[Round 3, Rest Day] And They Said: Let There Be No Light.

[utopiamods]

Characters: ALL
Format: ANY
This log is: OPEN
Location: ALL OF CAMPUS
Summary: In a flash of lightning and the deafening roll of thunder, the power goes out across Utopia Academy.

It's early in the morning when it happens, about six o'clock. The clouds were gathering gradually through the night, the rain only getting heavier from the near-constant downpour during the previous week. Lightning crackles across the sky, the water around the academy is violent and the waves are high. And in a particularly loud clap of thunder, what lights were still on go out and the academy is plunged into darkness.

Comments

[idkmybffxiao]

"Just raining?" What. Mei didn't need any further prodding to hop over to Nunnally's bed and take a seat on the edge of it. "So it isn't dangerous?"

Nunnally would be right about the memory. All and any info on the sky and the various things that went on with it had gone missing, which left a variety of interesting freak outs waiting in the wings for the unfortunate students of Utopia. That one about attacking the sky just seconds before, for instance.

"So. Wait." Mei looked from Nunnally to Gino, to Nunnally, then to Gino again. "What are you doing in this room?" Pause. You could almost hear the wheels turning in her head. Too bad they were landing on the worst possible idea to get from this. "With her... all alone..."

She looked between the two one last time before giving Gino a scandalized look.

"Another girlfriend, Gino? Really?"

Why, yes, she did decide to assume things about Kallen once the entire terrorist-who-is-on-who's side thing was cleared up. It seemed vaguely romantic and her mind sort of ran with that.

[queenscheckmate]

Cue Kallen walking back in from her argument with Lelouch. She wasn't going to try and leave cause well, she did that before and it didn't work. So, this was the only solution: stay behind and figure out where everyone else is. Kallen walked down the hallway and noticed that her dorm room was open. She didn't get the chance to walk inside when she heard Gino, Kevin, and Mei's voice. The teenager looked across the hall and saw... Why were there so there so many people in Nunnally's room.

Kallen made her way to stand in the frame of the door, water dripping off her outfit, hair, and just about everywhere.

"What's going on?" Never mind that she was sopping wet.

[forthward]

Nunnally smiled. "No, it's just water," she sat up more in her bed, a little amused at the sudden commotion, but didn't mind it much. Though when the new girl mentioned her and Gino as-- oh... "No, that's not--" she was just about to protest it when Kallen walked into the room too.

"Ah... Kallen-san."

[veepofchess]

But Lelouch squeezed around her, coming through the doorway and toward Nunnally's bed, much like he usually did, to help her get her day started as he always had. The smile on his face showed no indication of the storm outside, nor what he was planning for this particular morning. The only unusual thing was that he was still in his pajamas. And sopping wet.

He had no intention of saying anything about what he was planning with anyone he didn't trust, much less Gino in possession of more of his memories, so once he got Nunnally out of the room under guise of heading to the shower room to change, they could discuss it.

"Good morning, Nunnally," he said smoothly. "Looks like this has become a rather early morning for a lot of us," he added, glancing at the others in various sopping states around the room.

[trollofthree]

Oddly enough, Lelouch's progress towards Nunnally's bed was halted about halfway through the room by a towel being thrown over his head. This was apparently now a habit, since Gino hadn't let go of his previous charge as he'd strode over, so he had one hand on Lelouch's betoweled head and the other still firmly on Kevin's.

Tiny hissing cats a speciality. If Kevin tried, he could probably break free and kick Gino now.

"That's not it, Mei," he continued, as though he hadn't just assaulted the demon emperor with a large cotton towel, "I'm Nunnally's Knight. I have to protect her from the sky."

[imperceptible]

If Gino kept pressing down on his scalp like that, Kevin would be sorely tempted to. Rather than smack at Gino's hand uselessly though, Kevin adopted a new tactic of attempting to wriggle his way to freedom.

Hair be damned, all he wanted was to see again.

After a few short moments he finally managed to push the towel out of his eyes, at least enough to scramble to his feet in a surprise display of agility. Once there, he backed up until his shoulders hit a wall and glowered darkly at Gino, fully intending to not be caught by surprise again.

That done, he took a glance around the room and... well okay. He knew Gino and Kallen and... that was it.

"Can I ask what the hell is going on now?"

[idkmybffxiao]

"You are?" That was confusing. Apparently Gino could be one of Euphy's knights, a knight of an Empire, and a knight for this Nunnally girl, too. Since it was too way too early and she was still soaking wet, Mei wasn't exactly in the mood to throw any questions on it about.

On the bright side, it meant there wasn't going to be an impromptu catfight between Nunnally and Kallen.

Mei shot a curious look in Kevin's direction. "We're hiding from the sky. Geez. What else would we be doing..." Then her attention was off of him and snapped over to the door. How many people were going to end up here?

[queenscheckmate]

"Full house, huh?" Kallen shrugged, not entirely thrilled with the fact that Lelouch pushed his way through and completely ignored Kallen. Not to mention, well, she knew his plan wasn't going to work. No sense in wasting time.

"I'll be across the hall if anyone needs me," she said, turning around and deciding not to grace the floor with the rain dripping off her clothes."

[forthward]

...suddenly everyone were gathering in her room. Nunnally couldn't help but giggle a little bit. She "Brother, good mornin-- Did you... walk out in the storm too?" Her eyes widened slightly, taking in his soaked form. It seemed to her the only people not "attacked" by the rain so far were herself and Gino.

[veepofchess]

Lelouch scrabbled at the towel forced on his head. He pushed at Gino's hand, and tried to duck out from under him. "I couldn't find an umbrella," came his muffled voice from under it.

In the course of his struggles, his shoe slipped in the water. With a very undignified sort of squeak, he slid and fell on his butt.

[trollofthree]

Gino looked down at the sodden Lelouch with something approaching deep satisfaction. The towel followed him down onto the floor, draping with a certain majestic dignity back over his head.

"You should've stayed in your dorm, man. There are enough of us in here to help her, and the sky could've gotten you at any time. It's dangerous out there!"

He was, perhaps, having too much fun with this. Especially now that Kallen had withdrawn her support and left it at overwhelming odds versus one scheming royal. Speaking of Kallen... "Kallen, you going back? Oi, Kevin. Pass me your towel."

[queenscheckmate]

"Yeah, I'm heading back. I need to get out of clothes." Kallen had been outside, even if it was for a moment. But being outside ten seconds or ten minutes did not matter. Taking a shower, even though she didn't need it, was going to be her best bet. Just to get warmed up and changed into something more comfortable.

[imperceptible]

"We're what?" Kevin shot back at Mei, a look of utter disbelief crossing his face at her reply. He couldn't honestly have heard that right. Maybe he still had some water in his ear...

Regardless, when Gino asked for his towel Kevin wordlessly tossed it at him and wondered which was worse. Hashing out the bad weather in this room with a bunch of strangers or going back out in the storm. ... the latter option really shouldn't have been so tempting, seriously.

"So what's the plan? We're just gonna camp out here till it all blows over?" He asked, merely for the sake of conversation.

[forthward]

Nunnally just giggled, both at the situation, and then intensified by her brother's really dignified fall to the floor. "B-big brother, are you all right?" She couldn't help laughing while asking.

[veepofchess]

Lelouch finally got the towel off of his face, and he held it in a pile between his legs. "Yes," he said, smiling fondly and looking somewhat abashed for the fall. "I'm fine." He started to his feet again, but used the opportunity to get nearer to his sister.

"It's the way we've always done it, right?" He put the towel down on the blanket and he sat down on the bed near her, crossing his legs at the knees. "You wouldn't understand, Gino, because you and Nunnally were never at Ashford at the same time." He leaned back with his arms splayed behind him for support. "And besides. I think the rest of you ought to dry off before you all catch colds." And he smiled again, a look that would be unnerving to those that feared the demon emperor, and likely annoyed those that despised him.

[trollofthree]

Oh, it was unbelievably annoying. Gino's smile gained a whole new layer of edges as Lelouch sat down and smiled at the collected group. A shark's mouth had fewer edges than this smile, and it boded ill for anyone who recognised it.

"Dunno about that, we visited a few times after the restoration." He threw the almost-dry towel to Kallen - to, rather than at, a subtle distinction - and turned back to look at short, prickly tennis player currently glued to the far wall. "Yeah, that's the plan. No point going outside more than we have to in this weather. Right, Lelouch?"

[veepofchess]

Lelouch had had quite enough of this knight. But he had a solution. But he didn't need witnesses, least of all Nunnally. "Gino, why don't you and I go get towels for the others? I think they'll need them." He stood, and smiled at Nunnally. "I'll be back," he told her, giving her hand a light squeeze. Gino's inconvenient memories were about to be less of a problem.

He stood, and headed for the door.

[trollofthree]

Oh? Gino shrugged and followed, curious to see what kind of plan the ex-regicide had thought up this time. Kallen was right there, and Mei was more than a match sitting with Nunnally, so he deserved this chance for entertainment.

"What's this about, anyway?" He waited until the door had shut behind them to speak. "You trying to add another count of regicide to your list?"

[veepofchess]

He scoffed. "Nonsense, Gino. I would never harm my sister," he replied as they made their way down the hall. He reached up to move some of his hair away from where it stuck to his face. At the same time, he removed his contact lens. One should do.

He looked up at the Knight again, and made eye contact. "You'll follow my orders, won't you?" He asked it amiably, just in case there were other ears in the hall.

[trollofthree]

"Could've fooled me." He hadn't been watching Lelouch too closely as they'd headed down the hall, but he looked back at the movement of his brushing hair away from his face. A casual glance, really, but that changed when Lelouch spoke.

His orders? Eyes hardened in a second.

"What was that?"

[veepofchess]

Well fuck. That was a problem. The only sign of things not going his way was in the beat it took him to respond. "Of course. You're a knight of the realm. While I'm far from Big Brother Odysseus' standing, I should hope I could count on you." Yes, the Bullshit was strong with this one.

[trollofthree]

"The dead don't have a rank," he pointed out, simply. "Where were you taking Nunnally?"

[veepofchess]

"Wherever she likes," he replied. "Once we get dressed, anyway. Is that a problem?"

[trollofthree]

"Yeah, I'd say so." This is punctuated by the windowframes beside them rattling in a particularly strong gust of wind, which provides an explanation beyond 'I don't trust you' "Especially when there's a storm and a power outage."

And especially when you were sneaking around, talking to Kallen. He didn't know where the traitorous ex-Knight of Seven was, but he suspected he wasn't still sleeping in his room.

[veepofchess]

"Honestly, Gino, I'm rather certain I'm not on the list of people that threaten my sister." He chuckled a bit, acting as though this were all a huge misunderstanding. "I only mean to get her started on her day, if she'd like to. She hasn't even had an opportunity to say if she'd like to or not."