5th Howl [Action]

[professorwolf]

Lyall spends the late afternoon pacing his classroom, laptop open just in case anyone has last-minutes contributions or problems, waiting for people to show up. He's early, in case anyone else is, and he's constantly poking his head out of the room to test the air for suspicious scents. Just to make sure none of those little monsters show up.

The blinds in his classroom are drawn to keep out the sunlight, but all the lights are on, so at least it's well-lit. He has his projector set up, probably to some consternation of the various students present.


Once everyone shows up, the first thing he does is make sure everyone's all right and doesn't need anything: no major questions, no obvious trauma, not in blatant trouble. Then he launches right into what's probably the most interesting part:

"I went to the police station this morning, with some trumped up allegations of arson at my 'favorite student's' house. No one suspected anything of me, as far as I could tell, but they didn't take me seriously, either, which was pretty much what I expected and hoped for. All I wanted was to get in there, and that I did. I interacted with a lot of the staff, and passed even more, and... many of them smell off. As in, not right, slightly like animals instead of people-- for those of you who don't know yet, my sense of smell has magnified into something at least at the dog's level, if not better. I don't know why, but it's useful."

He'll turn on the projector then, which shows an ink sketch of a pillar shaped like a snake with a heart atop it.

"I also saw this. It's at least as tall as I am and made of stone. I don't know what it is, or where it might have come from, but sociology is not my strong point. Being near it made me feel as if I were being-- prodded, in my head, to accept that nothing is wrong and the police chief is to be trusted. It feels rather like those visions I know some of us have been having, except not as powerful. It may be affecting others, as well, who don't recognize the feeling. I'm hoping I can get some of you to help me look into what this could be. I also have a contact working on getting me information on all three of the names mentioned in that video of poor Paul, to start looking into them directly."

That's the meat of his news. He explains a little of his frustrating experimentation on the vermini, which he's dubbed "dandelion sprites" and which have finally managed to suicide on him (he's got a slide for that, too, but it's much less useful), and a brief outline of similar safety tips to what Davin mentioned on the network (which he hasn't seen yet), though lacking the "destroy all records" bit. Then he asks: "What about you all? Anything you have found that I haven't, that might be useful in finding out more about this?"

((ooc: I went the summary route, since we're not getting the mutant storyline and it's more efficient for a large group thread. There are comments below for various threads at various times, and feel free to say your character interrupted with questions at any point in the mini-lecture!))

Comments

PRE-LECTURE: For all your arrival needs.

[professorwolf]

[scramasax]

The tension that Anthony had felt the entire way from home to here as if in tiny, taut and cold metal coils all under the surface of his skin (which had gotten him thinking, even if only for an instant, of those tufty parasites and shuddering horribly, for no better) is steadily releasing.

He'd felt like he'd half-lied to explain his coming here in the first place - Mr. Lyall needed to see a few students in the biology room on a Saturday evening, he'd said, and it was true, but was it as implausible as it sounded, and as the circumstances really were? That was bad enough. Making his way had felt all-out foreboding for nothing; he'd made every turn and onto every block expecting to see more rats on two legs, maybe an entire horde this time, and seen not a single thing.

Finally, simply being at school on Saturday - silly, he knew - had made him feel somehow as if he was in trouble. And it was a feeling, even sillier, that he fed himself. He wore anxiety in his posture, and looked around him like a sentry rabbit at a warren, and whenever he found a hallway completely empty, the way it almost never was during school days, felt vulnerable enough to justify it. They had only just been made starkly aware, after all, that they didn't have nothing to hide from - nothing more wily or malevolent than bands of disfigured, infested animals, anyway. They'd killed a student from this school - and if they tracked them down, they'd surely gun down as many more as they needed to, no questions asked.

But he's here now at the room. The coast is clear, and once he's inside all of that stays shut out at the door; as much as he would like to get on inside, Anthony first gives a few sharp knocks.

[professorwolf]

Lyall doesn't call through the door to come in; for a beat or two, it seems as if he might not be in there, at all. However, after a moment, there's the sound of the lock inside unclicking and the door finally opens up. Lyall had to make sure the person on the other side smelled right. "Anthony." He offers the boy a small smile and opens the door wider to admit him. "Come in. You're the first one here."

[scramasax]

"Hello." Anthony returns the smile - and halts, taking a concerned look through the doorway. "I'm - I'm not too early, am I?"

[professorwolf]

"Of course not. All I'm doing is pacing around and drawing slide pictures, anyway." He motions Anthony inside. "How are you feeling?"

The whole situation, with the death of a fellow student, was terrible... and he fully expected it to hit some of the others hard. He was no counselor, but he could at least identify those who probably needed one. Even if they couldn't share everything with said counselor....

[northless]

Robb's certain he looks like a mess when he comes in, unshaven and wearing day-old clothes. That's what happens when you've been drinking yourself senseless for a day or so since seeing someone die, and nursing a hangover afterward.

But he shows up anyway, stubble, day-old clothes and all.

"Hey, Mr. Lyall," he greets him, though the smile is quite obviously brittle.

[professorwolf]

Now that alarms Lyall a bit. It'd alarm him more if he wasn't already aware that his former student had been drinking, already, but he's still concerned. He leaves Anthony seated at one of the desks to come over and meet him by the door.

"Robb." He can get a good whiff on his approach, as well, and looks still concerned and a little bit put upon. Alcohol is one of the smells he's found he doesn't actually like much. "Thank you for coming."

[northless]

He would've waited till he'd managed to sleep off the hangover, but the thing is, he can't. There are people's lives at stake now, the kid's death just proved that.

"Thanks for calling me over," he says, shoving his hands in his pockets.

[professorwolf]

"You're as involved as any of us. I don't know if you know, but Paul-- that boy-- he was my student. Current student, I mean." Lyall shakes his head, putting a hand on Robb's shoulder to guide him into the room and towards a seat. He looks like-- and smells like-- he ought to be sitting down. "So I feel like I need to do something, whatever it is."

[struckout]

Kallie was hesitant... but in the end, she did show up. Reluctance and wariness were all too apparent as she entered the building, though at least she tried too to play it cool- even as she frowned at the walls and kept her arms locked crossed over her chest. Needless to say, while she had already secretly wished she'd never have to be here again, the source of the visit only strengthened her objections to the point of bitterness.

That said, while her now ever-present suspicions lingered, her mindset had undergone a subtle change since she'd been attacked by the mutated cats and then re-met Mr Lyall. There was an urgency inside of her that she found impossible to tamp down- a need for answers, to do something...

In itself that was much of why she'd finally decided to come, and fostering hopes of catching the man who'd asked her to alone if at all possible. She needed to talk to him, and their mystery network wouldn't cut it for what she had in mind.

Unfortunately she wasn't as early as she'd been aiming for, despite the fact that she had called in instead of going to work and had been doing very little for most of the day. She just tried to ignore the self-annoyance, however, gathering herself as she reached the room....

Is this before or after the lecture? Just to verify for the "alone" bit!

[professorwolf]

The door was locked, and she had to knock to gain admittance. Lyall was there to let her in, though, and he smiled wanly at her-- though definitely with some relief. "Kallie, you made it. Come on in."

He opened the door further to admit her.

IT'S A SECR-- no it's before

[struckout]

Kallie tilted her chin down, hopefully as good a greeting as any, glancing around the older man at the room beyond. Despite the determination she'd already built up before and during her way there? Being seen by others - and the reverse in meeting the other students - still made her somewhat nervous. If any one of them was captured, then the rest of the others...

She'd already decided, though. She partially stepped forward, but then paused, her brows drawing. "Could I talk to you first? Or..."

Again her gaze drifted, towards the people already there. All things considered, maybe there wasn't really enough time to expect everyone else to wait. However, the desire to at least ask nagged at her.

heehee <3

[professorwolf]

Lyall paused, too, and glanced over his shoulder at the rest. There weren't that many-- not enough to even close to fill up the classroom-- but it seemed like a lot of young people to be mixed up in this. And he did want to get going on the conversation before anyone decided to hare off on their own-- but then again, they were here. They'd wait a few minutes.

So he nodded and stepped outside. "Sure. What's up?"

QUESTIONS/ANSWERS: For your plotting needs.

[professorwolf]

[chalicejoker]

Upon arrival, Hajime had staked out a quiet spot at the back of the classroom, in much the same way he'd preferred to choose a seat as a student. He didn't bother sitting down, just stood there with his arms crossed as he listened to everything.

When Lyall mentions the visions and the way that pillar was similar to them, he's interested. Very interested. "I could try to help you out there, but I'm not sure what I could do." He'd do as much as a guy whose biggest resources were all food-related could, at least. "Something tells me you can't just walk into a library and look this stuff up."

[professorwolf]

"I actually think that's a good place to start," Lyall counters. "Even if these are, as has been suggested, alien invaders, it's likely they have been investigating the planet for some time and there may be signs. If this is some kind of chemical or biological experiment gone wrong, then the symbols must be rooted in something of Earth. Even if they are some completely magical or demonic beings, there may be a culture whose legends mention them. So looking into where else in our culture or other cultures that use snake-and-heart motifs, or pillars of that size and style, or things considered to have mental powers of influence--"

He pauses and holds out his hands. "It's a starting point. It may not get us very far, but it may open up new avenues to look into. We don't have much to go on yet, and looking into everything we can is the only possible way forward."

[chalicejoker]

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. Still, legends about snakes and hearts--" Hajime would have had more to say, but as soon as the word "hearts" escape him, he feels that odd hollow sensation ring out in his head. There's an oddly familiar rippling feeling around his waist, and an odd belt appears around his waist on top of his clothing, as though someone came in there out of nowhere and slapped a strange belt onto him. Anyone watching might have thought it looked as though it was materializing out of a puddle of water.

There's a startled burst of swearing in Japanese once he realizes what's happened. The buckle's shaped a bit like a stylized heart, much to his confusion. What's worse, the belt feels like it's part of him, despite the fact that it appeared on top of his clothing. He swallows hard as he cautiously reaches out to touch it, and it looks as though he might need to sit down.

[shiromadoushi]

"What the hell are you cursing about?" Bakura interjected in Japanese, having been keeping quiet until then. He hadn't been looking over and had missed the sudden appearance, having been idly doodling and lost in his own thoughts until the colourful language had caught his attention.

Wasn't sure where to jump in, so...

[reckless_fire]

Due to swim practice running a trifle overtime, Kenji didn't arrive until just a few moments before Lyall began his presentation. Trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, he slouched over to a seat near the back of the room and sat down.

He still didn't know much about what was going on--practically nothing, in fact--and he had hoped that this meeting would provide him with some answers. Instead, what he heard just confused him even more. Maybe if he just sat here long enough, some of this would start to make sense.

Totally fine :)

[professorwolf]

Still feeling a little off-kilter after that incident with Hajime and the belt, Lyall focused back on the somewhat-late-comer. He hadn't actually spoken with the boy at all about this whole situation, except for the text inviting him here, and it didn't look like Kenji was feeling much better about the situation now than he did when he came in.

"Any questions?" he offered, ostensibly to everyone, but looking at Kenji. "I may have skipped over some background, thinking you might have heard it already, but I'm happy to try and explain better if any of you need it."

Re: Totally fine :)

[reckless_fire]

Kenji observed the business with the mysteriously appearing belt, but didn't say anything or get involved. While he could definitely sympathize with weird, random things happening, this definitely came under the heading of Someone Else's Problem...and right now, he had more than enough problems of his own to contend with.

When Lyall called for questions, a wry laugh welled up from Kenji. "Man, I got nothing but questions. This shit more or less blindsided me, and I'm still trying to figure out what the hell's going on, y'know?"

He nodded over in Bakura's direction. "I mean, he told me a little yesterday, but I still feel like I just fell down the goddamn rabbit hole. Especially since last night--I mean, did you see that? What they did to that kid?! I didn't even know him, but what the hell, man?! And that hallucination, or whatever it was--What the fuck is this shit?!"

Ordinarily, he wouldn't swear like that around a teacher, or any adult for that matter, but he was more than a little stressed at the moment. So it was either swear like a sailor or run the risk of blowing up another locker--and he'd really rather avoid doing that again.

POST-LECTURE: For all your mingling needs.

[professorwolf]

[argents]

Banagher's not really a quiet person by any means, and even less shy. But throughout the duration of the lecture, where he's done nothing but try to line up things as sequentially in his head as he's able to, he's remained uncharacteristically tight-lipped. Understanding what's happened is different from understanding its intrinsic value, the value of the sum of all the events, and at this point Banagher's not even sure he really wants to.

So he simply lists, hands tense, in quiet frustration—memories, number, network, others, animals, help, murder, cover-up, invasion, fighting, statue—because he's used to knowing things. What he can do and what he can't do, what was going to happen the next day, and the one after that.

Now, he doesn't know any of that. All the tomorrows look foreign, and he dislikes it.

[professorwolf]

As some of the students and former students drift into smaller groups or slip out to catch a ride back home, Lyall moves over to where Banagher had settled, unnaturally quiet through the whole class. "You didn't have any questions," he comments, keeping his tone light, but still coming across as a little concerned. Considering how extremely concerned he is about everything, though, that's hardly surprising. "I was surprised."

[argents]

Glancing up at Lyall, Banagher manages a noncommittal, "Mm." He puts his pen down, watching the desk as if it'll make him capable of gathering his thoughts better. Unsurprisingly, it doesn't.

"It's not that I don't have any," he starts, slowly. "But thinking about this, thinking about the answers I'd get if I asked... nothing feels like it'd be right. Really right."