[Exam] Fly Like an Eagle

[Kenner Baehl]

After that Enzo kid's reaction to his less-than-scholarly appearance, Kenner had taken slightly longer than usual to get ready today, pulling a worn suit jacket on over his Hawaiian shirt and choosing a pair of khaki pants instead of khaki shorts. He still lacked shoes, but anyone who held that against him wasn't someone he wanted to be talking to anyway.

Earlier that morning, the werehyena had slipped a trio of notes under the first years' doors who were next on the list for exams, instructing them to meet near a large tree decorated with a red ribbon outside the monster dorms. He had recently heard rumors from some very reputable sources regarding the location of the final three components he needed for his... project... and even though this last spot was a little too dangerous to send students off to by themselves, they would, at the very least, make good distractions for whatever unfriendly creatures they happened to come across.

When Canon, Ruth, and Alamea arrive there is no teacher in sight, but the red ribbon knotted around the designated trunk is shiny and new, suggesting that they are exactly where they're meant to be.

Quote:

Hello and welcome to your year two exam!

Kenner will arrive shortly (in about 39 OOC hours) to take you to your final destination. Until then, feel free to mingle and talk amongst yourselves. The day is kind of windy and drizzly, but everyone will be heading someplace sunny soon enough!

Zee Oddwyn

Huni Pi

kuumeii

 

[Zee Oddwyn]

Being a curious creature, Canon had explored every last nook and cranny of her dorm room, and made daily rounds just in case something new popped up unexpectedly. She was therefore delighted when a note had appeared one morning beneath her door. Still dripping from her watery 'bed', she wasted no time in snapping up the note. She scampered over to the desk and read it beneath the lamp there.

Her 2nd year exam! Single eye popped wide, Canon scanned through the note several more times, excitement level almost audibly rising with each successive read through.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Canon has reached critical mass.

She attacked her wardrobe, pulling out the first items to fit the categories of top, bottom, and shoes to come to hand. Canon still took a little more time with her myriad hair ornaments, fixing in those she considered especially lucky, but she was still out of her door in record time.

She ran full-tilt through the hallways, out the dorm, across the grounds, and arrived in a breathless whirl at the be-ribboned tree. She was apparently the first one there, though the ribbon showed that the Professor had been there at some point. He was nowhere in sight, though.

There was absolutely no way she could stand still on this most auspicious of days! Canon decided to stretch and perform a few exercises while she waited for the others and the Professor to arrive.  

[kuumeii]

"Is it time yet?!" An exasperated voice said, pouting and opening her door, then closing it again. It had been the same for days now as she had done the ritual in the morning, waiting for any note or sign. The poor door handle was becoming worn with how much she opened and closed it. With a puff of her cheeks she took in a deep breath to try to calm herself - which for her was damn near impossible - and she opened it once more.

This time a flapping caught her attention and a small paper hung on her door. With a happy hop she grabbed for it and turned around, bouncing in circles and holding the note close to herself. "TIME TIME TIME!" She repeated over and over with a happy sigh.

Though it was time she hadn't even looked at the time and stopped with a paranoid squeak. She couldn't be late, not for an exam, and bounced up, hopping her way out of the dorm with a grin from ear to ear. "Today, today, it's today!" She repeated, waving and grinning at other students who didn't pay her any mind.

As she skipped outside she noticed another ghoul and she smiled with a wave. "Hi, are you here for the exam too?!" She pulled her arms in excitedly and bounced once or twice, holding them together with a giggle. Her eyes moved to the ribbon and back. "Hmm, wonder where he is!" She teetered on her legs with the same friendly grin. "I've been waiting for this day, I can hardly contain it!!"

Zee Oddwyn

 

[Huni Pi]

Ruth was silent in her arrival, dressed inconspicuously, or as inconspicuously as her uniform is capable. There were already two other ghouls at the designated rendezvous point, one she recognized, the other was unfamiliar. She says nothing until she's practically standing behind them. When she's acknowledged, she gives them a small smile and a wave of her fingers.

kuumeii

Zee Oddwyn

 

[Zee Oddwyn]

"I am!" Canon replied, bent double as she stretched her legs. She fell backwards and rolled to her feet, whirling and punching a fist towards the Rabbit Ghouls midsection, though she stopped short of hitting her. "Well met! I am Canon Indy!"

Canon returned the friendly grin, glad that she'd be taking this exam with such an amiable ghoul. Then she noticed who had arrived behind the Rabbit Ghoul.

"Ruth!!!" she exclaimed, and ran over to hug the Paranoia Agent. "You're taking the exam too?"

kuumeii

Huni Pi

 

[Huni Pi]

There was a brief moment of internal tension for Ruth as Canon came to embrace her. It passes without so much as an outward flicker as one arm returns the hug. Thoughts of strings and puppets and not being in full control of one's perception pushed aside. At the question, she nods, gesturing to the one-eyed ghoul and the stranger as if to confirm their purpose was the same as hers.

kuumeii

Zee Oddwyn

 

[Kenner Baehl]

Kenner appeared at the edge of the tree's cover with a faint buzz, his eyes shut tightly as he rematerialized. The strap of an empty-looking messenger bag was looped around one of his arms and he clutched a smallish jar in that same hand, which he loosened his grip on as he spoke.

"That hurt more than I thought it would," the undead muttered, his eyes sliding open again. "The other way's just a straight dissipation to Cricket's, but this..." He hefted the weightless bag onto his shoulder and opened the jar, digging four fingers into it and scooping out a handful of pale green goo. "I won't bore you with the details beyond saying I feel like a heap of crap all of a sudden." He approached the tree with his goo, glancing briefly at the ghouls and truly focusing on them for the first time. "Well, aren't you just adorable."

Taking note of their relative heights and widths, Kenner traced a goo door onto the trunk of the tree, knocking on his creation when it was complete. Several seconds later it began to glow, the light soon fading to a verdant shimmer. He stuck a hand through the newly-made portal.

"I promise this does not hurt. It actually kind of tickles," he said, stepping back with a mildly sarcastic grin. "After you."

Quote:

I was going to put the next part here too, but I figured that it would be too much to react to without a break in between, so I will post what's on the other side of the portal once everyone is through. I'll keep an eye out if anyone wants to try refusing to teleport or has any questions or anything, so bring it awn. <3 Or just go through, that's cool too. EVERYTHING IS PERMITTED

DICE SOON

KIND OF

Zee Oddwyn

Huni Pi

kuumeii

 

[Huni Pi]

The blonde ghoul turns her head towards the voice of their teacher, exam-giver, proctor, whoever-he-is. The portal causes Ruth's brows to quirk in curiosity and wondered if this was all standard operating procedures or if this sort of exam was unique to this professor. Was their briefing going to happen on the other side or did he simply forget?

She was more suspicious lately, thanks to a certain AI's interference with her life, and tried to link her arm with that of Canon's. It was less out of a show of solidarity than it is an insurance that whatever jacked up process Ruth was going to have to undergo she wouldn't be doing it alone. She tilted her head towards the other ghoul expectantly.

Zee Oddwyn

kuumeii

 

[Zee Oddwyn]

Canon readily linked her arm with Ruth's once she realized what the ghoul was trying to do. She wasn't sure what linking arms meant, but she trusted Ruth as her comrade (and one time date). It did prevent her from greeting the Professor properly, but she was far more interested in the glowing portal on the trunk of the tree.

Linked with Ruth, she walked up to it, and eagerly stuck her free arm into it.

"It does tickle!" she exclaimed, "It feels a little like when your leg falls asleep. What was that substance? Is it going to take us to the inside of the tree?"

She considered the size of the trunk.

"I don't think all of us will fit in there. And where would the wood go?"

Kenner Baehl

Heeeeere come the questions! Push her through while you still can!

Huni Pi

kuumeii

 

[kuumeii]

A million questions had filled her head, most of them spawning after Canon nearly hit her. Mea flinched but let out a giggle. "Yep I sure am!" She gave a bounce. "I'm Alamea." From the outburst at the other ghoul's arrival she nodded a lot. "Hello hello!" She was about to chat their heads off when her ears bounced at the appearance of Kenner. Her eyes grew large at the sight of the jar and she blinked, swaying back and forth.

More questions unspoken filled her head.

"Ooooh~!" She let out the sound as the portal was filled and hopped towards the other two ghouls, trying to jump to see over them at it. A curious gaze was shot to Canon and she giggled. "So will you fall asleep if you go through too?" Alamea looked back to Ruth as well. "I think we should just go for it, hop hop hop!" She bounced behind them again, but her eyes were glued to the strange portal.

"Are we going somewhere cool?"

Kenner Baehl

Huni Pi

Zee Oddwyn

 

[Kenner Baehl]

"No, it's um..." Kenner started to cross his arms, realizing almost too late that his hand was still covered in glop. "Have you ever seen the holiday tree Jack used to get to Christmas? It's like that except temporary. So we're not going in the tree, it just works best on trees. I don't know why." He looked at his hand. "I don't really know what this stuff is either." Reaching into his pocket with his clean hand, Kenner pulled out a business card that read GUNTHER & GUNTHER and scraped some of the gel off onto it. He held it out toward Canon.

"Here. Knock yourself out."

His attention shifted to Alamea next, eyebrows furrowing in a question. It might have been anything from 'How can one person be so energetic?' to 'What is Slugway's lunch special today?' but what he ended up saying was, "It's actually kind of warm. But it's cool too. Like so cool cool." He gave them a half-assed thumbs up. "You also might die. Ladies first!"

kuumeii

Huni Pi

Zee Oddwyn

 

[Huni Pi]

Ruth listened intently to her fellow examinees and to the proctor. Inwardly, she was not happy with the undead who was giving them their exam. The whole thing felt too much like a setup, something not school sanctioned, and with that last remark from him, illegal. And he expected them to just go in without more information?

Outwardly, she fixed a manic grin on her face, and with one arm still linked with Canon, Ruth summoned her weapon with the other. The long steel pipe was sharply thrust into the portal, several inches away from the limb Canon stuck into the portal. Hopefully, if there was someone else on the other side, the blow would be strong enough to knock them out. If all there was would be empty air, all the better then.

Kenner Baehl

kuumeii

Zee Oddwyn

 

[Kenner Baehl]

He watched Ruth stab through the portal to what he was pretty sure was open air, eyes narrowing slightly even as he continued to smirk.

"I was kidding. Fine. Follow me, then."

Kenner slipped through the portal, his bag trailing behind him for a second before that disappeared too.

Stepping through to the other side, the students would be confronted by a world of nearly nauseating color and light. A plush carpet of grass almost too green to be real stretched out in front of them, ending in a copse of impossibly tall trees, their trunks sparkling blue, orange, and purple under the bright sunlight. If they were quiet enough, they could hear the faint calls of unfamiliar animals high in the sky.

Kenner stood nearby in the sun, his bag at his feet, and if any of the ghouls had moved quickly enough after him, they might have seen him slip what looked to be a matte silver flask into the pocket of his coat. He rubbed his portal-goo-covered hand on the thick grass until it had been cleaned to acceptable standards and grinned at them, the expression much jollier than it had been back in Halloween.

"Okay! Today you will prove your readiness for Knobhood by bringing down one of the three items I have on good authority are up there." He gestured toward the treetops. "I was going to come with you, but I think I've changed my mind. Mmhmm. Yeah." He nudged the bag over with his foot, spilling a large, folded piece of canvas out onto the ground.

"You'll need to make something you can use to get up there. The trees are too slippery to climb, even with the regular stuff you might use to get up trunks, so you're going to have to fly. This bag's got motors, fabric, steel frames, even plans in there somewhere. Everything you'll need." He demonstrated by pulling out what looked like the skeleton of a portable tent, an item far too large for the bag to have had inside without magical interference.

He took a step back, raising his arms slightly at the bag. "Begin."

Quote:

LET'S GET BUILDING!

Describe your character getting tools and parts out of the bag and assembling a flying machine. Each machine will have three attributes when it is done: size, weight, and appearance. These attributes are completely arbitrary, so allocate your points wherever you'd prefer.

You will be giving each attribute a value of 6, 10, or 12. You only have one of each of these numbers to allocate, so don't use two 12s, don't add numbers, etc.

Quote:

Helpful Example
Bobby makes an awesome one man diaper-copter. It's smaller and lighter than it is awesome, so his points are broken down as:
Size: 6
Weight: 10
Appearance: 12

That's it for this step! After this the dice really are coming.

kuumeii

Huni Pi

Zee Oddwyn

 

[Zee Oddwyn]

Canon eagerly accepted the offered goo-ified business card, and spent a few moments trying to figure out how to stow the thing. Luckily, the pair of shorts she'd thrown on were cargo shorts, so the card and goo were carefully buttoned away in one of the outer pockets.

And then it was time to go! She eagerly stepped through after him, and was immediately flabbergasted at the strange, fascinating world they found themselves in. It was almost garishly colorful, and the trees in the distance were enormous! She listened as the Professor broke down the task before them. They were building flying machines! Neat!

"Where is this place?" she asked, un-linking arms with Ruth so she could rummage through the materials for something likely looking. The bag was really interesting, too! Canon managed to fit the entire top half of her body into it pulling some of the items out.

A plan for something really interesting showed up, and Canon seized on it immediately! Grabbing the necessary materials, she scurried off to one side, and began assembling them together.

When she was finished, she had a backpack contraption with rockets and what looked like mechanical dragonfly wings sticking out the back. She buckled herself into the harness straps, and just managed to stand up. It was rather heavy! But so cool looking! She grinned at the others, wondering what they had made.
[Size: 6
Weight: 10
Appearance: 12]

kuumeii

Kenner Baehl

Huni Pi

 

[Huni Pi]

Ruth, once through the portal, all but turned right around. The world on the other side was, frankly speaking, too candlejacking brightly colored. It was hate on first sight for the paranoia agent, but the only indication of her distaste was the wide, ear-to-ear smile on her face that looked a little too brittle. Absently, the blonde wished for a flame-thrower she could use but doubted one would materialize.

She dismissed her weapon when it became apparent it was only them present in this hideous world. She wanted this exam over and done with, ASAP, and was glad for Canon's unlinking of her arm. The bag their proctor presented them managed to hold the ghoul's interest more and once the one-eyed ghoul finished rummaging through it, Ruth took her turn.

What she managed to pull out looked to be... a giant kite along with an equally large motorized fan. Jack damn it, she inwardly sighed, allowing her shoulders to sag ever so slightly before she brightened with forced excitement. The frame was light, as were the fabric and strings to tie everything together, and it was large, hopefully wide enough to catch any thermal updrafts. There were loops for her hands and feet to slip into. She didn't know if it would work, but it was a plan from the bag, she'll make do.

At least it doesn't look like a rainbow vomited all over it, she comforted herself as she studied the orange, black, and white colors of the finished kite.

[Size: 12
Weight: 6
Appearance: 10]

kuumeii

Zee Oddwyn

Kenner Baehl