On the platform: Meet the new characters

[utopiamods]

For those getting off the train their first impression of rakuen will be gloomy, the sky is grey and there is a fine drizzle that soaks you before you even realise it's raining. There is a group there to meet you: on one side, four students in black and green; on the other, four in red and white. Whilst the green group are all fairly average; all teenagers, the red group are a tad more varied. One of their girls is tiny, the size of a small child, and her wings are beating patterns in the warm air.

When they notice the arrivals, one out of each group steps forward. A young man in red and white looking serious steps forward

"Can I please have your attention." He explains that they're all prefects of Rakuen, from the two battle schools on the island. Fortitude - the long haired boy and the others dressed in green - and Conquest. They all arrived just like you did, weeks or months before this.

"I know you have many questions but first please come to the person who calls your name."

He looks down on his list to double check "For Conquest Apollo Justice and Naesala."

Comments

[notabunnylawyer]

Apollo was still feeling drowsy as he stepped off of the train, the rucksack he'd been left slung over one shoulder. He looked a little shocked, taking in the scene at the platform with an expression of complete disbelief. The rain was already making his hair spikes droop down into his face, making him look even more distressed.

He wasn't sure if he was still dreaming, or if he'd been sucked into a kid's book, one of those ones about wizards. Trains like that didn't even exist in L.A., and those people were wearing color-coded school uniforms and - a couple of them had wings, including the tall guy that had gotten off of the train along with him. Apollo kept looking back and fourth between him and the girl up ahead, as if trying to decide which one to stare at.

This had to be because he'd fallen asleep at his desk. Any minute now, he'd wake up and have a great weird-dream story for Trucy. Only the waking up part wasn't happening yet, and the damp soaking into his suit sure felt real.

While Apollo did step forward when he was called, it was to say to the other brunette, "Are you sure this isn't a mistake? I already have a degree, so I... I don't think I'm supposed to be here. And what do you mean it's a battle school?"

[swordofzero]

Suzaku nodded, he wasn't sure why he was on platform duty again but so far no one had tried to hit him. Though he had little patience with this, still reeling from Lelouch's disappearance he was still prepared to answer peoples questions when they were polite.

"It's not a mistake, you have probably been brought here as a teacher. And it is a school that forces us to fight each other."

[notabunnylawyer]

The news about being a teacher was strange enough, but the part about being forced to fight was what made Apollo go a little pale.

"It does what? That's... why would a school of all places make people fight?!"

[swordofzero]

"It's a battle school, we have lessons but battles are more important. Every week a certain amount of people are chosen as those that fight, everyone else are Weapons." Suzaku shrugged, "It is just the way it is."

Sorry Apollo he's sulking at the moment and not the best for answering questions.

[notabunnylawyer]

"That's insane."

Apollo was finding it hard to take all of this in at once, struggling to understand when everything he heard only gave him more questions.

"I don't really understand what you mean, but - I don't fight, I mean, I don't think fistfights count and I haven't for years! I-I'd rather go back home, if it's all the same to you."

[swordofzero]

Suzaku nodded, it was insane but he had been here so long that parts of it seemed normal. "I'd like to go home too." Suzaku's voice wavered only a tiny bit, would Lelouch and Nunnally even be there? Or had they been lost forever. Would he still exist? What kind of world would he even go back to?

"But we can't. There's no way at least not until we solve their puzzle."

[notabunnylawyer]

"... So we're all being held hostage for the sake of a puzzle?"

This was starting to veer from insane to being downright twisted. It was starting to remind Apollo of gladiator arenas, and thinking the point of the fighting might only be for someone's amusement rankled even worse.

"Okay, I'll bite. What sort of puzzle is it?"

[swordofzero]

"It involves six towers, monsters... so far all we know is we can open the towers and fight the monsters and we have opened two so far."

Suzaku explained with a slightly bored tone.

[notabunnylawyer]

Apollo nods slowly, though from his expression it's probably clear that he's not all that happy with the news about the towers, either. He still had a lot of questions, but the rest of it could wait.

"Well, thanks for the information. I don't know that I'll be any good with that puzzle, but... if that's really the only way out, then I'd like to help however I can."

[swordofzero]

"It will be appreciated." Since most people who knew what they were doing were gone now...

[shadowofthesky]

For a while, Naesala let the staring go on, feeling this was probably a human's first encounter with a laguz. As the seconds ticked by however and Apollo continued to look, he finally had to say something. There was no way he could pass up an opportunity to tease someone. Especially someone who looked as gullible as this one did.

"Do you usually stare at men?" He inquired, voice low and falsely polite even as it carried over the platform.

[notabunnylawyer]

Apollo nearly choked on air when he heard that, half-turning to give the man an indignant look. "Excuse me?!" Great, there was no way the crowd hadn't heard that-!

Aware that he needed some sort of excuse to save face, Apollo spoke without thinking, "It's just that you have w-w-" No, obviously this guy would know that he had wings, "wonderful hair? It's, uh, a good dye job," he finished lamely. Now Apollo wasn't so sure that avoiding the obvious had been the best move.

[shadowofthesky]

Loud. Wincing slightly as Apollo's voice assaulted his ear drums, Naesala let out a soft sigh and closed his eyes in order to hide the annoyance that was surely flashing across them right now. Only when he was sure he had his expression under control and his ears didn't hurt anymore did he open them again.

"Then you don't deny your gaze." He responded with an arched brow. What exactly did Apollo mean by 'dye job'? Did he mean the same dye as one would use for cloth? Why would anyone apply that to their hair? What a strange human custom.

[notabunnylawyer]

He wasn't sure what the other man's pause was for, but Apollo was at least a little quieter now that he wasn't so startled. "Well... no?" He could admit that he'd been staring, a little. Or more than a little, which was probably rude, he realized.

"... Look, I'm sorry. All of this is just a lot to take in right now." Apollo reached up to run a hand over his hair, flipping his damp spikes back up and out of his face.

[shadowofthesky]

An apology? The words made Naesala's expression take on an amused note as he folded his arms. Not an immediate enemy then if he would apologize to one of the 'sub-human' race. And while it wasn't enough to put Naesala at ease around him, it was at least enough for the former king to relent in his teasing. ... at least for now.

"Well rest your eyes, little beorc. It looks like we're going to be here a while. You should be able to get your fill of me then."

[notabunnylawyer]

"I'd rather not do either of those things," he said in a near-mutter, taking another look at their surroundings. Apollo was tempted to turn right around and try to find the conductor for the train to catch a ride back home, but he also wanted to know how he'd gotten here in the first place. He couldn't remember that part, and it was bothering him.

"What's a be-orc supposed to be, anyway?" Apollo was trying to ignore the 'little' part, as irritating as it was.

[shadowofthesky]

That remark made him raise an eyebrow. Apollo didn't know the meaning of the word? Even the dullest of simpletons on Tellius knew the name of their own race, as unused as it was. Was it possible he was speaking with someone beyond the Desert of Death? As his gazed flickered towards the people on the platform, he narrowed his eyes. No... perhaps more than that.

"A human." He answered while he pondered, pausing to give Apollo an amused smirk. Bringing up his hand, he used two fingers to imitate the lawyer's hairstyle. "Though I do wonder about the horns."

[notabunnylawyer]

Human ... so that confirmed that the other man was something different than human, to some degree. Apollo hadn't wanted to let himself think about it, but he couldn't deny that it had to be the truth, as impossible as these things were supposed to be.

"So what does that make you, exactly?" He looked all for the world like some sort of winged elf, but Apollo was hesitating to attribute him to anything quite so fantastic. Elves weren't supposed to exist, either, but this guy still looked like he could poke an eye out with those ears.

"... And hey, they aren't horns! The rain washed out my hair gel, but it normally looks a lot cooler than this."

[shadowofthesky]

"Amazing." Naesala responded without the slightest hint of shame as his lips quirked upwards slightly. Despite his initial aversion to the other man for his sense of style and volume, there was something about him that was proving to be immensely entertaining. Something that his laguz half was already immediately attracted to.

More than likely, it was his reactions. The easily ruffled ones were always the most fun to pester.

"Hair gel?" Naesala inquired then, choosing to forego his teasing in order to satiate his curiosity. Besides, it was better to pace oneself when playing with a new toy. No sense in wearing it out too quickly.

[notabunnylawyer]

"I'll believe that one when I see it," Apollo said, barely resisting the urge to roll his eyes. He would've loved to know what was so funny about all of this. "But no, seriously. If your people have a proper name, I'd like to know. Unless you don't mind me calling you whatever I come up with."

Apollo's sure he could think of some pretty good nicknames, but he's still trying to be polite. It's pretty obvious by now that this guy was poking fun at him, but he'd had worse before. Apollo could handle this just fine.

"Hair gel is... it's a substance that goes in your hair to help style it. It's usually goopy and clear, but - it'd probably be easier to just show you it sometime."

[shadowofthesky]

"As tempting as it is to see how far your creativity reaches, I'll pass. My people are called laguz. Sub-human if you're feeling particularly offensive." Naesala replied, a bit of taunt in his words as his wings shifted slightly. The look he gave Apollo then was daring, like he wanted the lawyer to utter that demeaning title and sink to that level.

Truthfully he didn't really care if Apollo used it. He'd been called much worse in his lifetime, after all. But it would make their relationship abundantly clear and set in stone. It would also save him time in getting a better feel for the man and whether or not he was worth anymore more than mild entertainment.

As for the issue of hair gel... the thought was apollpalling to even think about it. From what the human had described, it sounded like slime from the bottom of the ocean or drool from a dragon's mouth. As his eyebrow arched upwards, making his blatant disbelief clear, his lips quirked into a hapless smirk and he shrugged. A silent 'humans'.

[notabunnylawyer]

Apollo regarded him with an almost thoughtful look as he explained it, his brow starting to furrow. Sub-human? The word was offensive enough all on its own that the elaboration wasn't really needed. Apollo's world might not have had winged people, but anyone using that term there would've still been very quickly labeled a bigot.

"Uh. Laguz it is, then." The word's a little awkward on his tongue, unfamiliar, but it's still not quite as awkward as this conversation is getting. Not that this guy seemed to notice, with how amused he kept acting about ... well, nearly everything.

"Would I be right in assuming you're Mr. Naesala? It's pretty obvious that we're not from... the same place. Hair gel is pretty basic stuff, but - if you still don't believe that it exists, I don't mind proving it to you."

[shadowofthesky]

At Apollo's reply, Naesala was briefly amused as he realized the game would continue. While a small voice at the back of his mind told him such games were no longer necessary- of sorting acquaintances into enemies or tools- another part of him rationalized that it was completely necessary in this foreign environment. One that- apparently- seemed to cross continents if not something more... worldly. The idea gave him a migraine just thinking about it. How would such a thing even work? As far as he knew, even Ashunera hadn't possessed such power.

"Given your reaction to my wonderful hair and mine to your goop, I would say your assumption is correct." He remarked, allowing the emphasis to carry across the fact that he now knew for certain what Apollo had initially meant to say. On a more serious note, however, he did glance solemnly up at the stage. "Our hosts have some awe inspiring magic, wouldn't you say?"

[notabunnylawyer]

Apollo turned a shade redder at the mention of his earlier outburst, a little ashamed that he hadn't been able to keep his cool earlier. But still, wings! The guy's wingspan had to be huge, but - he wasn't about to mention that out loud. He could only imagine what sort of innuendo that would get twisted into.

"If you want to call their amazing kidnapping skills magic, sure." He keeps his voice fairly low this time, not particularly wanting to accuse the others on the platform of anything. Not that he was going to trust them, either. What better suspects were there than the very people standing there waiting for them to show up? "Do you... remember how we got here? My head's all fuzzy on that one. I think we might've been drugged."

[shadowofthesky]

"Not at all." Naesala replied, voice still appropriately serious as he considered their situation.

Drugged? The idea alone made him uneasy. There were a lot of things human medicine could do to a laguz's body and most of it harmful. Up until then, he'd just assumed someone had made use of a teleportation spell and a sleep staff. Those were the easiest and most logical answers, especially when you considered he'd been snatched from inside the castle at Sienne, Begnion's capital. Anyone who could sneak past their Holy Guard was either someone with extensive skills or an insider. Given, while the Holy Guard wasn't overly fond of him, Sanaki had given him her protection and the Empress's word was law. Even Sigrun or Tanith wouldn't defy it.

Still, all this theorizing and worrying wasn't doing him any good. There was really only one way to check if his or Apollo's theory was correct. Flapping his wings once, he closed his eyes and reached within him for the goddess given gift of transformation. Reached for it and- pain! With a startled yelp, he dropped to his feet and stumbled, clutching his head. As a powerful migraine racked his brain, he gritted his teeth and waited for it to pass, all the while letting out aggravated noises that were more animal than human. As his wings closed in around him protectively, he forced himself not to thrash like a wild thing- cutting at anything and anyone close to him like an animal in pain would.

For a moment he stayed like that, at least until the pain subsided and... and what? What had happened? What had he even been trying to do?