ArchivedLogs:Accomplices

Accomplices
Dramatis Personae Cassy, K.C., Lael
In Absentia	2017-09-11 << Oh god what if everyone knows I can shout people to death? >>
Location <XS> Forest
Quiet and shady, the trees rise all around here high and thick. In stillness, woodland creatures make appearances, though sudden noises scare them back into the cover. Dappled sunlight filters down between the thick foliage, and the ground underfoot is heavily overgrown, though here and there paths have been worn, by deer or years of students wandering familiar trails. It's not far into the woods, just a short distance down a thin wisp of a path leading away from the lakeside. On the afternoon of the first /real/ day of classes many students have fled out to the grounds as soon as class has let out, enjoying the sunshine and the respite from sitting through hours of Being Educated. K.C. is no different -- just fled a little farther than the rest, out past the playground and playing fields. Dressed blandly in slightly highwater grey jeans and a t-shirt with a silhouette of many animals (mostly dogs and cats, though a bunny and turtle and bird are sprinkled among them) reading New Leash On Life, she's perched at the moment on a large rock just beside the path. A stockily muscular black-and-white pitbull is perched beside her, ears slightly pricked, head cocking -- faaar -- far to one side and then the other. Tail hopefully thumping the ground. Eyes wide. The source of the pitbull's Extreme Hope is probably the cupcake in K.C.'s hand, which she is only just unwrapping. There's a student walking at a leisurely one of the winding trails through the forest, steps hardly making a sound. He's wearing a tatty old t-shirt, once black but now faded nearly to gray with a cartoon logo of a stooping bald eagle circled by the words "Screaming Eagle Adventures at Unicoi", camouflage cargo pants nearly worn through at the knees, and heavy leather boots that look in surprisingly good repair considering the rest of his outfit. When he comes around a bend in the trail and spots K.C. and the dog, however, he starts scuffing his feet a bit, walking slower as well. "Afternoon there," he calls out before he gets too close, pulling a hand out of his pocket to wave. Ahh the forest, filled with the relaxing sounds of nature. The birds are singing, dogs are barking, the wildebeest are mooing and in the distance a lion roars. At least that's what it sounds like as Cassy skips her way along one of the many woodland paths working on a variety of animal noises. Her outfit is only marginally less loud than she is, a black t-shirt with an anime cat-girl with a sword, pleated skirt with black and red striped tights and a whole lot of yellow and pink plastic jewelry. Having finished peeling her cupcake, K.C. pauses with it halfway to her mouth. Her eyes widen, and she starts -- looking from one side to the other at the din of unexpected noises. Suga Mama takes this opportunity to rear up higher, planting paws on the rock so that she can oh-so-surreptitiously slurp at the mount of icing on the cupcake. "Oh," K.C. frowns -- first at the dog. Then at Lael. Her frown deepens. "Sneaky pup. Not so sneaky..." Hesitation. "Persons." Her eyes narrow, first at Lael and then at Cassy. "Are you accomplicing? First noises. Then cupcake thief." She indicates the dog seriously. Suga Mama is busily and shamelessly licking icing off her nose. Lael looks around in sudden alarm at the approaching animal noises. The look of alarm turns to confusion when he narrows down the source to...Cassy? "Oh! Well, that's certainly..." He trails off and shakes his head, his hair fluttering up and squirming faster for a moment, as if agitated by the sudden motion. "Even the woods here're fulla' folks! Hope y'all weren't trying to find some quiet?" He dips his head in K.C.'s direction. "M'terribly sorry, I didn't mean to--accomplice your dog. She's lovely, though! Can I pet her?" "Oh," Cassy says, without moving her mouth. "Sorry I didn't think anyone else would be out here and I wanted to work on my control and... woah wait is your hair /moving/ or is it the wind?" Her mouth hangs open for a moment, then she claps with delight. "That's soooooooooo cool." She waves to K.C. and Suga Mama. "I didn't know people would have any pets or I wouldn't have made dog noises. I'll keep that in mind next time... Sor.. I mean I apologise if I freaked anyone out." K.C.'s eyes flutter wider again. Now she drops the cupcake entirely, much to Suga Mama's delight. It vanishes down the dog's throat in one quick eager bite. "Your hair is /snakes/." One finger points, in case Lael wasn't /aware/. More pointedly, looking down at a leftover smear of strawberry compote among a few crumbs on the rock beside her: "... accomplice snakes." Suga Mama, at least, is wagging her tail /very/ happily. Tongue lolling out of her mouth, she looks from Cassy to Lael. Expectant. As if hoping more treats will be forthcoming. K.C. is just drawing her knees up toward her chest on the rock, though. "Where did the lions go?" she wants to know. As an afterthought: "Suga Mama likes all the petting." "Control what now?" Lael stares blankly at Cassy. "Oh wait! Are you a /ventriloquist/?" He sounds both excited and impressed by the prospect. At the attention to his hair, he puffs up a little, hair squirming faster. "It ain't /snakes/," he tells her firmly, his drawl growing--as improbable as it seems--even thicker, "it just got a mind'a its own is all." Even so, he goes up to Suga Mama and kneels down a couple of steps away, propping one hand on his knee, casually outstretch. "Suga Mama, huh? Well, she sure likes her sugar. I /do/ apologize for the loss'a your snack, though. Didn't mean to startle you none, but I can't really make it /stop/, neither." Cassy shakes her head. "Audiokinetic," she clarifies. The sound seeming to come from pretty much all of her. Rather than specifically her mouth. "I was also the lions. At least making the noises. I can't turn into a lion... At least I haven't yet. Fingers crossed though! Lions are pretty awesome." She glances back to Lael. "But dude your hair is /totally/ as close to snakes as it gets without a turning people to stone power... You.. You won't turn us to stone right?" "Dread..." K.C. begins to clarify uncertainly, "...worms?" Her hand brushes over the short-cropped top of her own head. She lowers her knees, finally, crossing her legs slowly underneath herself. Suga Mama is quick to trot forward, snuffling at Lael's outstretched hand before she plants her paws on his knee, lifting her large head to snuffle at his moving hair, too. Lick his cheek, sloppily. Wag. "There's more cupcakes," K.C. reassures -- the others? Herself. "In the rec room. Cupcake fairy brings them." Her head tilts at Cassy. "Are you trying? To turn into a lion?" "Audio-what now?" Lael looks /completely/ lost now, turning his head this way and that, trying to track down the source of Cassy's voice. This focus stretches his telepathy outward, too, searching out the girl's thoughts. "My hair /ain't/ snakes," this somewhat testily, "it ain't worms, neither, and I /don't/ turn people to stone. It's just...hair." He calms a little when Suga Mama climbs up on his leg, though, and laughs aloud when she snuggles at his hair. "Ain't you a sweetie!" He scruffs at her neck and shoulders. "There's a /cupcake/ fairy? With wings and everythin'?" "It means sound controlly mutant. Or so I'm told," Cassy explains. It's not especially hard to track the sound she's making. They come from her entire body. << Gawd everyone is so loud now. Ew I think I can hear the dog stomach noises. Stay focused! No ultrasound. >> Along with the thoughts there's an overwhelming flood of audio input. Animals moving in the woods, people talking over in the school grounds and all sorts. "I... Haven't been trying to turn into a lion, but I'm going to start today. Oh! I'm Cassy by the way, I just started but I've been around a week or two now." << So I could figure out how to not kill everyone. Oh god what if everyone knows I can shout people to death? >> K.C. circles a fist over her heart, head ducking briefly. Suga Mama is less bashful, nuzzling up against Lael with her not-insignificant weight, whole hindquarters wriggling with the strength of her wag as she slurps at his ear, now. Kisskisskiss. "I like dreadlocks," softer, almost to herself. "I think sometimes wings. Definitely funny colors hair. I need more cupcake now." She hops down off the stone, frowning a moment: "Apologies, I am taking your pettings." Apologies to the /dog/ evidently; a click of the tongue calls Suga Mama back to her side. "Good luck becoming a lion. After that maybe try elephant. I like elephants." She drops a hand to pet at Suga Mama's head, steps light as she trots off back toward the school. Lael's hair is squirming /hard/ now, his brows scrunching as he clutches his head. "Oh Lord..." he mutters, though he seems somewhat mollified by puppy kisses. "Hey now, would you mind ever so much showing me to these cupcakes?" He's standing up and hastily heading toward the path without waiting for an answer. "Best we let this young miss practice her audiokin...audiokinis..." Shakes his head again, harder, digging his knuckles into one temple. "Sound-controlly. Thing." Waving back at Cassy, walking fast. "You take care, now!" Cassy blinks a few times. "Yeash. Was it something I said?" she wonders aloud. Then, for good measure, she throws in a happy elephant trumpet noise that echoes throughout the woods. "But wait.. if I turn into an elephant I bet I'd look super fat. I think I'll stick to lions."