Forum Thread

Rolling up to the entrance of the library, Alaparos had to pause. The sign hanging from the front declared the space closed for the day. Structural repairs and repairing old water damage apparently. Raising a confused eyebrow, Alaparos dug out his phone from within the bag to check if he had been notified about this. He came up empty and spent a few minutes perplexed before it hit him. He wasn't a student anymore so he wouldn't get notifications like these anymore. With a mournful sigh, he contemplated why he had ever chosen to graduate early, loosing such helpful perks, when he could have spent more time studying for his Masters while working on his papers. Oh well there was no point in crying over spilled milk and Alaparos decided to use his time more wisely by pushing himself towards the forest. He was infinitely thankful that he had recently customized his KSL wheels as a gift to himself after graduation as he popped onto his back wheels to navigate through the dense forest. His old wheels definitely couldn't handle rolling over thick roots and the varied terrain that made up the forest floor.

For all the time he had spent lingering by the area in his university days, Alaparos had never actually traversed into the dense area. He felt more of a pull towards the sea and open spaces, his Ophiotaurus blood singing with joy whenever he sliced through still waters, a body that was obtuse and unwieldy on land a graceful stream of muscle and elegance. But here in this forest, the only sounds being the rustling of leaves and his wheelchair's wheels, Alaparos felt like he could breath easier as he traversed within the thick layer of magic surrounding the place. It just felt right somehow. Closing his eyes, he let himself bask in the feeling for a moment, letting the peace of the place wash over him. It was rare that he could find himself so unguarded on land and Alaparos wanted the moment to last. Too bad it was cut short when two voices rose above the swaying branches. While his human ears were much more weak than the ones he usually sported, they were still sharp and Alaparos could catch wind of snippets of a conversation. It didn't seem like anything pressing so he reached for his wheels planing on returning back to his apartment when he froze. "Children your age should absolutely not wander around these parts" came a haughty tone, worry spiking within Alaparos' chest. Forests certainly weren't a place for everyone but especially not for young children. With his bleeding heart leading the way, Alaparos forged on making sure to keep an ear out for the voices and directing himself based on the voices. He was almost there when the second voice declared that they weren't a child at all and some of that worry abated. But still, Alaparos had made it this far it would be slightly impractical of him to turn back now. Turning a bend, he stumbled across the owner of the the voices. The first was easy to identify if only by the rigid posture and characteristic pointed ears but the other was quite odd. If the other wasn't an elf, known for their immense pride and proprietary Alaparos would have thought the other to be crazy to have a scarecrow as a conversation partner but as it stood he let his first impressions lie and spoke to the two of them.

"Now now, let's not raise our voices. There may be other patrons wandering the forests and it would be a shame to disturb their walks." Alaparos placated, making his presence known as he rolled forward closer to the two. "That aside, arguing will do none of you any good. What say we calm ourselves and approach this with a level head?"

---

Three people gathered? Were there normally lots of people in this forest? Finch brushed her poncho and looked at the third person, her button eyes squinting. Both of these people were familiar, and they were close to the University so... Finch cleared her throat, or her equivalent. “I won’t be hanging around, I’ve got someone I need to find.” Finch’s gaze moved back up to the elf, giving them one more hard stare before staring off into the forest. The scarecrow put her hand to he forehead, looking out into the shaded green and watching for any movement. She felt a wave of apathy towards those around her, not necessarily caring what it looked like she was trying, because after all, she was bound to create suspicion anyways.

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"You? A fully grown adult and older than me?" he scoffed. Before he could even start mockingly laughing he was interrupted by another stranger.

"Agreed..." he paused for a second "Huh? Are you a patron of this forest? Are you the person speaking to me telepathically? Your voice doesn't really match but you do seem somewhat familiar. Were you a student of this campus as well,perhaps? Oh,excuse my manners, I'm Hokori Ivellios." he bowed,just in case this ophiotaurus centaur was a patron of this forest.

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Finch froze and twisted her body. “Telepathic voice in your head?” She blurted, her eyes sparkling with a sudden friendliness. Was it possible that the others were here for the same reasons she was? She felt a stirring in her stomach, one that made her want to shout everything on her mind at once. “H-hear me out,” She stammered, suddenly desperate to redeem herself. “I’m here for the same reason. I got this weird dream last night. I’m here for that!” She exclaimed, looking frantically between the two with her wooden fingers trembling. A smile stretched across her face, the short scarecrow suddenly bursting with energy as if someone had flipped a light switch.

---

The numerous voices from the woods alerted his attention. These woods didn't usually have many people in them... it was most certainly not a place for anyone to hang out. In Azure's opinion, the only people who would go this deep into the woods were people who have malicious intentions... those who were up to no good. It was understandable after all, in terms of pure logic. He shook his head slightly, does that mean he was up to no good? Disregarding his own thoughts...the fact that people were here was odd. That weird dream he had that night...did it have anything to do with it? He slowly plodded towards the small group of people, not saying a word. He didn't expect them to trust his appearance right away...as a wolf, so he was on high alert.

---

A loud hissing and the thrashing of a pair of large beasts tumbling around in the bushes filled the air around Vale. The strained call of a deer soon blared in his ears, the large prey animal attempting to escape the serpent's coils. Vale hissed back, his grip tightening around the thrashing cervinae as it struggled. It had been a slow process, the snake's hearing and sense of smell leading him slowly towards his breakfast-to-be. He'd soon found himself at an advantageous place, simply above the deer and off to it's left, and had quickly leapt, snaring the animal with his body. Comfortably, he could hold his head about eight feet off the ground. That left three feet of coils supporting him, holding him steady. In a hunting situation such as now, that allowed eleven feet of oversized snake to wrap around prey, slowly suffocating it and crushing several bones in the process.


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Derek found his slow pace carrying him rather quickly, the university he sought soon coming into his restricted view. He knew he might get looks for showing up dressed as a medieval juggernaut, but they could look if they desired. This was Derek's heritage, and he'd wear it proudly and without restriction. If they did try to restrict him, they would find it fairly hard to get him out of the armor. Stomping up the stairs before the school, Derek hefted himself through the front doors, nearly slamming them against the walls as he pushed them open. Ducking his head, the demi-human thrust his horned helmet into the school building, looking around before stepping fully inside.

Hokori raised his eyebrows upon hearing the scarecrow's reaction. "Are you certain it wasn't just a bad dream? A lot of nightmares take place in forests,you know.' he knelt down to match her height. "Do you remember what that dream was about?" he quietly asked. The centaur's entrance really put Hokori at ease,they seemed like a kind soul.

---

A voice? That phrase sparked something in Alaparos' mind and he couldn't shake it off. But for now he could place his own problems aside and address the more pressing one. "I simply frequent this forest and am this a patron of it. While my own magic is diverse and flexible, Telepathy is regrettably not one of my skills." He explained himself, nimble fingerings coming up to fiddle with the chain of his tag. Could he be a telepath? There was much that he didn't know about himself despite existing for some time now, and the skills that he had picked up leaned more into the practical rather than the magical. Perhaps he was capable of such feats but Alaparos greatly doubted that possibility. His magic simply didn't feel like it could take such incorporeal and abstract forms. It was much too wild for that. As the elf knelt down before the scarecrow, questioning her on the nature of her dreams, Alaparos too began to think.

He didn't remember dreams easily. That was just how he was, the wild adventures his mind conjured up during the night evaporating in the morning light. But if he thought, pushing past the foggy state his mind seemed to perpetually be in, he could remember a voice. It wasn't a kind voice per say, abrasive and quick to anger, but it also instilled within Alaparos a sense of trust. Shaking his head clear to draw himself out of his own mind, Alaparos cleared his throat to bring attention to himself. "If I may interject, did this voice.... Talk about the burning if Inanis University?" He ventured. Alaparos doubted that it would be, after all why would three people have the same weird dream, but with the way things were heading he wouldn't put it past fate to make such fickle decisions for their own entertainment

---

Vale hissed again as the deer continued to thrash, perpetually rolling him over to one side as it twisted to try and escape. Tightening his grip every time it exhaled, he felt it suddenly shift in attitude. The thrashing grew stronger, the rolling more desperate... The voices louder? Vale could hear people -or creatures- speaking. He silently cursed the prey beast, wondering if these few would be so glad as to distract him from defeating the thrashing deer. Vale let out a quiet hiss, wincing as the deer let out another loud call.

Azure would plod ever-closer towards the voices in question. His ears twitched as he strained them to listen out for their tone...each voice he could hear was unique in a sense... he heard various things...some bickering, some discussion. But a few words stood out to him as he got closer. Dream. Nightmare. Voice. All of these words could attribute to the strange dream he had last night...could they have been called here also? Not likely...what were the odds? Then again...every experience here so far had been nothing short of strange. The most normal to him was actually the magic... but it didn't matter, as the wolf slowly plodded into view. He noted that there was a centaur, an elf...and a scarecrow? He only knew what they were since coming here... he cleared his throat as he got closer...
"What's all this then?"

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Hokori stood up to face the ophiotaurus centaur,faintly gulping. His expression turning blank,his eyes filled with terror. "As much as I hate to admit it...it did in fact mention the Inanis university being in ruin,as well as some sort of curses? I was about to wake up at that point so I'm not quite certain." he sighed.

"In order for the three of us to have had the same 'dream' or whatever, it must be of great import-" an unfamiliar voice interrupted him. Raising his arm and pointing at the wolf, "You're in the presence of Hokori Ivellios and not only that,you dare interrupt me! What is your name,lycan?" he asked with a tone full of pride,haughtiness and superiority.

---

The car crawled to a stop, and slept. She already saw the collector from her truck, patiently waiting for the books. Eyre stepped out and waved to them. The air here lacked the humid and salty air that was in the last town. Instead the air smelled... Eyre couldn't put a word on it, musty? It wasn't that noticeable, but compared to where she came from it was a change.

The two exchanged words and friendly banter. Apparently, the books were written hundreds of years ago, which explained why the trailer couldn't have any humidity in it. Eyre carried the boxes of books to the building, resting them on one of the carts in the entrance. There had to be at least fifty of them, almost all leather-bound and hard for her to read. She didn't want to know how much all of the books cost. The collector thanked Eyre for her work and the two departed.

Off to Voltum she went. It wasn't all that long ago she had been there. It was two--maybe three--years max since she graduated, and she had made visits occasionally the first year she graduated. She wasn't going there to visit exactly, but after this was all done she would go pay a visit to one of her professors.

Eyre pulled into one of the less used side streets and parked her truck. The woods started right by the ditch, it's darkness quietly calling to her. Eyre sat in her seat, staring into the woods for some obvious sign. She reached for her journal, her hand tracing over the creases in the faux-leather binding. After a moment, she briskly got out of the truck and went in the woods. "This is such a dumb idea," she said out loud. "I got nothing better to do, though." The day was still young, and she had nothing planned for the rest of the day, might as well enjoy herself with a walk in the woods.

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Finch’s mouth hung open in shock. So, not only had she shared dreams with a bunch of strangers, but now a wolf had just appeared in front of them all. “Woah there, puppy! We’re not gonna hurt you!” Finch squeaked, her tone flicking between scared, patronising and shocked. The scarecrow jumped backwards, floating gently in the air with her wooden hands holding in front of her. This was overwhelming for her, so Finch decided to focus on the most normal thing out of all of this situation. She didn’t agree with the elf’s brisk and almost ignorant tone, but she did find it slightly humourous.

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“Puppy eh?” Azure’s expression lightened at that, to that of a soft smile. “I guess I’m not as old as I look then eh?” His expression changed to that of indifference when he heard what Hokori said to him. “Hm. You really must be a ‘fun’ individual.” He really couldn’t care less. Unless there was a reason to, status really meant nothing to him. “I take it all of you have been gathered by an odd dream too?” He closed his eyes briefly before opening them. “As for my name...you can call be Azure.”

---

After a short puff through his nose,Hokori slightly bowed and apologised,even though he wasn't able to pick up Azure's sarcasm. "In a way...yes,that's what we're all here for." he replied,fixing his posture. The difference between his and Finch's reaction was quite entertaining but there were more pressing matters at the moment. "Would be so kind as to elaborate further on your dream? It wouldn't be impossible for at least one of us to have seen an additional detail or something from a different perspective,no?" Even though he himself was quite sure they all had the same exact dream,the more reassured they were, the better.

---

As she wandered the woods, she started hearing voices. For a moment Eyre thought she was going insane, if she wasn't already, but as she kept walking the voices ebbed in intensity as she made her way along. She turned around and slowly made her way back from where she came. The voices as her guide, she found herself quietly observing a menagerie of beings. Interestingly enough, they were talking about the same dream she had, at least from what she had gathered. She brought her journal closer to Her. She had brought it mainly for security, but maybe it would be more useful than she thought.

---

The forest air around them seemed to ripple slightly, the magic in the wind becoming heavier. It’s not wildly noticeable, but if you’re perceptive, you can feel it.

Clearly, Finch did not feel it. “There was some voice, they were pretty mad I think...” The scarecrow scratched her head, flakes of hay falling on the grass. “I don’t remember his name, but he might have burnt a University? No wait, the curses did. Is that what he said?” She sighed and made a conflicted sound, her eyes closed and brows, or where her brows would be, furrowed.

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Vale at last felt his prey go limp, a few ribs popping as he contracted his grip further. "Tut, tut, tut.." The white reptile quickly opening his jaws wide, feeling the familiar pop of extension, the pleasant split of his bottom jaw. Wrapping in on himself, Vale began the process of eating the smaller mammal, the young deer fitting quite easily into his mouth and vanishing in but thirty seconds. Now satisfied for the time being, Vale began to move once more, his bag having been tied to his singular article of clothing. Now untying it and cradling it in one hand, Vale crawled slowly up a large tree, raising his head above the rest of the canopy. The university would be ahead of him, if a little to his right. He'd best get going, as the sun was quickly rising higher.

Perhaps it was his connection to life and premonitions but Alaparos gently shivered as the forest voiced it's displeasure, wrapping his shawl tighter around himself. The winds that used to be so light and refreshing suddenly weighed down heavily on his shoulders and he shot a bewildered look to the others present. Did they not feel the sudden surge of danger lingering among the dense trees? The three other creatures gathered... Or was it four? A part of Alaparos pricked at the sensation of being observed but he pushed that feeling aside and chalked it up to simply the heavy influx of magic. Tuning back to the conversation, Alaparos smiled a bit guiltily. "I freely admit that I rarely remember my dreams, this one included. All I can remember is an abrasive voice and a burning of a university." He shared, spreading all his cards out on the table. It appeared that all of them had been gathered for the same reason and it would be foolhardy to conceal anything that may be of use. After a pause,however, Alaparos let out a chuckle when he realized that Hokori had introduced himself multiple times yet he himself had yet to even state his name. "Ah, apologies I have yet to introduce myself. I am officially known as Alaparos Papadopoulos but you may simply call me Al." There was a small nagging feeling in him whenever he introduced himself that his name should be longer, that there was more to add, but whenever he tried to think of what possibly could be missing all the greeted him was a headache and no answers. It was all commonplace by now and Alaparos was able to ignore his instincts for now and focus on the conversation at hand.

---

As much as Hokori wanted to say something along the lines of 'Hmpf,about time... he instead managed to refrain himself. "It's good to have you,Alaparos.I'm sure you'll be of great assistance." he nodded to himself.

"Same goes here.Though I have not heard of anyone mentioning a university burning down recently...It was mentioned by that voice..."

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