Magical Teacher Professor Landry! - Episode 4: The Lady in White

[Teal Mage]

Clap.

"Huh?" Roughly two paces away from Sean, Hannah's head snapped left. Her eyes found Kohana's grinning face. One of his hands rested on one the ivy-like chains wrapped round her arm. His aura flared, legs tensing - "No!"

Too late, she realized what was happening. Eyes widened, and she tried to jerk her arm away. But, it was not enough. Filled with supernatural energy, Kohana's legs uncoiled - cracking the tiles below him as he pulled explosively away. Horror etched on her face, Hannah watched her gauntlet unravel as it released her, seemingly of its own volition. Now held in Kohana's hand, the enchanted necklace writhed, returning to its long-bow form, as the youth landed several meters away.

Seemingly uncomprehending, Hannah stood alone, stunned green eyes staring after Kohana. Her left hand was upraised, fingers reaching limply after the boy. Something in her stance seemed to have evaporated, leaving her looking strangely small and weak without her weapon. Even her aura seemed diminished, rolling limply and fitfully about her body.

And that's when Jack appeared.

Aura burning bright, the wizardling's charge finally brought him into melee range with the stunned blond. Sweeping up from her left side while she wasn't looking, Jackson's foot trailing foot pulsed with pale blue energy. Wind danced and whirled around it, as he planted his leading leg, and lashed out in a Gale Fist empowered kick, aimed at Hannah's mid-section.

Without giving any indication of seeing him, Hannah's body shifted. Stance constricting, she slid a precise fraction of an in to the side, twisting toward him in a flowing and languid movement. Empty and devoid of emotion, Hannah's green eyes met her younger assailant’s own, as Jack's foot buried itself into the swirling folds of her cloak, striking only air. Thinking quickly, the Wizard's hand tensed to a fist, air swirling around it. He drove it into -

It stopped short. The unfired Gale Fist disintegrated, as Jack's aura collapsed to wisps, leaving him suddenly bereft.

Empty and dispassionate, Hannah's eyes bored into his slightly wide blue ones. Below, her right arm extended from under her cloak, suffused with the vivid blue supernatural glow of her aura. Faint ripples of blue light radiated out from the center of Jack's chest, where the girl's hand vanished - plunged inside, past the cuffed wrist of her leather glove. Teardrop shaped leaves of light spilled outward from the place of contact, giving birth to small green clusters of climbing ivy where they fell; mostly on Hannah's upper body.

Though now ghostly, the grip Hannah now had on Jack's heart felt very, very, real.

And it hurt.

Hannah's grip slowly tightened, and though Jack's heart beat as strongly as before, the phantom pain that radiated out from it was mind numbing in its alien wrongness. Breathing rapidly becoming laboured, it was quickly becoming a struggle to stand, let alone cast spells. Darkness was creeping up around his eyes, as his conscious slipped...

The glimmer of grim satisfaction in Hannah's eyes was his only warning.

Before she ripped his heart out.

Light exploded -!

And Jack screamed.

* * *

"…in response," Shuyin offered, voice pleasant despite Dal's own threatening tone and stance, "I would first like to point out that you either have a very naïve view of your own species, or are engaging in extensive hyperbole to make your point." A dismissive gesture followed, "But, both possibilities are rather irrelevant to the topic at hand. As this is a battlefield, we will need to address them at a later date."

Shuyin's gaze shifted to his left, and his golden eyes fixed on one of the Jotun twins – the clone, as it happened. "Tell me Johanna, were you faced with an opponent who, to paraphrase Dalhach's description, toys with the lives of children and innocents in a manner that only the darkest Fae," a chuckle escaped his lips, "would dare attempt, and would be willing to coolly calculate the murders of members of their own species, without remorse, and indeed, do it again and again?"

Another mirthless smile followed, "And for this hypothetical situation, let us also say that, this individual is surpasses you, both in power, ruthlessness and intelligence." He switched his gaze to the other twin; eyes sharpening as they regarded the real Johanna, "What, Miss Ismirdotter, would you do?"

Around them, the crazed battle of shadows continued over the solid white curtains - Hannah appeared to have lost her bow. Still, the blond was moving quickly, eluding a series of strikes from Jay, Sean and Jack, with Kohana watching from afar, holding her weapon. While Hannah still seemed far from defeated, she didn't seem to have the upper hand. The sounds of battle seemed to support this - though muted, the only grunts of pain seemed to come from Hannah.

Certainly, the three of them had time to continue this conversation with Shuyin.

* * *

Brilliant blue light exploded. Jack screamed. The smell of spirits intensified.

Standing a score of meters away from where Jack had charged into Hannah, Kohana could only watch helplessly as the wizard had attacked - what had seemed, for a moment - to be a helpless and lost girl. That impression vanished, as long with the light and the cry, Jack crumpled to the ground before Hannah's feet. He looked to be unconscious - and the back of his tuxedo was writhing. Something bright and green seemed to be squirming its way of of his cuffs, twinning around his fingers; more of Hannah's magical vines?

The blond in question was, at that moment, watching him. Cold and emotionless, she inclined her head to Kohana and offered a chilling smile. Though spoken, the promised, You're next. was almost audible.

But, unexpectedly, she turned back toward Sean.

By now, he'd recovered enough to cast spells - but, if he didn't break out of his vine prision quickly, she would arrive to finish him off. Her steps were slow, as she approached slowly, aura beginning to build. To Kohana's noise, the smell of spirits rose again - whatever she had done to Jack, she evidentially planned to do to Sean.

Meanwhile, Jack found his consciousness slowly returning, as the phantom pain - greater than anything he'd ever felt - faded. A brilliant mass of vivid blue light rose from over his heart, where Hannah's hand had impaled him. No wound remained, but, the strangest feeling of a mass of something writhing and squirming against his chest was inescapable. Worse still, it felt like his inner power was being...drained.

A glance down at his hand might have dispelled such strange metaphysical concerns, though.

They were covered, and his fingers were tied together, with tiny creeper vines. Though he could still close them into fists, the vines were strong - they held his fingers together with chilling ease. Still, they looked fragile - perhaps he could pull them off with their complimentary hands - if he acted quickly.

Because they were growing longer, and thicker.

A voice entered Kohana's thought, Well Shaman, It sounded gentle, female and old. A moment later, Kohana realized it was coming from the bow. You have me. What will you do?

* * *

It had been a fierce battle.

Five of the six Seeker Vines lay scattered, some writhing helplessly, others still, in slowly spreading pools of brown-red liquid on the marble tiles of the tower's roof. Adeline stood on the north side of the former vine cage, panting slowly. In much the same state, a tired looking Sao stood at the west edge of the cage, while Chou knelt on the extreme south side, struggling with the final active vine, club abandoned at her side. Further past the oni, the yellow leather wrapped hilt of Adeline's sword rose from the tiles, embedded into the rooftop.

As Chou secured the final vine - covered in oozing bitemarks - into a pretzel-like knot, Adeline felt the last of the tension in her stance slip away. "Phew." she wiped the sweat from her brow, with the back of her wrist. "We did it."

Suddenly, Adeline frowned. "What the..." A sound, like a door slowly creaking open, sounded to her right. She turned, then gasped. A dark shape had appeared in the air, close to - "Sao!" Adeline cried, her sword appearing in her hand, "Behind you!" A smell, like musty and stale air filled her lungs suddenly, and Adeline's sword fell hers hands. She doubled over, hacking.

The black shape plummeted limply down. A spirtz of something dark sprayed from it as it struck, bouncing bonelessly a handful of paces behind Sao, where it lay still and unmoving. Slowly, dark liquid began to seep out of it.

Closer inspection revealed that the shape was human, and sheathed head-to-toe in more of that liquid - which was deep red, not quite black, in color. Female, the figure lay on its back, it's chest rising and falling shakily, with the tattered remains of a dress covering its chest. Long hair hung in greasy black strands around its ichor coated face - judging by her expression, she was in pain. The face, upon further study, looked familiar...

Diana.

If the dark liquid spreading around her was blood...

On the other side of the Field, someone screamed.

It appeared that things were far from done.

[SinrXIII]

His legs.

If there was anything Kohana was proud of, more than anything else in the world, it was his legs. He'd learned to love grappling, to love punching and throwing and blocking his opponents. People always hated to be thrown; it was just infuriating.

But his legs. Those were his pride and joy. Nothing in the world could compare to a run through the plains. Simple mutt, simple pleasures.

Once again, he threw all of his trust into his legs. He raced towards Hannah when he saw an opening, feet pounding the stone beneath his toes. He narrowed his eyes, the smell of spirits hitting his nose, making his tail bristle. He dashed past Jack, and told his classmate all he could spare. He watched Hannah brutally take Sean down; he felt sorry for his fellow youth, but couldn't stop. Not yet!

He came to a stop just short of Hannah, flashed her a grin, and snatched her bow into his hands. Gripping tightly, he bent his legs and pushed against the ground, supernatural strength flowing through him. With a grunt, he pushed against the floor and began his acsent. His hands held firm on the bow, and it rewarded him by giving little resistance. He let out a slow breath, sailing backwards through the air as the remainder of the scene unfolded in front of him; Jack's assault on Hannah, and he handling of his attack. Koh's eyes narrowed further, and he bit his lip hard enough to draw blood.

The native boy landed with ease, face turned to Hannah. His lips curled back into a snarl, and he howled at the blonde.

"HANNAH!"

His voice barked across the space, eyes dark. His hand began to glow with dusty yellow-green around the bow. He spit to the side, and roared at the girl again.

"Hear me, Hannah Iriumi! I am Kohana Akecheta, shaman of the Abyssal Wolf, and the Vessel of my tribe's Creator!" The glow around the bow pulsed, and Kohana lifted his free hand. He ran it down his arm, and held the bow in front of him.

"You have your reasons, Hannah. I do not know why you follow Teacher Shuyin, nor why you desire the death of Teacher Landry. My people speak tolerance, that we are all children of the Wolf's earth." He held his ground, eyes locked on Hannah, hoping she'd stopped to listen. His puppy, meanwhile, was moving towards Jackson to try and remove his bonds with it's teeth. Good puppy.

"Despite that, I've always been a fighter. I never bothered to use my head more than I had to; my hot blood is a reason I find myself at this school. Today, I've learned something, from you and Teacher Shuyin." The wolf-boy smiled softly. He moved his empty hand away from the bow, and with it came a soft, spherical light. He held the orb in his hand a moment, before turning and setting it gently behind him. The light shone, then began to take form; the shaman, however, turned back to face Hannah.

"This spirit is now under my protection; no being, living or dead, shall harm it. In return, you, Hannah Iriumi, must stand down for the remainder of this fight." Kohana's smile was gone; his eyes resolute, impassive.

"If you will walk, slowly, towards me, I will ensure that no harm befalls this spirit you love; I will tear the throats out of my own classmates, should they attack her. All I ask is that you cease your assault, and remain out of the fight for whatever may happen next. This has gone on far too long as it is. I too, will cease fighting, and will happily return your spirit to this bow."

His tail swished behind him as he held the bow loosely in his hand, the other resting on his hip.

"Heed my words, Hannah Iriumi, or I will forsake this spirit to whatever may come. This I swear, on my honor as a shaman, and as the great Wolf's vessel."

[Bard The 5th LW]

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH," Sean could only scream. There was no coherency to anything he was trying to say, it was just a combination of pain, anger, and confusion. It was a scream more akin to the Hulk than a person. He struggled and shouted trying to escape the prison of vines thats had ensnared him like ropes, but it was too no avail. He could hear another pained howl, and he only barely made it out to be Jack's voice. He looked forward, his vision limited.

She was walking towards him now. The Canadian continued to pull and try to break free, his eyes wide with fear and anger, but it still would not yield a success. "FUCK Y-you!" he shouted, his voice beginning to falter from the pain. How could he let her get away with that? She apparently killed Landry already (unless Kohana's theory was right), and she'd likely have few qualms giving him a nice dose of murder while he was tied up.

Kohana was speaking now. Negotiating it seemed, but Sean's emotions were moving to fast and he couldn't really understand in the tumult that was his mental state. The vines made him feel so claustrophobic, and it made him even angrier. He took a deep breath, and counted to three. He didn't have the time to get to ten, he had to act quickly. Once his head felt cleared, he leveled his gaze straight back at Hannnah. Her eyes and face were cold and steely. He narrowed his eyes and stared straight back at her, hate running across his face. He did not struggle, but he let her come towards him, the feeling of butterflies forming in his stomach.

He'd wait for her. He had no clue what Kohana was talking about, and he didn't care. The temperature around his face began to drop as his focus intensified, and an orange light began to form. With each step she took, his mouth opened a little more, teeth gritted. He'd let her try to take him, but he wouldn't go down without a fight.

[Riin Whitewind]

Mouth suddenly dry, Sao tried to swallow. "Don't," she rasped out, before clearing her throat. "Don't touch her. At all." To Sao, Diana glowed. Bright, bruise-colored light hung off Diana and the slowly spreading liquid around her. Instinctively, Sao retreated a few steps. And another. Whatever caused that light, and that liquid, hated her. She could feel it pushing at her, as forceful as a gust of wind.

"Or me, either. Just," Taking off her black dress jacket, Sao held it limply in her hands. She shivered, and hesitated. "Stay back." That glowing light, roiling black and purple like a thunderhead, spread as Diana's blood did. Squaring her bare shoulders, Sao took a step forward. Where ever you originate, whoever sent you, I will not let you take my classmates. Another step, this one with a little less confidence. ...No matter how scared I am. Suppressing a whimper, and looking like she faced her death, she took another step. Walking forward was like wading her way up river - one that was swollen with melted snow.

Focusing on the length of black cloth in her hands, Sao's aura glowed a dim green. It flit and sputtered as she walked toward Diana, streaming behind her slightly as she pushed against restrained malevolence. Her fancy dress jacket grew heavier, soaking up the gel pouring from Sao's fingers. Stopping just at the edge of the cursed area, the budding healer took a deep breath.

And immediately coughed it back out. The air around her was musty, still and dead. It felt choked and filled with dust. Taking another, short breath, Sao whispered, "I can do this." Her aura flared against the purple and blue, thouroughly suffusing the long fabric in her hands.

Stepping into the director's blood with bare feet, Sao felt a particular numbness flood through her lower legs. Around her legs, her aura guttered, and went out. She took another step, folding her legs carefully under her to kneel at Diana's side. The numbness spread wherever it touched, leaving the bruise-colored glow in its wake. Whispering more to herself than her patient, she managed a wan "You'll pull through," to the body of Tear before her.

Leaning forward, Sao moved slowly, gently laying her jacket over Diana's torso, covering the once-pretty dress. Blood beaded up at either edge, forced from her skin by the pressure of the jacket. Underneath, however, pale green light fluttered and shone, soaking into the director's skin. Placing her hands on the jacket, Sao fed more power into her Healing Stream, forcing her magic past the barriers the curse threw in front of it. She had promised her patient. She would remain until Diana recovered, or she drained herself.

Whichever came first.

[Girasol of Chaos]

Her tongue felt betrayed. The blue oni's mouth had enjoyed tearing at the vines, but not the taste. Peaceful as Chou is compared to her counterpart, she is still a carnivore.

Moments later, she would regret not being in a human form. A sickened mass bounced into existance behind Sao, alerting its presence by not only being gross to look at but having an extremely offensive odor. Chou didn't need the other chick to tell her something was there.

Ugh, it reeks of death and decay. The oni's nose and brow wrinkled in disgust, baring her fangs in the most unlady-like manner. She was trying, and failing, to not gag at the overwhelming stench. Pulling herself into a stand, she drew her right arm across her nose in hopes that it would lessen the sensation. Grasping her Kanabo weakly, Chou inspected the oozing lump from her distance. It was definitely a dying something. A human perhaps, but her body screamed, attempting to warn the oni that this thing was not edible. Like I need my nose to tell me that. Rotting meat never was.

"Don't" Sao's voice was weak, she was much closer to the body. How could her friend stand the smell? Chou didn't envy her. "Don't touch her. At all." The tanned girl began to retreat, Chou barked in reply, " You really didn't need to tell me that. Get away from that thing." There was no attempt to hide the alarm.

Instead, her friend spoke again, but it was harder to hear. She took her jacket off and took a few steps towards the apparent corpse. "Stay back!" Her hesitation was clear, but she made each painful inch towards the dying lump of flesh and knelt down.

Hair on the oni's neck was now on end, but she knew that Sao was going to try to heal whatever it was. Sao had healed her body from some state-somewhat terrible, as she was out now instead of the brute. The ogre wasn't going to deny someone else a chance, but every fiber in her muscled body told her this was wrong. Chou removed her face from her arm only long enough, "If it so much twitches wrong..." She wasn't ready to get closer to the body willingly, but to help her friend, she'd do so.

She could only watch as her only sane link to this world knelt in the putrid blood and poured her energy into the mass that appeared to be a student.

[Astral Harmony]

"Ah...no thanks, I'm good," Astarte politely denied any part of the conversation, but did out of respect take a seat at the table. She did want to know what was going on, and was still very worried about Gorgeous and Vanilla, but decided that it was best to just sit down and wait while Professor Shuyin conversed with the others. Besides, she was tired, and hungry. Just how much time had passed since she'd entered the Field of Honor?

Astarte wasn't a take-charge kind of person, and to be honest, didn't feel any particular motivation to do or say anything right now. Her convictions just weren't there. But she did make herself comfortable. She shed away the rest of her dress to leave her body completely bare except for the mummy wrapping which hugged all the right areas.

[Steel Shadow]

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Have you considered switching to Amaranth Broadband? 10x faster than the closest competi- *Skip*

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Bing!

Hey there Fans! How are you? I hope you're all ok. Healthy living is an important thing these days! You know what they say, you wont appreciate life until it's gone. I can tell you right now, that's 100% true!

Aw, don't cry guys! You'll make me tear up, and right now I don't think my body needs the extra stress. I lived as I loved, and my life was filled with joy and happiness. Except for that last part. That wasn't fun.

I hope that little girl got out ok though. Did I tell you? Oh, I guess I didn't! Sorry guys, my memory's getting fuzzy, what with the rampant blood loss. But I saved a little girl! That's how I died. Y'huh, how about that? I'm a genuine Hero! Or I was, anyways.

What's that? I was always a hero to you guys? Aw, that's so sweet! <3

But maybe I didn't do so well, huh? I didn't survive. I ended up being the first one to die, even. Well I think I was. I kinda lost track of everyone. A real hero would have gotten out of there intact though, right?

Heh. It's real nice of you guys to comfort a girl on her death bed, but I'm getting kinda tired. It's not like I want to go... I'd much rather go back in there with a shotgun or a sword or something and kick that... Whatever's face in. That'd be pretty nice... Y'know?

But... I don't think it's... my choice... Sorry guys... I didn't get to... dedicate my first award... to you... 'm tired...

...

..-Huh?

Hey? Did anyone else hear that? I thought I heard-

Woah. Woah, woah, wait a minute.

Oh wow.

Uh, maybe I'm not done just yet guys.

I, uh... Gimme a bit. I'll get back to you.

*Click*

PLAY AGAIN?

[Arhra]

"Tell me Johanna," Shuyin said, his gaze fixed on one of the Jos at the table, "were you faced with an opponent who, to paraphrase Dalbhach's description, toys with the lives of children and innocents in a manner that only the darkest Fae," a chuckle escaped his lips, "would dare attempt, and would be willing to coolly calculate the murders of members of their own species, without remorse, and indeed, do it again and again?"

Another mirthless smile followed, "And for this hypothetical situation, let us also say that, this individual is surpasses you, both in power, ruthlessness and intelligence." He switched to the other Jo, "What, Miss Ismirdotter, would you do?"

"Why I would stoop to their level and involve as many schoolchildren as possible." Jo replied blandly, returning his look with two level gazes of her own.

The Jo he had not addressed took over while the first well gently on her tea and sipped again. "Whether you are justified or not does not matter here, at this time."

The first Jo set down her tea with a click. "You have failed."

"Whether you are bargaining from weakness or strength, it does not matter. Your plan has gone awry and will continue to do so. I must request, no, demand, that you call off your attack dog. If you do not, then there is no point in us talking. We will find another way."

[Dracorion]

"AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHH!!!!"

Jack didn't even notice himself falling backwards. There was only the unimaginable pain of his heart being ripped out. Fortunately, he didn't have to put up with it for long as everything faded to black.

...

With a sharp gasp, Jack rose to a sitting position from where he fell. He felt the lingering sting of the pain from before still in his chest, and also a myriad of other weird feelings. His hands instinctively rose to examine his chest, only to stop short when he saw them. They were being wrapped in vines that were creeping out from under his shirt, and there was a blue light emanating from his chest, not quite his own aura, from the place where Hannah had stuck her hand in, and something squirming from under there. He had a good idea what that was.

Fortunately, though his fingers were held together by the vines, he could still close them. His left hand squeezed beneath the vines on his right hand, and pulled hard.

With a gasp of pain, Jack threw away the broken vines and clutched his bleeding right hand. Goddamn, that hurt. Tearing away the vines cut him up. In that moment, he had the time to identify the many sensations he felt. That were the vines squirming under his shirt. A... squirming, from the place the blue light emanated. And something else, something beneath it all.

Draining. Yes, he was unmistakably being drained. Stupid Hannah.

With an angry snarl, his right hand ripped the vines from his left, as he gritted his teeth from the sharp stab of pain. And then he breathed for a moment, to calm himself. He looked around a bit. Kohana was currently attracting Hannah's attention, holding her bow and doing something. Near Hannah, Sean was trapped in vines much like Landry was. Jack wanted to help, but he needed to take care of himself first. He continued to look, until his gaze fell upon the pavilion.

He hadn't heard anything from there since the fighting started, had he? He could see them, just sitting around. Well, his own situation was pretty desperate, and frankly he could use the help against a certain psychotic bitch. His right hand rose, as Jack concentrated. He could feel his magic being slowly drained by whatever Hannah did, but he still had more than enough juice to wrap the wind around his fist, and throw a punch in the direction of the pavilion. The air blast hurled through the air.

With that taken care of, he turned to more immediate concerns. Namely the vines trying to entangle him and draining his power. He ripped open his chest, only to see the blue light was a gaping hole in his chest from which the vines emerged. Fortunately, it seemed to be made entirely of Hannah's aura. Why was that fortunate? Because she wasn't the only one who could drain magic powers.

But as soon as he saw the hole, more vines emerged and attempted to wrap around his neck and upper arms. He angrily tore those up too, eliciting more bleeding wounds on himself. But frankly, Jack was just about tired of this shit. His right hand rose, wind wrapped around it, and then quickly slammed his own chest, onto Hannah's aura. His left hand did the same. Even if he was hurting himself and draining his own aura with this tactic, frankly, it was still the only solution he could think of for his gaping chest wound. The only viable one, anyway. Sean was trapped and Jo was stuck inside the pavilion.

It must've been an amusing spectacle, him smashing his own hands into his chest like a crazy person, or a gorilla. Maybe anyone watching would think he lost his mind. Jack only stopped, though, when he saw a strange little puppy had appeared next to him. "Oh hey." It... appeared to want to help? Either that, or it thought the vines currently wrapping around his body were toys. Either way, "You can take care of the vines, little buddy." Jack said nicely, then went back to hitting himself.

[Overcast]

Jay lowered his bat after the arrow went flying off the tower,his eyes stoic as Jack went running by him, nobody was stopping. No one was listening or even trying to plan properly and if that was the way they wanted to play then Jay was going to let them. He didn't even sigh as he stood and watched it all happened.

Soon enough Sean was stuck in a growing mass of roots that he could not escape from, desperately gnashing his teeth in defiance. Jack had been grappled and destroyed, his hands desperately attempting to force off his new friend that grew from his chest. Kohana had taken Hannah's bow, but it certainly hadn't nullified her. Though in the moments after he had he seemed to gain some raised surprise on his face, like when a newbie poker player gets his first full house. Jay let him move toward Hannah and listened as he laid down his negotiating terms. It wasn't a bad start.

He smiled a bit wider as he kept his eyes scanning everyone on the field, and if anything put this scene in jeopardy it was going to feel his bat.