The Hidden Door-A Role Play (AKA The Most Dangerous Coffee Shop II)

[Cluckcluck1215]

”Ah,” Kyle said.

Kyle took a deep breath. ”You know five months ago? In September? Perhaps you noticed an increase in the bug population during that time. A man named Will Laurel, my boss at the time, took me aside and told me about ancient manuscripts he had discovered. And some special amulets. I was hungry for adventure, so he put it upon me to put these stones in places where I found people with great potential. And they found their way to a chosen few. Then, we were sent to England to put stop to a curse on the Earth, thousands of years old. With the amulets in their proper place, the bugs that would have wiped out the human population were vanquished.” Kyle tapped his foot impatiently. ”It looks like we were called again for another purpose, and are linked somehow.”

Kyle's gears began turning. His foot tapping increased in tempo. ”Laurel though. After the curse was removed, he disappeared without a trace. I asked him where he was going. Borealis, he said. He never told me more about that place.”

"Except how are we supposed to figure out the purpose?" Blair questioned, lifting a single brow at Kyle. "You knew what was going on last time, so did Laurel. And, well...we all made it out alive. But barely. We have no direction, no way of getting back, no way of knowing what we're even doing." Her mind was desperately trying to find a rational reason, yet none came to mind.

 

[HeavensHens88]

Kevin beamed down at the younger boy, excited someone was actually interested in his magic. Most of the people he knew already had powers when he got his, and therefore didn’t care.
“Thank you!” Kevin said. He watched as the tweezers hovered over Ciro’s injured hand, tilting his head to the side. “Do you want me to help you?” He asked, “it might be easier, and maybe not as painful.”

Ciro gave an affirmative series of nods, feeling uncannily like the anxious four-year-old he'd been for the earliest doctor appointment he could recall. He tentatively offered the tweezers and his hand, meeting the taller man's reassuring brown eyes with his own widened grays. "Please, would you?"

 

[Rubysword]

"Except how are we supposed to figure out the purpose?" Blair questioned, lifting a single brow at Kyle. "You knew what was going on last time, so did Laurel. And, well...we all made it out alive. But barely. We have no direction, no way of getting back, no way of knowing what we're even doing." Her mind was desperately trying to find a rational reason, yet none came to mind.

"But we're older now." Haddie spoke up. "And stronger. And this time," she said, gesturing towards the cluster of new people, "there are more of us." She huffed and put her head back against the tree, letting the hand with an alcohol wipe fall to the ground. "And maybe... maybe... we can win." She sighed and closed her eyes, falling to the ground.

 

[Rose Quartz]

Take rolled his eyes at the mention of the new people, “Yep, all threatening each other..”
He punched Kipp on the shoulder in a friendly manner, “So how are your classes going huh?” he asked, bringing up his fists up to his own face, impersonating a boxer and jumping around a bit.

Take’s third eye focused on Colby and Nat, “Aye” he greeted the two, his two other eyes still focused on Kipp.

Kipp smiled nodding. "Heh, pretty good, though everyone says it's not fair that I've got wings that I can smack them with too."


Kipp listened to the conversation and introductions, for the most part zoning out wondering if his whole class had fallen through the portal here too, or if it had just been him. As his eye's wandered he finally spotted Cam gesturing for him to come over an talk to her.

Cam shifted the conversation away from the flaming lady, near the dampest tree she could find around the dais’ perimeter, gesturing at Kipp to follow. She drew in a breath. Her voice acquired a hiss-yell undertone.
“Noah Chandra. My neighbor. I was asked to babysit the neighbor kids. So I did. AppARently he thinks it would be a good idea to walk into huge swirling portal thingies. Naturally I had to follow him. BUT...” here she threw a hand wildly at the trees surrounding them. “He’s not here! Could he have been transported somewhere else?”

"Huh, maybe, I mean who knows who else has been transported here. Actually. I think some of my class may have come through too, but they aren't here. So, it's possible, I guess." Kipp subconsciously rubbed at his sore arm as he spoke. "We should probably look for them. At the very least it's safer together than it is apart."

---------

Ciro gently placed his precious bag down and worked on mustering enough resolve to wade into the heart of the confrontation. He was so near tears that it was nearly impossible to steel himself enough to even think about playing his charm. Or maybe that'd work in his favor for sincerity points.
"Hey, señoras," he broke in slowly from the sidelines, placing careful, calming enunciation on each of his words. The slower he went, the more he kept to one language. "I'm not too sure what just went down, nor do I know you, but what I do know is that I don't want any of you hurt." He looked from the smoking ginger to the snarky purple, making sure to keep his expression nothing short of completely earnest. "We're obviously not where nosotros belong. And I'm going to be bold enough to surmise that fighting each other is only going to make this tanto worse." Then he let a smile take over his face- one that was real enough to actually be pacifying in itself. "So, truce? For all of us?"

The spanish was a bit difficult to understand, but at least she'd had some exposure to it, and was able to piece together what he was trying to say. She didn't really want to fight in the first place, but she wasn't going to just be a push over either, so she stood her ground waiting for Aellas reaction.

Aella's eyes narrowed even more, taking another step closer. But it wasn't worth it. These people had powers, too, and this wasn't New York City. She didn't know it like the back of her hand, so she couldn't just toss flames and run.
She stepped back, flames vanishing. "You're lucky, little brat. Stay away from me."

Aella narrowed her eyes, glancing warily at everybody around her. "Right," she muttered, backing up.

Juliana finally relaxed, dropping the paint can back into its holster on her hip. She squinted after Aella as she walked away. Like I'd want to be anywhere near her. She rolled her eyes and wandered away kicking her crispy jacket as she walked past. It was now charred beyond use. Stupid crazy fire girl.

Bane was laying on his bed, his hands held above his face as he examined his silver ring, fingers tracing the engravings on its sides as they had done countless times before. His thoughts wandered as his fingertips continued over their course by memory. College had been nothing but a disappointment, sure it had only been the first day, but it seemed as though nothing, not even school, could distract him from the emptiness he felt without his mom. There were moments when he was really caught up in something that he was just like himself again, but it was impossible for him to be like that all the time, no matter how hard he tried. The only way he’d found the strength to keep moving forward was the knowledge that his mom would not wish for him to give up and forfeit his own chance of living a happy life. Expressing his thoughts in his journal had also proved to be a worthwhile endeavor; a chance to open up and free himself of the things he felt but didn’t want to say aloud. He slid his ring back onto his right index finger, and, sitting up, grabbed his journal along with a pencil which were laying on his bedside table. He then began to write: They say people handle pain in different ways, that at some point in your life you will be broken and have to find a way to put yourself back together again, but you have to want to be fixed. I struggled to understand what that meant at first, but then I’d remember all the happy memories that I’d shared with my mom and wonder: could I be like that again? Wasn’t it selfish to think that I could ever feel joy like that again without her? Or, was it selfish to close myself off and only remember how much I miss her instead of remembering every wonderful thing she had done for me when she was alive? It took me some time to except the latter as being the truth, but when I did I could almost feel myself mending, obviously I had made no physical change, but it was an internal change, an internal feeling that I can’t really put into words. Some days I wonder if my dad even recognizes me, or hears me when I try to talk to him. All he ever does is stare at mom’s picture as though that will magically bring her back somehow. Still, I have to hope that someday he will want to be fixed too, because I guess no matter what, you can’t give up on family. Bane closed the journal and set the pencil down on his bed beside it. He then got up and walked to his closet, grabbing his favorite white hoodie, which he had gotten on a trip to Florida, and slipped it over his head. As he reached out his hand to open the front door, he called over his shoulder, “Dad, I’m going out.” He did not wait for a response because he knew he would receive none, but it made him feel better at least to know that he was trying to communicate with his dad. As he closed the front door behind him, Bane glanced up at the gray, clouded sky, just another reminder of the cold and rainy weather which had recently been hovering over San Marcos, Texas. He began treading towards the dirt trail which went on for several miles through the woods surrounding his neighborhood. It was rarely used by anyone except him and he found the scents and sounds of the forest calming, especially the soft gurgling of the small brook which ran along the trail. Bane stooped down and dipped his fingertips into the fresh, cool water; he could feel the unmistakable surge of power which ran up the length of his arm and spread throughout his body. From somewhere to his left, there was a quiet, but audible, sizzling sound. A sudden moment of déjà vu caused him to reach up and cautiously pat his head. Bane breathed a sigh of relief, his cheeks unceremoniously becoming a shade of rosy pink a moment later as he remembered his first day of third grade when one of the kids in his class had accidentally set his hair on fire. Embarrassment flooded him over how much trauma the event had caused him, however, he was quickly brought back to the present as a second, louder sizzle of electromagnetic energy was emitted from a... what was it? Gap? No. Hole? No. His brain seemed to be struggling as much as his eyes were as he tried to take in what he was seeing. The answer came to him at last: Oh yeah, they call it a portal in those science fiction novels or whatever! He felt a bit stupid at how proud he was at figuring it out, but decided to focus on the portal instead and take a closer look. As he slowly crept towards it, he observed how jagged its edges were, it reminded him a bit of the times when he had tried to draw a nice, uniform circle for art class, but they had always ended up looking more like the portal. He was about a foot away from the portal now, but he decided to take one more step, just out of curiosity. Unfortunately, his gaze was so intently focused on the portal that he completely missed the baseball-sized rock that was right in front of his foot, which was ominously slippery from the consistent amount of rain the city had gotten that week. He realized his mistake as soon as his foot made contact with the rock, of course it was a bit too late at that point. Next thing he knew, he was on his butt and sliding right through the portal. He flew across a limestone dais, leaving a trail of San Marcos, Texas mud behind him and, as if things couldn’t get any worse, ended his journey by face-planting into a large cedar tree. Fortunately, his face had collided with the tree where a convenient amount of moss was growing, nevertheless, he was making some comedy-worthy faces as he attempted to regain the feeling in his nose.

Juliana smirked at the curly haired boys misfortune. And looked over at the new portal that had spewed him out.
"Careful. Those things apparently like to just randomly appear and grab people."

 

[Cluckcluck1215]

"But we're older now." Haddie spoke up. "And stronger. And this time," she said, gesturing towards the cluster of new people, "there are more of us." She huffed and put her head back against the tree, letting the hand with an alcohol wipe fall to the ground. "And maybe... maybe... we can win." She sighed and closed her eyes, falling to the ground.

"We can't win if we don't know what we're against." Blair snapped, glancing towards Haddie. "Just because there is more of us doesn't make it any– Haddie?" She broke off abruptly when Haddie's eyes flickered shut, and quickly she went over to her, kneeling down, worry nagging at her. "Haddie? Open your eyes, okay? I'm gonna try and see if anybody can help."
Her gaze flickered towards the rest of the group anxiously, and she raised her voice. "Is anybody here a healer? Or have any medical supplies or something? We could use some help over here."

 

[FrankieDoodle]

Ciro gave an affirmative series of nods, feeling uncannily like the anxious four-year-old he'd been for the earliest doctor appointment he could recall. He tentatively offered the tweezers and his hand, meeting the taller man's reassuring brown eyes with his own widened grays. "Please, would you?"

Kevin nodded. “Ok. This might hurt, but try to stay still.” He said, using his right hand to hold Ciro’s, and his left hand to pull the glass out.
He dropped the small pieces of glass on the ground, his face wrinkled in concentration. He was trying to get all of the pieces out, but his tired eyes and the almost invisible glass made him unsure if it was all gone.
He ran a finger over Ciro’s hand. When he didn’t feel anything, he wrapped his hands around Ciro’s, letting out a soft green glow as his hand was healed. “There. It wasn’t bad, so it should be fully healed.” Kevin said, smiling.

"We can't win if we don't know what we're against." Blair snapped, glancing towards Haddie. "Just because there is more of us doesn't make it any– Haddie?" She broke off abruptly when Haddie's eyes flickered shut, and quickly she went over to her, kneeling down, worry nagging at her. "Haddie? Open your eyes, okay? I'm gonna try and see if anybody can help."
Her gaze flickered towards the rest of the group anxiously, and she raised her voice. "Is anybody here a healer? Or have any medical supplies or something? We could use some help over here."

Kevin looked at Blair. “Uh... I can kinda heal people.”

 

[Cluckcluck1215]

Kevin nodded. “Ok. This might hurt, but try to stay still.” He said, using his right hand to hold Ciro’s, and his left hand to pull the glass out.
He dropped the small pieces of glass on the ground, his face wrinkled in concentration. He was trying to get all of the pieces out, but his tired eyes and the almost invisible glass made him unsure if it was all gone.
He ran a finger over Ciro’s hand. When he didn’t feel anything, he wrapped his hands around Ciro’s, letting out a soft green glow as his hand was healed. “There. It wasn’t bad, so it should be fully healed.” Kevin said, smiling.




Kevin looked at Blair. “Uh... I can kinda heal people.”

"Kinda? Whatever, get over here, she needs help. Please." Blair knew she had snapped, knew she probably sounded a little too angry and stressed, so she added the quiet please at the end, feeling slightly guilty. She hadn't meant to be mean about it, she just wanted help for Haddie, but it had come out that way anyway.

 

[FrankieDoodle]

"Kinda? Whatever, get over here, she needs help. Please." Blair knew she had snapped, knew she probably sounded a little too angry and stressed, so she added the quiet please at the end, feeling slightly guilty. She hadn't meant to be mean about it, she just wanted help for Haddie, but it had come out that way anyway.

Kevin was taken aback by Blair’s harsh tone, giving her a quick nod as he moved towards Haddie.
He knelt down beside her, grimacing. Her wound looked terrible, and he wasn’t sure how much he could help. He put his hands on Haddie’s stomach, closing his eyes as he sent magical healing energy through her. He focused on healing her internal injuries, anything external would be easier to treat with non-magical medical supplies.
The glow from Kevin’s hands faded all to soon, despite his effort to keep it going. He opened his eyes, leaning back. “I’m sorry, that’s all I can do for now. How do you feel?” He asked. “The internal wounds should be better, but I can’t do anything else right now. I’ll try again in another hour or two, mkay?”

 

[Yowza Wowza]

Kipp smiled nodding. "Heh, pretty good, though everyone says it's not fair that I've got wings that I can smack them with too."


Kipp listened to the conversation and introductions, for the most part zoning out wondering if his whole class had fallen through the portal here too, or if it had just been him. As his eye's wandered he finally spotted Cam gesturing for him to come over an talk to her.



"Huh, maybe, I mean who knows who else has been transported here. Actually. I think some of my class may have come through too, but they aren't here. So, it's possible, I guess." Kipp subconsciously rubbed at his sore arm as he spoke. "We should probably look for them. At the very least it's safer together than it is apart."

Take dropped his hands back at his sides, “Pft. It’s definitely fair, you got wings, you gotta use em..” he smirked, crossing his arms. He was able to pick up what Kyle shared about them being called up again, and about Laurel going to this ‘Borealis’ place. This is where we are, aren’t we..? He narrowed his eyes at the pale girl with the long jarring scar across her eye, and the one with a mask when they came up to them. “So I guess the newbies are done trying to kill one another.” he muttered under his breath.

 

[Rubysword]

Kevin was taken aback by Blair’s harsh tone, giving her a quick nod as he moved towards Haddie.
He knelt down beside her, grimacing. Her wound looked terrible, and he wasn’t sure how much he could help. He put his hands on Haddie’s stomach, closing his eyes as he sent magical healing energy through her. He focused on healing her internal injuries, anything external would be easier to treat with non-magical medical supplies.
The glow from Kevin’s hands faded all to soon, despite his effort to keep it going. He opened his eyes, leaning back. “I’m sorry, that’s all I can do for now. How do you feel?” He asked. “The internal wounds should be better, but I can’t do anything else right now. I’ll try again in another hour or two, mkay?”

"Go 'way. I'm not going to school today. I'm sick." Haddie slurred, waving an arm at the person looking above her. She started to roll over, then felt a sharp pain on her ribs. "Gah!" Clarity returned, slowly. "Oh. Right. This crap." She grimaced and pushed under herself, sitting back up against the tree. She looked up at the man who had been above her when she woke back up. She vaguely recalled some sort of glow, and warmth. Huh. She nodded at him. "Thanks for-whatever you did. I, uh, guess I got a bit more beat up then I thought." She looked around. Everybody was kind of in a circle now. Great. Woo hoo. "Alright, I'm going to turn into a salamander now," She mumbled, "and get some rest and try and not die.' She glanced up at Rylie. "Don't try and eat me, cat." She said, pointing a warning finger at him, before following through on her words and crawling beneath some damp leaves.