I guess I'll go ahead and wait until 1:30. <xD

Hey, Kole! ^-^

I was scared that I was gonna be busy today, but thankfully everything's on Wednesday. :P

Gah, I hope so too! >.<
Things were about to get good in the story too.

Do you want to wait a bit longer, or start now? .-.

Hi ! The ref of Raisha got deleted but I think I still have it.

Hi, Xanthe!
It'd be great if you could re-post it. ^-^

That is, if you want to.
I remember you said you were going to re-design her??
Maybe I'm mis-remembering.

Her dragon form I was redesigning, and adding a tail to her like you put above. I reuploaded it.

@Xanthe
Ah, thanks! ^-^

Do you both want to start, or wait for more people?

Well, I guess I'll push the starting time to 2:30 if that's ok with you.
Sorry about the super long wait.

Doesn't look like CosmicMist is online but I'm not sure about the others.

Well, in the meantime...
How's everything been going for you guys?
I'm still recovering from surgery, so I've been kinda... meh.

Hello everyone!

Heyyyyy, Le bloop! .u.

(Since we're about to start soon, does everyone remember where we were?)

Yeah... so so. I remember most of it.

I'm back :U

(Welcome back, Xanthe! :3

The description covers most of it, but basically it's night time, and everyone's going to their respective dormitories in the Ruins Academy.)

(I'll go ahead and start, then. .w.)

The door to the dormitory was rather intimidating. The cold, bluish colored stone walls weren't quite the most welcoming sight, and the strange blue lights that danced through the gaps in the stone didn't help. The door itself was just... A slab of rock?

"If you guys need me, I'll be in the main room." Alexis' voice echoed down the long hallway.

Now one question... How was the door supposed to open?

Marles stared at the door, confused. "uh... h-how does it open?"

(Awww, I wont be able to make it ;-; I have to leave in a minute. I'll probably be back tonight though)

(Aw, okey. :/
Cya tonight, Cosmic! Thanks for letting me know.)

At closer inspection the stone door had a circular indent on the right side. It had a strange aura to it.

"I've never done it before, but I think you put your hand there." Frostbite said, pointing one claw at the indent.

(I have to go for a second, I'll be back...)

Marles looked unsure. "hm..." She was a bit hesitant.

"It's safe.
I mean, I've SEEN people do it before... And they were fine." Frostbite encouraged. "Just give it a try!"

The strange aura from the indent felt like some type of magic. It wasn't unsettling, but it was... Something.

Marles softly sighed. "W-well if you're sure." She carefully placed her hand in hesitantly. "..."

A white light emenated from around the indent. It circled around Marles' hand for a moment before the entire door shifted.
Slowly it slid to the left, opening a passageway to several other rooms.

"Sweet! Thanks, Marles." Frostbite's hooves clicked on the floor as she entered the hallway. "You can pick your own room, since there's no one else here."

She slightly smiled. "Um... sure" She walked a little slower, looking around.

The hallway Julian was in was seemingly endless. He finally came to the door to the dormitory... But two other doorways were visible further down the dark hall. The farthest one had what looked like a scroll sitting halfway into the hall...

Most of the doors of the women's dormitory were normal, all were shut except for one to the far left.
There were smaller doors that looked about the size of a familiar next to the regular-sized doors.

(I'm back early! :D )

Leiko headed down the hallway and picked a room with a window. She put her stuff down on a small desk then looked out of the window, wondering what awaited them tomorrow.

"Ugh... No..." A voice came from the farthest doorway. A scroll jumped out from the door, landing even farther than the first. "That doesn't make sense..." The voice grumbled in a frustrated tone.

A sudden loud scratching noise disrupted the peaceful silence of the dormitory.
It sounded like claws wildly scraping against the stone walls.

"What the heck was that?" Frostbite whispered, trying to hear where the noise was coming from.

Leiko stepped out of her room and looked down the hallway. She spotted Frostbite and walked over to her, "What was that?"

"Hm?!" The voice mumbled.
This was followed by the sound of about a million papers being shuffled around rapidly.
A man who looked to be in his early 40s quickly burst out from the door and slammed it behind him, sending a loud bang echoing down the hallway.
"Yes, yes, how may I..." He looked up at Julian, shock suddenly came across his face. "...Who are you?"

Frostbite's ears flattened, "I have no clue... C'mon." She whispered, heading towards the door to the hallway.
The scratching got louder as they approached.

Marles herd the sound and walked to the main room. "..."
Tot quickly flew over and huged Marles. "MarMar are you alright?!"
Marles smiled. "Y-yeah, but what was that?"

Leiko followed Frostbite into the hallway where everything seemed to be normal. She didn't spot anything unusual.

"...Oh!" The man's shocked expression faded. He looked like he hadn't slept in days...
"Hm, wonder why Drake didn't tell me...
ANYWAYS." His voice suddenly boomed, "They call me Griffeth!
It's a pleasure to meet a fine lad such as yourself!" He held out a hand, awaiting a handshake.

Frostbite spotted Marles and Tot in the main room, "Hey, are you both ok? There's something weird going on..." She trotted over to them.
Alexis stood completely still in the middle of the room in her full suit of armor.

Suddenly the entire academy grew darker. The lights that darted along the walls dimmed.

(Um...Should I jump in or?)

( @Xanthe
Yep! Just jump right in. ^-^)

Leiko stood in the main room and stared down the hallway, suddenly she saw Cactus walk into the room with an angry look on his face, "Are we ever going to get some sleep?" He said in an annoyed tone, "Soon, I hope." Leiko said.

Tot looked at Frostbite. "Yeah, we're fine, but is this normal?"
Marles felt uneasy, she looked around the dimming room. "... I-I don't like th-this..."

Griffeth's handshake was VIOLENT. Like the kind that gave someone a sore shoulder afterwards. "I'm terribly sorry you had to see me like this. I was just working on a new spell and I was NOT expecting any newcomers for a while."
He stopped when the lights dimmed, then he sighed, "Ah, finally the temple rests. I suppose I should too...
Ah, was there anything you needed?" He asked Julian.

Frostbite looked at Marles, "Yeah, this is normal. The lights are dimmed at night to conserve magic.
But that scratching isn't normal..." She perked her ears, trying to locate the sound, "Ugh, it's so... Everywhere at once!"

Tot grew curious because of it. "Hey Frostbite, do you think it's coming from outside?"
Marles felt a bit better. "hm..."

Leiko looked around the main room, "It sounds like its coming from all around us, like we're surrounded" Leiko said to Frostbite. Meanwhile, Cactus sat angrily on the floor, hardly able to keep his eyes open.

"I'm sorry, I did not.
That's peculiar, though, he usually finds me within a few minutes..." Griffeth stroked his chin, thinking. "Perhaps we should search for him."
He began towards the main room, deep in thought.
"The academy is a little ways under the ground... It sounds too close to be from outside..." Frostbite said, "We just need to find what it is... It's kind of annoying me now." She growled.

A sudden splash was heard from one of the water canals for aquatic students.

Cactus suddenly jolted awake; having fallen asleep on the floor. He stood beside Leiko and watched the water closely while his tail swished back and forth.

Tot looked at the direction of the sound, "Well we gotta start somewhere."
Marles still felt uneasy. "..."

( @Xanthe are you still there?)

"So, you're a shapeshifter?" Griffeth turned so he could see Julian as the walked down the hall. "The power to change one's shape always mystified me... I could never figure it out!" He said, "Oh well, you can't win em' all...
Now what in the world is that awful noise?!"
The two of them reached the main room to see a crowd gathered.

A shadowy, melted, insect-like creature crawled up from out of the water. It was alarmingly large for a bug. The scratching sound was coming from the odd monster.

Tot stared at it and quickly turned around. "I asume that is a problem?"
Marles grabed Tot. "I-I don't like the looks of th-this."
Tot released himself. "Don't worry Mar, I'll protect you."

Cactus stepped in front of Leiko at the sight of the strange creature. Leiko had left her sword in her room, and without it she felt defenseless. Once again, she had to put all of her trust in Cactus.

"Oh no." Griffeth growled, "They're already here...! Everyone stay back! These shadow creatures are incredibly dangerous..." He warned.

"I don't stay back!" Frostbite roared, charging at the bug.

The insect screeched, and flew up into the air using a very torn-looking set of wings. It descended towards Julian, ready to attack.

Several more shadow creatures emerged from the water.

( @Kole
aww okey, cya later! >o<
I'll just change Julian to Marles in that last comment...

Sorry Marles ;-;)

(it's fine. She's good at defense :D)
Marless quickly grabbed Tot and used her shield for protection while getting away from the bug.
Tot softly growled.

Frostbite fought against the creatures as hard as she could, but as she did, more and more of them emerged. "Where are they all coming from?!" She screeched.

"The canals... They're connected to outside!" Griffeth cried, "Somebody wake Alexis up-" He was interrupted by several creatures coming his way. He began using his magic to fight.

The bug monster landed on Marles' shield and opened it's jaws wide, ready to strike.

One of the strange creatures dove at Leiko, but Cactus went into his aggresive form and stopped it before it could reach her.

Griffeth levitated one of the creatures with his magic, within an instant it vanished. "We need to get these things out of here... Alexis, WAKE UP."

Through all the chaos, Alexis still stood completely still in the middle of the room.

Frostbite was eventually pinned down by the creatures, as she was completely outnumbered. "Agh! Get off me!"

Tot finally went into his aggressive form and attacked the creature, knocking it down.
Marles got behind him yet still have her shield out.

Leiko hid behind Cactus as he fought two of the creatures. He slashed their faces with his claws, causing them to scamper back into the water, but as they left more instantly came to replace them. Leiko wanted to help, but had no way of fighting.

Griffeth levitated another one of the creatures and launched it at Alexis. It whizzed past Leiko and Tot, nearly hitting them both, but thankfully, Griffeth's aim wasn't that bad.
It made a loud 'CLANG' as it bounced off of Alexis' helmet.

The ruins mysteriously lit up when she was hit.

"AH, GRIFF." She took her helmet off to see all the monsters everywhere. "Oh. Oh dear." She said.
The markings on her face lit up, and her eyes glowed a bright red.
The lights on the walls also became red.
Suddenly, large slabs of rock, like the door to the dormitory's, came up and blocked the aquatic passageways, making sure no monsters could enter through them.

Tot stopped for a moment. "That almost hit me. Well that was something"
Marles just looked around.

"Finally." Cactus continued to fight two of the creatures. One of them caught Cactus off guard and bit the side of him with its sharp teeth. Leiko winced, able to feel his pain. Cactus turned around and bit its neck, then threw it to the ground. Leiko watched as more of them began to disappear.

"Time to end this chaos!"
Griffeth's eyes became completely white, and the area beneath him glowed blue.
He made a few hand motions, lifting up the remaining monsters with levitation. Then he snapped his fingers, and they all vanished instantly.
"Phew... That's always tiring..."

"Okay, what the flying fluff is going on?!" Alexis growled, her eyes still red, along with the lights on the walls.

Cactus went back into his normal form. Exhausted from the battle, he then fell onto the floor "Good job." Leiko said as she picked him up. Leiko looked over at Frostbite, Marles, and Tot, "Are you all ok?" she asked.

Frostbite stood up and shook off the shadowy slime that had gotten all over her fur. "Other than a bunch of slime, yes."

Griffeth sighed in relief, "My, I had no idea we had so many guests... I'm terribly sorry that your first time here has been so... Chaotic..."

Alexis wandered to the canal where the monsters had come from. "Griff, this canal goes to the basement AND to outside."

Tot returned to his little self again semi tired. "We're fine."
Marles places Tot on her sholder to rest. "Um... w-what were....hm.."
Tot pats Marles. "She's trying to ask, what were those things that attacked us."

(Yeeee welcome back, Kole! :D)

Griffeth sighed, "I'm just going to call them shadow creatures.
There's been an... Infestation of them in certain areas of Loreua.
They're quite problematic, as you can't kill them normally, they just mutate." Griffeth scratched his head, "I've been working on a spell to keep them out, but it looks like I'm a bit late..."

Alexis spotted Julian behind one of the pillars. "You can come out, Julian. We've taken care of them for now."

Frostbite had a worried expression on her face, "D-do you think Drake went down to the basement?! He might be in trouble!" She quickly darted down the center hallway.

"Wait! Frostbite!" Leiko called to Frostbite. She followed her down the hallway.

Marles was still a bit shaken up, yet she wanted to know more about the shadow creatures. "I-I hope i-it's not to mu-much of a bother, but I actually w-want to learn more about them."
Tot closed his eyes. "Well now I don't have to talk for you." His face was beaming. "I'm so proud."
Marles looked at him. "Tot... you don't mean that."

"I'd be glad to tell you what I've discovered.
In fact, you seem to have a very powerful magic about you." Griffeth said to Marles, "And your familiar is quite impressive as well." He smiled.
"But if those beasts are in the basement, I need to teleport them away NOW.
Will you help us?" He asked.

"Julian, can you do me a favor?" Alexis asked.

Frostbite darted down a staircase at the end of the hall. The stairs went on and on until they opened up to a room even larger than the main room. They were still very high up, and there wasn't a protective railing.

Leiko followed Frostbite into the strange room, constantly looking behind her, unsure she should be following her. Cactus hung onto Leiko's shoulder, he was still tired and would probably be unable to fight if they were attacked.

Marles smiled a little. "I-if I can h-help, then yeah."
Tot just smiled proudly at the complement given to him.

"I need you to help me catch some of those monsters. Griffeth can't teleport them unless they're still." Alexis said sternly. "Don't worry, I've got some weapons that are perfect for this." Her eyes glowed, and a passage suddenly opened, revealing a huge stash of weapons.

"To the basement!" Griffeth yelled, charging towards the stairs to the basement.

After a while of climbing down the stairs, the enormous room seemed even larger for how tall it was. The room was much darker than the room above. At the bottom of the stairs it was nearly impossible to see.

Marles smiled nervously and ran down. "I never trained with weapons... h-hopefully I only need my shield."
Tot looked at Marles. "Of course that's all you need. You practically use your shield as a weapon." He smiles.

"You don't really need training. Anyone can use a weapon.
Well, if it's against mindless monsters that is."
Alexis dug through the weapon filled room, "Well, pick yourself a weaon. I don't mind if you use one of mine."
She came out holding an fiery looking blade.

(I have to go, sorry :/ )

( @Cosmic aw, okey. :/)

Marles smiled. "Well I-I'm just going to battle with my shield. Though, this i-isn't the first time I-I used it as a weapon."
Tot stood up. "That's the spirit! Let's go!"

(It's getting kinda late, would it be ok if we stop here?)

(yeah, cool.)

(I had fun today, and I hope you guys did too! ^-^)