, trying to squint up at the darkness that formed their ceiling. How tall was the room? Why were there tables made of stone? There were vines, too-!

Yatagarasu pecked her ear, then used a talon to gesture towards the table they were supposed to take a seat at. His expression was difficult to read on the account of, well, being a bird, but he sure sounded exhausted. “Pay attention."

Poor thing, maybe he was tired from the fight earlier?

Sofiya nodded and slipped into her seat, letting go of Morrey’s hand so she could do the same. Yatagarasu settled to float overheard - for about a second, until Sofiya unceremoniously plucked him right off the air onto her lap. If he was tired, he shouldn't be flying - everyone knew that. Tired pilots caused accidents.

His startled protests died down once Kat started to speak again. She explained that the piece of paper in front of them was a contract, as well as what purpose it served. Sofiya didn’t really get the specifics. But... everyone else was signing it, and she did like the idea of being able to tell Yata to stop struggling and actually have him listen, so--

Without reading the contract over, Sofiya scribbled her name in cyrillic, adding a little heart at the end for good measure.
As follows, I Sofiya Mikhailovna Ignatova, of sound mind and body, take full responsibility for my actions moving forward. I accept all future consequences regarding any such actions. I accept that my brothers and sisters have a free will of their own and are allowed to take their own actions that may conflict with my own. I cannot change what has already happened, but I can change things yet to come. I will write my own destiny.

София Михайловна Игнатова ♥
________________

There. All done!

Andrea introduced herself first - though, silly her, she misspoke her name as André. Then came the mysterious girl with the armored knight. Cassandra Winter... Sofiya waved at her enthusiastically.

“Nice to meet you! All of you! I’m Sofiya Mikhailovna Ignatova, but friends call me Sonya.” She grinned at everyone present, tapping her cheek with a finger. “So that means... all of you can call me Sonya! Let's ace this class together!”

With that done, she turned to Morrey expectantly, ready to cheer her on if she had trouble speaking up again. There was nothing scary in this room, except maybe the unseen ceiling. But if needed, she would go and stab that for her too!
 

InnerFlame

Fire and Ice Combo
Jamie Austin Moore
The Emperor
A Velvet Room


Right after, Jamie asks her question Pinky's nearly nude blond persona suddenly appears and complains about being called a creature. After demanding an apology, another knight persona reprimands him. Jamie had a suspicion that Hippolyta would have had some words if it didn't speak out since she was feeling rather similar towards his outburst. Seeing the embarrassed body language of the two Persona's owner is perplexing to Jamie. Under the impression that these beings share the personality of the one it came from, she wonders how much of its own personality it contains? Or is because they did have feelings like that, that the two are ashamed of the outbursts? What exactly are these strange humanoids... creatures known as Personas? Jamie silently wondered.

Curly Bob, known as Katherine Dyson, pacifies the long-haired blonde before introducing herself. Her explanation or rather lack of it didn't satisfy Jamie in the least. Even saying she would explain later made Jamie cast a bit of suspicion on her as she didn't even give a simple answer to the important questions asked. Opting that to tell them that fighting the 'Shadow Self' was some kind of test that they passed. So it would have been a fail test if they had died, is this current test here also of life and death? The teacher is interrupted before she could say more. It is a sandy-haired man in a blue uniform, so men did exist in this strange dimension of monsters and life & death tests.

The guy encourages the group to move deeper into this violet zone and Though Jamie is feeling less inclined to follow with questions left unanswered, she once more moved with the group in silence. This new area is much open filled with pillars, statues and more modernize objects. It would almost appear normal if it weren't for the purple coloration and the impossibly high ceiling that the columns disappear into. The only saving grace of this room is the somewhat familiar tune that is calming for her being played. It gives Jamie nostalgia of her brothers back home.

Brought over to a table Jamie, notice seven papers despite only five of them there. Katherine explains the pros of signing the contracts which apparently had no cons which seem suspicious. For a moment the blonde concentrates on unclaimed contracts. Seeing that her full name is on it, the unclaimed contracts must also belong to someone specific. Did the other two fail their test, or did they just not enter here yet? Jamie couldn't remember if there were any other people around before entering here. She turns her eyes down to her own contract and began reading.

As follows, I Jamie Austin Moore, of sound mind and body, take full responsibility for my actions moving forward. I accept all future consequences regarding any such actions. I accept that my brothers and sisters have a free will of their own and are allowed to take their own actions that may conflict with my own. I cannot change what has already happened, but I can change things yet to come. I will write my own destiny.

Name
_________________


All Jamie could think after reading the contracts several times is what kind of weird contract agreement is this. It is basically just saying take full responsibility for ones' own actions, others have thoughts of their own that can conflict with yours, you can't the change past but you can change the future and you will create your own destiny. Other than the strange wording, it makes sense to Jamie but why did she have to sign this? A part of her wanted to ask but with how Katherine skillfully dodge the earlier questions, she felt she won't be getting in straight answers.

Jamie side glance as her 'sisters' as they sign their contracts. Though she couldn't help but be skeptical about what hidden conditions follow from creating her own destiny. More than that, Jamie hates this feeling of no other choice but to agree if she wants to know anything that is going on. She feels like refusing and figuring it out on her own but surprisingly Hippolyta votes against that. The Persona tells her they needed the knowledge and place of rest. Then if they needed to they could easily take down anyone that stood in her way. With an annoyed click of her tongue, she signs the name: Jamie A. Moore.

Jamie finishes just in time to get to hear Pinky LaFrenchman condescending introduction. Jamie cannot help but roll her eyes. How could someone so full of themselves exist? After his laughter ended, the next person stood up to greet everyone. Honestly probably her favorite of the group, not only did her persona bash that narcissistic one the person herself, Cassandra Winter, cames off as an intelligent girl. Following that, the tiny knife-wielding airhead. She is overly friendly and all smiles as told everyone her name and nickname. Once again despite being told this wasn't school-related, Sofiya suggested that they should ace the class together. Jamie let out a sigh, isn't it nice to be able to put off life-threatening situations without caring.

The room grew quieter once more. Just two of them left to give out their names. Jamie's blue eyes glance at the other unnamed girl before audibly exhaling. The tall blonde would be waiting forever for the shy girl to speak up, so decide to just get it over with. Jamie pushed her chair back though instead of standing up she merely lean back in it as she starts to speak.

"Jamie Moore. Third-year," her introduction is brief and indifferent. Her expression showing a slight scowl as she crosses her arms in irritation. Jamie absolutely hates this forced, unexplained situation and the carefree free attitude of her 'sisters'.
 

Vern

Why not both?
Morgan Valentine
The Moon
The Velvet Room


Perhaps it was because of her general lack of exercise and increasingly terrible sleep schedule, or maybe it was the whole deal with a murderous shadow self and two voices echoing in her head — but regardless of the reason, Morgan was feeling far too tired to think. While two other personas busied themselves by insulting each other, Sofiya frantically covered her eyes for some reason, and she took the chance to take a deep breath and perhaps a three-second nap.

“Morrey,” her roommate whispered, pulling her back into reality, “I might be a genius.”

“What?” Morgan whispered back, confused. She hadn’t quite caught what the lady was saying earlier, and having Sofiya by her side certainly didn’t help her ability to concentrate. She allowed her roommate to take her by the hand and drag her into another room along with the others, following a guy in a bellboy uniform.

The room was far bigger than the previous one, pillars reaching so high up that they disappeared into darkness — various statues were scattered around the floor, and Morgan took the chance to admire their craftsmanship, which, all things considered, was pretty good. Someone was playing the piano, and there was a man sitting behind a long desk. Suddenly feeling very exposed, Morgan tucked herself deeper into her sweater. What’s wrong with me? Was I always this nervous?

She knew perfectly well what was wrong with her, but that wasn’t something She really wanted to think about. But as Sofiya let go of her hand and she was shown to a table, memories of the night came flooding back again. That shadow’s sneer, that melody which had no right to be so touching... you’ll never be good enough, and you know.

She grimaced. Yeah. I know.

“All right, thank you, Sonder...” the lady’s voice was the thing that snapped her out of her reverie this time. The lady — Kat, was it? — went on to explain how they needed to sign a contract in order to gain access to this room, and fully control their personas — neither of which Morgan felt any real desire to do. But apparently the ‘owner’ of the place had valuable resources that she’d want access to in the future, and that sounded valuable, if a little vague.

“Hey, Jekyll...”

The woman is right. I believe we are safe here. The kind voice says, answering her before she even finished asking. Do not worry about us — we are content to do your bidding.

Like hell we are. The harsh one snaps, although it sounds almost joking in tone.

Edward, please. We’ve talked about this.


Smiling at her personas’ exchange, Morgan looked down at her ‘contract’.

As follows, I Morgan Valentine, of sound mind and body, take full responsibility...

She blinked. Brothers and sisters... what was this contract trying to tell her? That Hope had a free will of her own, that she was allowed to do what she did, that she couldn’t change what has already happened — it wasn’t like she didn’t already know all that. Oh, she definitely knew that, all right.

I will write my own destiny.

Below that line was a space where she was meant to sign her name. She reached for the pen, then hesitated — what destiny would she have had? What responsibility would I have to take? All this talk of destiny, of the future... it scared her.

But she’d promised that shadow that she would try — to become a good person, to take responsibility for herself, to be someone worthy of life. She’d promised herself that.

Sighing, she lifted the pen and signed the document: Morgan Valentine.

As Kat collected the contracts, she asked everyone their names — and the others were happy to oblige. Andre and, of course, Sofiya she already knew, but both Jamie and Cassandra, as well as a few others, she was seeing for the first time. Feeling Sofiya’s expectant gaze on her, Morgan hastily composed herself and gave the others a wave — the last thing she wanted was for her roommate to start cheering or something in an attempt to boost her confidence.

“I’m Morgan,” she said, leaving out her last name by reflex. Looking around, she gave the others a polite nod, “It’s nice to meet you all.”
 

Skillfulness

Well-Known Member
|~ Kat Dyson and Everyone ~|
'~ Location: The Velvet Room ~'


The students had signed the contracts and introduced themselves. Sonder swept in and gathered the papers then disappeared into one of the side doorways. Kat was incredibly pleased with how everything was going so far. The blonde haired boy was named André, a popular boy at school that knew French. That would come in handy later. Cassandra was a third year, the one who had the chess Persona. The perky student was named Sonya, or formally Sofia, and she still seemed to misunderstand the circumstances. At least she was super friendly. The shy one was Morgan.

“Ok, well, shoot. We only have enough time for meeting Igor then I have to get you all back to bed. We’ll do the rest tomorrow. And Sonya, to clarify, this isn’t exactly a class held here at school--it’s not a class at all. Think of it more like being superheroes and this is our secret base. They have bad guys and we’re the good guys. We protect innocent people from dangerous things going on that they don’t know about. I’d tell you Igor will explain more, but you’ll see for yourselves.”

Kat led the group towards the back of the room. Closer now, they could make out the occupants of the desk and piano. The woman at the piano had long, reddish brown hair pulled back. She was dressed similar to Sonder in a light blue top with a black skirt. Also, she had matching violet eyes, giving an air of indifference as you all approached. The man at the desk had an exceptionally long nose, thick eyebrows, and was missing most of his hair. There was a layer of white hair in the back, below the bald crest of his head. He worse a neat, black suit with white gloves. His intense eyes bore through the students as they approached.

“My name is Igor. Welcome to the Velvet Room.” Igor gave a melodramatic wave of his hand at his surroundings and grinned. “I am the proprietor of this establishment and dealer of all things arcane and mysterious. I can see things you cannot, but you all bear the burden of entering back into the real world. Still, I am thoroughly pleased to invite you all here in this place between reality. You are henceforth welcome to the Velvet Room any time you desire.”

With those words, Kat grins and holds up her key. She points at her pocket and nods encouragingly. At this point, everyone will feel a small tug on one of the pockets on their clothing. A violet colored key can be found there, small enough to fit in the palm of your hand.

“Those lil guys will work on any doorway when you need to get here,” Kat explained. “Oh, and this is Holly here on the piano,” Kat waved towards the stoic woman. She continued playing, but gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.

“Yes,” Igor cut in. “Holly and Sonder have proven to be indispensable help to me in recent times. As well as Kat, though she is free to roam like the rest of you. All you who wield Persona. Beware of the potential you now hold: you wouldn’t want to make things worse, would you? I wish you all luck and discipline. It will be a wicked road ahead for you all.”

Kat exhaled sharply and shook her head. She turned from the desk and waved for the students to follow. While they walked towards the exit she spoke up again.

“See? Cryptic guy, but genuine. If you can cut through all the cryptic-ness. Anyway I need to get you all back to your rooms soon and we can meet again tomorrow. Unfortunately the real world won’t stayed paused for us forever.” She checked the watch at her wrist and strode through the door leading back out into the courtyard. “2 A.M., sorry it’s so late. We can all meet together at the library after classes tomorrow. There’s a mostly hidden door near the back we can use to enter the Velvet Room. Plus no one looks for books back there.”

“Hopefully this wasn’t all too overwhelming for you. I really am sorry this is happening so fast. I promise we’ll have more time to go over things tomorrow but we really should be getting to bed. Another day of school tomorrow!” Kat shoos them along, but waits around a few extra minutes in case anyone comes back. She’d been through this whole thing before and knew it was hard to just walk away from it the first night. Sleep would come to her later anyway. What she needed now was to be here for these kids. Hopefully they would be alright during classes the next day.

-------------------------------------------

On the roof of the school stood a figure. They had observed the fight near midnight. Then they waited patiently while the group entered the door in the school using a special key. When the group reemerged, they were still there to observe. Once the woman was the only one left, the figured turn and left from the roof, their job done.
 

Monster Guy

Fairy type Trainer
André Bellamy
The Lovers
Velvet Room


After the introductions were all done, Kat led the everyone towards the back of the room. Now, they could see two more people. There was a woman playing the piano. She was just as attractive as Sonder. They even had matching violet eyes and wore a similar uniform. Were they related somehow? The older gentleman sitting at the desk was nowhere near as attractive as the other two. His face made André cringe. He had an comically long nose, that took up most of his face. He was balding, and something about his gaze made André uncomfortable, but it was the gigantic nose was the most distracting feature. Well... at least he dressed well, and had good taste in employees.

The man's name was Igor... He was the one who wrote that letter from earlier. Well, he certainly looked like an Igor, that was for sure. He apparently owned the Velvet Room, and officially welcomed them to it. They were invited back here anytime they wished. Then, André suddenly felt something manifest in his pocket. Sure enough, André found a violet key that definitely wasn't there before. Kat explained they could be used to get to the Velvet Room from any doorway. André was now in possession of a magical key, how exciting!

They then introduced the woman on the piano was named Holly, and that she and Sonder were essentially Igor's assistants, along with Kat. Then Igor gave them an ominous warning before sending them all away. While he seemed like a decent person, André was glad to no longer have to look at that man's face any longer.

After they were back in the real world, they arranged to meet up in the library after class tomorrow to talk about all of this.

André was glad that he could finally get to bed. Tonight had been a long night, and he was exhausted. He could properly process all of this madness later. Right now, he needed sleep. "Au revoir mesdames!" He waved good bye and blew his new companions a kiss. "I will see you tomorrow." He somehow made his way back to his room. and fell asleep the second his head hit the pillow.
 
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InnerFlame

Fire and Ice Combo
Jamie Austin Moore
The Emperor
The 'Velvet Room'


After the last girl, Morgan, introduces herself the teacher seems to realize the amount of time that has passed. Informing them that they only had time to meet some Igor guy before having to let them go. Jamie is no longer feeling up to anything at the moment and annoyedly just follows along with the group deeper into the violet room. The teacher phrases this whole event as superheroes fight villains for the air-headed girl, but it seems way too lighthearted considering the whole almost being killed part. The tall girl keeps that opinion to herself, however. A big nose old man behind the desk in a black suit is supposedly the person they had to meet. Big nose man eyes them closely as they approach and Jamie returns a stern stare with her blue eyes.

“My name is Igor. Welcome to the Velvet Room.” This 'Igor' fellow makes enormous hand gestures while he grinned widely. “I am the proprietor of this establishment and dealer of all things arcane and mysterious. I can see things you cannot, but you all bear the burden of entering back into the real world. Still, I am thoroughly pleased to invite you all here in this place between reality. You are henceforth welcome to the Velvet Room any time you desire.”

“Those lil guys will work on any doorway when you need to get here,” Curly Bob teacher added after all that nonsense, Igor was rambling about. “Oh, and this is Holly here on the piano,” Kat waves towards a stoic woman with auburn hair girl wearing a matching outfit of the guy with a skirt instead. Responding to her name being called but not get up from the piano, she continued playing the piano. Igor chimes back into praise the two and giving them a warning about 'a wicked road ahead of them.'

Jamie merely silently takes in the intangible information for later, still not trusting these 'Velvet Room' residents or even the teacher that supposedly wants to help them but puts off the important knowledge of today's events. As they approach the exit, the tall girl didn't acknowledge the woman who obviously didn't want to answer her questions earlier or anyone else. The manly teenage girl's mood has gone sour, and she decides that it would be best to not talk to anyone while she is this aggravated. After some normalcy, she hopes it would cool her down enough so she could get some answers before snapping at someone. So without a single farewell to anyone, she exits into the courtyard and heads straight for her dorm room.

"This whole thing is so infuriating," Jamie mutters to herself after getting some distance from that strange room. The blonde pinches the bridge of her nose as she exhales. Her head is hurting with all this annoying crap that made no logical sense. Jamie would just sleep. There is no way that she would let to this, mess with her attendance and studies later. If she didn't get her answers tomorrow would dump this entire group of girls.
 
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TheSequelReturns

Faithful Crusader
~ Cassandra Winter ~
- Cassandra's Dorm Room -

The night's events had thus far been one step removed from a dream. If everything hadn't felt as real as it had, then Cassandra probably would have gone to bed and hoped she'd remember none of this in the morning. But she knew that what she had experienced was very real. And if she needed proof...

She reached into her pocket and took out the key for the third time. It was solid. Real. It was also magical. Proof that the dreamscape, monsters, strange rooms, long nosed man, and her evil monotone copy had all been real as well.

When she had been a kid, all of this would have seemed like a dream come true. She was getting the chance to be a real heroine. Like a magical girl or the protagonist of an RPG. But... all she could seem to focus on was the danger involved. Those monsters had tried to hurt her. Her copy had tried to kill her. And Nemesis was strong, but Cassandra was not. And if Nemesis wasn't fast enough or close enough to protect her, then... game over.

She remembered the unsigned contract in the Velvet Room and shuddered. Was someone going to be missing from school the next day?

The key made a soft little thud as Cassandra dropped it into her school bag.

"A wicked road ahead, huh?" she mused to herself. Was that an omen or a warning?

She was too exhausted to try and figure it all out now. Best to get to bed, and deal with this tomorrow. And if the others showed up to the library, then hey, at least she wouldn't be alone in all this. And that was something. She rolled over in bed and quickly fell sound asleep.
 

GoldenHouou

antagoonist
Sofiya Mikhailovna Ignatova
The Sun
Velvet Room


After everyone had introduced themselves and signed their respective contracts, Kat went on to explain that what they were doing wasn’t really a class activity. Instead, they were more like---

"Superheroes?!" Sofiya gasped, jumping up from her seat. Her grip on Yatagarasu tightened, and the poor bird begun to struggle again. “No way, that’s super-duper cool! Did you hear that, Morrey?!” she looked to her friend, beaming from ear to ear. “We’re heroes! We’re going to protect people!”

Just like soldiers did! But wait, did she say... Igor? That was definitely a Russian name! Did she have a compatriot?

Sofiya followed along eagerly as they moved along, constantly trying to peek ahead to find Igor. It felt like an eternity since she’d last spoken with someone in her mother tongue, so the prospect excited her. Where in Russia was Igor from? What was his dialect like?

Soon enough, people came into view. A pretty if cold-looking woman was playing the piano, and-- Sofiya jumped a little at the sight of the man behind the desk. He looked like a mosquito-! A mosquito in humanoid form. Ah! What if he sucked blood!? Was he one of the bad guys? He had scary eyes, too...

Before Sofiya could step up to challenge the perceived villain to a duel, the man spoke - and Sofiya gasped. Wait, he was Igor?! Oh no, and she’d almost been rude to him! That was very narrow minded of her. Superheroes came in all shapes and sizes, after all... Batman had a bat face, and Spiderman did spider stuff! Next to them, Mosquitoman didn’t seem so strange.

"Здравствуйте!" Sofiya exclaimed in greeting, waving a hand high in the air, "вы тоже супергерой?!"

Rather than answering the pressing question of whether or not he was a superhero too, Igor went on to say... a lot of weird stuff, which Sofiya didn't really get. Partly because he used difficult words she wasn’t yet familiar with, partly because she didn’t really understand what he meant with the whole ‘between reality’ part, among other things. Was this a language barrier at work? She tilted her head. Well, at least she’d understood that they were welcome back here whenever they wanted... so she could ask for an explanation later!

Just then, Sofiya felt a tug in the pocket of her jacket. Curious, she stuck a hand in to find a... violet key? It seemed similar to the one Kat was holding, and she soon explained that it was what they’d use to return. They were introduced to Holly - who Sofiya also waved at eagerly - before Igor said some more confusing things.

“Beware of the potential you now hold: you wouldn’t want to make things worse, would you?”

Sofiya was still contemplating those words when Kat suggested they call it a night - apparently, it was already 2 AM! She promised they could get back to the topic tomorrow after classes, and Sofiya nodded along knowingly. Sleep was important. Even if... it was difficult to get sometimes...

She felt Yatagarasu start to disappear in her arms and snapped out of her thoughts. “Oh, you’re going? Okay! I’ll see you in the morning. Wake up early! That’s how you catch a lot of worms.”

Yatagarasu cawed in what was probably annoyance, then vanished altogether. Sofiya swirled around to find Morgan.

“C’mon Morrey! I’ll race you to the dorms.” With a wave to the others and a quick, “Good night, see you tomorrow,” she dashed into the night.

--
Dormitory Room

Sofiya could barely sleep from her excitement. What little shuteye she did get was filled with vivid dreams of grandeur - so when her alarm went off in the morning, she jumped out of bed all pumped up. Here it was, her first day as a superhero! There was so much to be done; she had to choose a superhero name, and she had to get a costume. No superhero went around saving the day in their everyday clothes, after all. That ruined the point of a secret identity.

A few moments later, Sofiya had already scattered half her clothes onto the floor. Superheroes usually had masks, right? And some wore underwear on their heads! But... that was a little weird, and probably unsanitary. She wasn’t that stupid. Nope. Instead...

Grinning triumphantly, Sofiya jumped onto the edge of Morgan’s bed, her hands thrown in the air. “Morrey! Morning! What do you think?” she gestured towards the many skirts she had draped around her head. The topmost one was upside down, with her hair pouring out from the open hole atop her head. The others fell in layers around her face and neck, covering most everything. She had to brush aside the hem of the topmost skirt to reveal her eyes, shining excitedly. “They’ll never see me coming!”
 
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Skillfulness

Well-Known Member
'~ Location: Cantillion Academy ~'

The second day of school was a warm, sunny autumn day. Students were reluctant to stay cooped up in classrooms all day and were quick to spend time outside as soon as they could. The courtyard was busy during lunch hours and after the last class students flooded out from the school. Below is a list of notable events from the day.

  1. During 3rd hour Technology Education class, Taylor, one of the smartest, hardest working students, received a bad grade on the first homework assignment. She was devastated by her first assignment coming back bad and cried quietly in front of the class.
  2. During 5th hour lunch, there was a small altercation. Markus, one of the well-known bullies in his third year, took his chance to pick on Felix, a timid, but passionate student interested in computers. Markus followed him the entire lunch period teasing and taunting him for his social awkwardness.
  3. During 9th hour Dance Class, one student, Henry, annoyed Genevive while stretching. He poked, pushed, and laughed at her while she repeatedly lost her balance and grew more frustrated until the teacher, Mr. Lucas, stepped in to put a stop to it. Genevive was visibly upset while Henry showed no regret.
  4. During 10th hour physics, Ugene tried answering a question, but was incorrect. Rosanne and Lesie, close friends, ganged up on him, making fun of his lack of knowledge on the subject. Ugene tried his best to ignore them.
Eventually, the school day came to a close and students were free from educational responsibility… aside from the homework they were assigned and studying some may need from the days lectures. Many students relaxed in the courtyard. Some made use of the gym for activities. A fair amount actually left the school grounds for shopping or staying with family after the second day of school. Most sports and clubs haven't started yet so students don’t have those to keep them busy yet. Emotions are high, as they always will be at a school filled with adolescents. It’s a perfect breeding ground for Shadows.

|~ Kat Dyson ~|
'~ Location: Cantillion Academy Library ~'


Kat was putting some books back on the shelves after a very, very busy day. The enthusiastic students were there for early studying materials or readers looking for fun pieces of fiction to start the year with. Also with the nice weather students were sloppy and rushed out of the library when they were done without putting books back. It left Kat lots of work to do.

In the back of her head, she was still recounting the events from last night. A part of her was so incredibly excited at the prospect of having more allies to fight beside. Another part of her was worried about being responsible for training a whole new era of Persona users. It had been ages since Kat had heard from her past schoolmates, the friends she made when she first discovered she had a Persona. Maybe they were off starting their own legions of new Persona users or perhaps they had put that past behind them. It was a humbling thought.

Hey Kat, don’t worry so much. Everything will be fine, now I think there’s a student looking for a book at the desk. Kat started and turned around quickly to see a boy waiting at the desk, looking board as could be.

“Ah sorry for the wait,” she said while hurrying over. “What can I help you with?” Back to work for now it seems.
 

TheCharredDragon

Tis the Hour to Reload
Celes Desposito
The Chariot
Cantillion Academny: After Class -> Gym


Celes felt like exploding.

Oh, sure, she had been excited for school, unlike most people. Because this was a well funded school, there were plenty of books she now had much easier access to than just trying to find a roundabout way to get it on the internet. There were no school uniforms, or rather no mandate for it so she got to wear her favorite clothes. And there were classes here that were either more comprehensive than the ones back home or outright not there, like martial arts.

But then physics class happened and well...

"Hey you two, knock it off," she said, glaring at two students who were making fun of this guy who answered wrong.

"What?" one of them said.

"Did you say something?" the other said.

"I said, knock it off. Stop bothering him."

The first one huffed and smirked. "Or what, Miss Smarty Pants?"

The second said, "You're going to lecture us?"

Celes growled and gritted her teeth as she said, "Or I'm going to knock you if you don't knock it off!"

And it turns out she wasn't the only one who was pissed. Soon, someone else joined in, which made Celes blink in surprise a bit, not expecting someone else to be annoyed of bullying like she was. However, that was soon stopped as Mrs. Nelson called to them.

She stiffened and thought, Oh crap. She found Mrs. Nelson looking at her.

"Don't bother others in class, please," she said.

Celes slumped and pushed her glasses up her nose. "Sorry, Mrs. Nelson."

And she did mean that. She liked her as a teacher and wouldn't want to cause any trouble for her.

"Yes, Mrs. Nelson," the two said in chorus.

But as soon as the teacher went back to, well, teaching, the two went back to ribbing into the guy who had answered incorrectly every chance they got, but a lot more "discreet", and stopped whenever it seemed they would get caught. Her guilt quickly changed to trying with everything she has to not punch the bullies and, thus, get in detention the second day in school. Okay, there was lunch time too, and the only reason she didn't just charge at him was thanks to Raven, but her anger from then was quickly dissipated during her martial arts class right afterwards. But, again, she didn't want to actually make a ruckus to she just settled on glaring at the bullies--whose names she couldn't remember at the moment--like she was hoping to get laser eyes sometime soon as the class quickly dispersed.

So it came as no surprise when her brother showed up not long after her last class with a worried expression.

"Hey bro..." she said in greeting, but she made no attempt to cover her sulking tone.

"Hey sis," he said, holding Blacky to his chest now that classes were over. "How're you feeling?"

She gave a smirk. "How do you think I'm feeling?"

"Like you're going to turn into a missile and hit someone?" he said, somehow being deadpan, exasperated and fond at the same time.

That made her laugh. "Yeah, pretty much," she said, smiling. But that was soon gone as she shook her head and sighed. "Damn it... I really wanted to though..."

"But you'll get in trouble and that won't help anyone," Raven said, now smirking.

Celes's own returned as she adjusted her glasses. "Yeah. I know, I know..." she said. "Just wish I could do something..."

"Why don't you report it?" Raven said, tilting his head a little.

Celes frowned. "Well, I could, but..."

From her experiences, it never really worked as well as she wished it could. And as fun as the teachers were--well, most of them, anyway, since she thought the calculus teacher was a bit too stern for her tastes--she wasn't too sure how they would handle things. Or even if the incidents would be "reportable". They were, for the most part, relatively minor compared to, say, what she could've done...which was punching or kicking someone. Scratch that, what she still wanted to do, even now.

"Oh, right..." Raven said, looking almost as if he read her mind. "Maybe it'll be better for you to go to the gym. Blow off some steam."

Gym's good. Gym sounded like a great idea. Maybe her head will even be clearer afterwards.

"Yeah, I'll go and do that," she said. "What about you?"

Raven gave a small smile and said, "I think I'm going to sew outside."

She blinked. That didn't seem completely right. "What?"

Raven chuckled. "It's a nice day," he said. "I don't really want to be cooped up while I sew when it's like this."

Oh, that made more sense. Her brother always liked being outside and in nature. And normally, she would've been fine with that...

"But..." she said, unsure if she should continue.

She knew Raven could take care of himself. But after seeing those bullies, she didn't really want to take her chances in leaving him by himself. And yet, she knew she shouldn't hover over him. That would be detrimental. Or worse, make him even more of a target whenever she wasn't nearby...

Unsurprisingly, Raven just gave a small, and reassuring, smile as he said, "Don't worry. I'll stay close to the dorm so I can get to my room quickly if I need to get away."

Celes sighed and relaxed her posture in relief. When that jostled her glasses a bit, she fixed it before she said, "All right. I'll see you when I'm done then?"

Raven nodded and hummed in acknowledgement.

"All right," Celes said, now properly smiling. As she was leaving, she then said, with a wave, "See you later, bro!"

It didn't take too long to get to the gymnasium. And seeing as clubs weren't open yet, there were quite a few around, some honing their skills while others were just exercising. Now that she was here, she thought she should probably change to something more fitting, but she shrugged. These clothes would be enough for her. All she needed was to take off her trenchcoat and gloves. If anyone had a problem with that, that was their problem. Unless it was breaking rules she apparently hadn't known about.

Celes did just that, putting her gloves in her coat's pockets and the coat itself on one of the benches. She did a few stretches and warm-ups before looking around, deciding what she wanted to do. When she spotted the basketball court, she gave it some thought then decided to do some dribbles and shoots through the hoop. And, just for the heck of it, a few slam dunks. Those were always satisfying to do. Even more so if she actually manages one during a game.

Now if only there was someone she could play against...

Raven Desposito
The Priestess
Cantillion Academy: After Class -> Dorms -> Courtyard


Raven knew, scientifically, there was no proof for twins having a psychic link. And besides that, it was a bit of a stereotype anyway. But despite that, he feels there's some truth to it. Because despite how nice his first day of school had been yesterday, and how today was going relatively well for him, he just knew Celes was just fuming.

True, he ate with her during lunch, when he did actually notice her nearly run to someone bullying a schoolmate and he had to calm her, but he knew she could blow off steam during her martial arts class afterwards since they had told each other's schedules yesterday so if they ever needed to find each other, they knew where the other would most likely be during that time.

Then his afternoon dance class happened and one of the girls got bullied as the teen kept messing up her dances. Thankfully the teacher noticed and told him to stop, but Raven knew the damage had been done. And he knew that if Celes had been here, he would've had to pull her back and calm her down again.

Perhaps it was paranoia from the incident because during his last class, he just felt like his sister was going to explode. No reason at all, just worry. So, as soon as his literature class was done, he headed straight for where he knew Celes would be...and found that she was sulking and glaring as she walked out of the classroom.

So he talked to her, helped her sort out her thoughts, and suggested she go to the gym. She looked like she needed it. But, unsurprisingly, she was worried for him, especially when he told her his plan of staying outside, where people could easily target him. But he managed to calm her from that enough for her to leave with her waving and saying,

"See you later, bro!"

Raven waved back and then he left for his room in the dorms. He had to hold Blacky tight and take deep breaths as he passed through a pretty big group of students, but otherwise there was no incident. When he got to his room, he was tempted to maybe continue one of his more complicated projects, a plush Chinese dragon, but decided to just take one he did finish, a white Shiba Inu one, that he hadn't stuffed yet along with the stuffing he was going to use and his sewing kit.

With what he needed while passing the time, he went back to the courtyard to find it was surprisingly filled. Groups of friends were talking to each other all around, some standing and some sitting on the benches. In fact, he was pretty sure all the benches near the dorms were full.

Raven didn't mind though. As far as he could tell there was no rule against standing or sitting on the grass, so he just went up to the tree right in front of the door to the dorms and sat under it, with his legs crossed. With that done, he put Blacky in front of him, took out the flat Shiba Inu, and slowly started stuffing it, occasionally poking it to reach the various corners as he hummed Vivaldi's Autumn segment of Seasons.
 
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Monster Guy

Fairy type Trainer
André Bellamy
The Lovers
André's Dorm Room > Boys Communal Bathroom


André woke up early the next morning, before his roomate did. He knew it took him a while to get ready in the morning, and had to wake up early in order to still make it to class. He went through his clothes, and tried to figure out what to wear today. A cute pink dress? Or maybe his usual pink outfit? It didn't matter. André knew he would look great regardless of what he chose to wear that day. He eventually and settled on a cute pink and purple schoolgirl uniform he had handy.

He grabbed his clothes and accessories, his toiletries, and a wig, then he went into the boys communal bathroom. It was empty for the moment, but who knew how long that would last. Once he got there, André got dressed, then stood in front of the mirror grooming himself. He brushed his wig, applied his make-up, brushed his teeth. Even though he would be beautiful no matter what, André took his sweet time getting ready every morning. It took time to look Movie Star fabulous every day. André giggled to himself as he applied lip gloss, then blew a kiss at his own reflection. Other boys walking in might be confused as to why their was a girl in the boys bathroom. If they knew André well enough, they would know better.

Throughout all of this, André didn't even think about anything that happened last night. As far as he was concerned, that was some crazy dream he had. None of it was real. That illusion was quickly shattered when he heard Narcissus' voice in his head. 'See, you are just like me! It is unfortunate that I cannot see my own beautiful image...'

"Quoi?!"

'I would advise that you not answer out loud. Others might think things...'

Hearing his Persona's voice meant the events of the night really did happen. That meant he had a meeting in the library after class was over. It was the time to meet up with the others, and properly understand what was going on. Still, he had to look good. He stood im front of the mirror, making sure his appearance was flawless before starting the school day.


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