The Half-Blood Academy IC (Redo)

[Charlia]

As Nico strolled back to his dorm, he noticed as familiar figure ahead. He walked up behind her as she stared at her photos.

"Hey Ely, nice photos," He said.

She turned, and her face lit up as she hugged him, in a move that could only be described as a 'glomp'.

"Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! Nico! Thanks!" She grinned. "Do you have anything?" She looked around. "No?"

[Platypus Reborn]

As Nico strolled back to his dorm, he noticed as familiar figure ahead. He walked up behind her as she stared at her photos.

"Hey Ely, nice photos," He said.

She turned, and her face lit up as she hugged him, in a move that could only be described as a 'glomp'.

"Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! Nico! Thanks!" She grinned. "Do you have anything?" She looked around. "No?"

"Have any what?" He asked with a raised eyebrow as he unsuccessfully attempted to wiggle out of the hug.

[Charlia]

She turned, and her face lit up as she hugged him, in a move that could only be described as a 'glomp'.

"Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! Nico! Thanks!" She grinned. "Do you have anything?" She looked around. "No?"

"Have any what?" He asked with a raised eyebrow as he unsuccessfully attempted to wiggle out of the hug.

"Well, you know. Anything to present!"

She noticed him trying to escape and reluctantly released him. She was a bit of a people person.

[Platypus Reborn]

"Have any what?" He asked with a raised eyebrow as he unsuccessfully attempted to wiggle out of the hug.

"Well, you know. Anything to present!"

She noticed him trying to escape and reluctantly released him. She was a bit of a people person.

"Well, uhm...mmmmm-No, I don't," He said somewhat reluctantly.

[Charlia]

"Well, you know. Anything to present!"

She noticed him trying to escape and reluctantly released him. She was a bit of a people person.

"Well, uhm...mmmmm-No, I don't," He said somewhat reluctantly.

Her face fell.

"...You don't?"

...And I thought we were getting somewhere...

[Platypus Reborn]

"Well, uhm...mmmmm-No, I don't," He said somewhat reluctantly.

Her face fell.

"...You don't?"

...And I thought we were getting somewhere...

His expression softened and his gaze turned to the floor.

"I-," He muttered.

"I'm sorry, Ely," He said with shame.

[Charlia]

Her face fell.

"...You don't?"

...And I thought we were getting somewhere...

His expression softened and his gaze turned to the floor.

"I-," He muttered.

"I'm sorry, Ely," He said with shame.

She hugged him again.

"I guess it's okay--but don't let it happen again, you hear?" she said, giggling.

[Platypus Reborn]

His expression softened and his gaze turned to the floor.

"I-," He muttered.

"I'm sorry, Ely," He said with shame.

She hugged him again.

"I guess it's okay--but don't let it happen again, you hear?" she said, giggling.

He didn't embrace the hug, but this time he didn't try to slip out of it.

"Why? I'm no good at these kinds of things...or anything really," He said, muttering the end of the sentence.

[Charlia]

She hugged him again.

"I guess it's okay--but don't let it happen again, you hear?" she said, giggling.

He didn't embrace the hug, but this time he didn't try to slip out of it.

"Why? I'm no good at these kinds of things...or anything really," He said, muttering the end of the sentence.

She pulled back, looking like she'd been slapped.

Then she started shaking him violently.

"Don't you say that about yourself, don't you ever say that!" A few tears trickled from beneath her dark glasses. "Don't you dare ever say that!"

[Platypus Reborn]

He didn't embrace the hug, but this time he didn't try to slip out of it.

"Why? I'm no good at these kinds of things...or anything really," He said, muttering the end of the sentence.

She pulled back, looking like she'd been slapped.

Then she started shaking him violently.

"Don't you say that about yourself, don't you ever say that!" A few tears trickled from beneath her dark glasses. "Don't you dare ever say that!"

Nico flinched back in surprise. Her sudden turn of emotion caught him by surprise. Unsure of what to do with the now crying girl in front of him, he decided to copy what she did earlier and awkwardly embraced her in a hug.

"I-I'm sorry, Ely. I didn't mean to upset you...It's just..." He said as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

'Why does she care?' He thought to himself as he continued staring at the tiled floor.

[Barapam]

So, this was the big day! Well, night. Either way, it was big. Julia felt really excited. She stood in front of her painting, that was covered by a white blanket. She could hardly stand still, that's how excited she was! Several people had already arrived, among them even some of her ancestor's gods! Wow! The tomte girl was completely starstruck, in the way that only teenage girls can be, but did her very best to stand still, stay silent, and look presentable. She couldn't help but smile extra much though, and even for being Julia, it was really, really, really a lot of smiling. Her teeth and braces could outshine the sun itself in terms of brightness. She was so happy. There was Bragi, the Norse god of poetry, and even the Great Manitou himself, and of course whole covens of angels! This would be a real success!

Julia was wearing an extra fancy dress, one that she usually only wore at Christmas. It was red, long sleeved, and went shortly below the knees, it had a black buckle belt around the waist, and white brims of fur at the endings and the collar.

In the back she saw her parents come through the main entrance. She waved to them and they waved back. Trying to hold herself from giggeling, she pictured how everyone's faces would look when she uncovered her artwork.

[Nuridia]

Salma and Eric sat in the theatre seats with the rest of their friends and family, Rolf's little head resting on his mother's round pregnant belly and one hand holding Eric's.
Salma ruffled his hair affectionately, placing a kiss to her son's head. Rolf jetted up and blinked sleepy green eyes before turning to his father, tugging on Eric's shirt.
"Daddy, Daddy! The baby kicked, I felt him! he whispered with a yawn, snuggling closer to Salma who chuckled.
Aurelia was sitting close to John and applauding at each of the students' performances especially her art students' although she did look concerned when Charlotte suddenly freaked during her scene. She couldn't wait to see her daughter perform, behind them were Dominique's mother, sisters and family while her father Cupid sat with the other gods.

Just then, the announcer came up to the stage and called out the next performance.
"Next up we have Ariana Evans, fifth division ballet student, Rose Adagio, Sleeping Beauty." As she stepped off the stage, Ariana took a deep breath and calmed her nerves, walking out onto the stage with a smile. When she saw her parents clapping for her in the audience and her mom giving her a wink, she bows to the audience as the music plays. When the music started, Ana got lost in the dance and took the steps almost instantly, most of her worry vanishing as she let the music lead her.
"C'est ma bébe!" Aurelia cheered quietly, beaming proudly as she watched her daughter's performance. "Get it sis!" Asteria cheered as she watched.

[Holy Empire of Avalon]

Roaring like a demon come straight from the Gates of Hell a familiar IROC screeched to a halt as it spun into a parking spot near the school perfectly. Smoke rolled off the tires as the driver side door opened, Elizabeth wore a grey dress that almost had an urban camouflage design of irregular shaped black and white patches across it, though what set her apart from others was her knee high black leather boots that could not be anything except military issue yet were not in any form that was standard as the standard cut off at mid calf, she was also wearing black tights that were tucked into her boots. Elizabeth's hair of crimson was tied back in a ponytail and most of her hair was covered by a midnight black beret, and air about her declared that something was off.

Instead of coming up to the front of the school she came around to a side door, pulling a lockpicking set from her side she got the door open before checking around, it was a dark hall as she expected. Intel said there was no alarm, but she figured some set up was in place, so moving fast she saw the acoustic tiles that made up the ceiling and jumped up to punch one out of place, with it pushed back she jumped up again and grabbed the frame, her light body did not burden the metal gridwork and she pulled herself up. Pushing the tile back into place she pulled her phone out and tapped the camera light on it. Creeping along near silent she crawled past dust and various wires along corridors that seemed to be forever in length as her adrenaline pumped like lightning through her veins. To find he who was missing in action as of earlier that day she needed to see the last thing that he would have done and thus why she needed that painting. It was like something straight out of a movie, her having to sneak into a museum type setting and steal artwork. It gave her a rush, since the kids were born field work had been few and far between, Moscow in the eighties was the last the world saw of the infamous Vermilion Demon.

Just when the seasoned agent was thinking she should be an international thief instead of a housewife she neared the art room. Heart pounding, blood boiling, she knew there was only one chance at this. Pushing the tile in front of her back ever so slightly to get a look, even if restricted from being a full view, without being seen. When Elizabeth did not see the art piece she was looking for she replaced the title quietly and looked at a map she had taken a picture of on her phone, there was a store room behind the room she was currently over, most likely his was not on display yet as he had not come in to put up; in the end it might have been a blessing for the objective that he went missing before he had a chance to put it up on display, this made it easier.

Taking great care to crawl over the tiles and not make any sound she was now over the storage room, problem is apparently someone had damaged one of the tiles before then and her body weighed just enough to cause that crack to fracture into a spider web that saw her falling through the ceiling and onto her rear end about eight feet below. Landing with a hard thud she recovered and rubbed the injury while resisting swearing, though the string of them flying through her head would be enough to make a sailor blush the brightest red. Pulling covers off paintings in the room and recovering them, in between hiding at any instance it seemed the door would be opened, she finally found what she was looking for.

The painting was a forest scene and directly in the middle was a grey stone with a sword stabbed into it. She took a photo, across Elizabeth's face was the sharpest smile that stretched ear to ear, "You tried to throw me off, thought I wouldn't know what this meant." He had tried to throw her off the trail and make this a message of his escape to Britain, but she knew better, he planned to distract the Agency and H.S. at the terminals where it would be near impossible to find him and they would be bogged down looking. Pulling a a pocket knife from her pocket she began cutting the front face of the canvas from the wooden frame, once gathered she rolled it up and tucked it into her pocket, it was not so much to preserve it as to deny access to it; plus she could gloat about it once he was recovered.

"Missing in action my ass." Seeing the open hole in the ceiling Elizabeth tucked the pieces out of sight in the corner behind some shelves, jumping up she began crawling off through the ceiling, after she stuffed the canvas in the console of the car she'd find Aurelia, probably in the dance hall she figured, she remembered over hearing that her daughter was a dancer.

Escaping through the route she came Elizabeth raced back the car with a silent and graceful elegance that really did mirror the way James' ran, difference is she was a gazelle versus him looking like either a pissed off water buffalo or a elephant trying to sneak around a art store, her small body gave her a better sneaking ability as she could hide almost anywhere and sometimes did not even have to. Once back at the car she opened the door and threw the painting in the back seat. Glancing to her watch she noticed she was late, very late, to the recital that was on the pamphlet James had left her before he vanished into thin air.

She sent a text out to the chief of her division, "Fort Knox, he plans a break in at the Vault, move assets to tighter facility." She sent the pictures with her message, the response was that they were sure he meant a return to Camelot. "No, he is faking us out. Nothing is left at Camelot, he wants the damn sword. Tighten security." That was her last message before shutting her phone off, with a shrug she began to wonder just which of them had slept next to the guy for almost a century now, her or the intelligence department? Shaking her head she brushed it off, she did not really care if her stole the asset, his knightly honor and so forth, if he really intended on throwing it into the Manhattan Bay what did she care? Either way, time to be normal for once, the kids were safely at her friend's house with their little friends probably watching old black and white movies before going to sleep.

Finding the auditorium near instantly upon entering she did not want to interrupt and thus found a high window open, climbing the brickwork, tearing up her boots in the process though her leggings and knee length dress were fine, she threw her right leg through the window and slipped down into utter shadow, everyone had been so eager to get close to the stage that this high up corner had been neglected. Joyous at her success and happy to be able to see her cousin she creeped along apologizing to people as she walked passed them, seeing no empty seats near her cousin she just shot her a text and told her she finally found her. She would probably get it after the dance, in the meantime Elizabeth just enjoyed the performance, it was amazing given that they were just high schoolers some of them were as amazing as a few world renowned dancers.

[Tomia]

Eric couldn't help but smile at his son's antics, ruffling his hair and whispering back. "It's because your little siblings are strong Rolfie, and they can't wait to meet you." He told the little boy, rubbing his back soothingly as he fell asleep against his mother. Eric then leaned in toward Salma, whispering in her ear. "Thank goodness he got your cuteness." He told her with a charming smile, kissing her ear softly before withdrawing.

John cheered along with his children and wife, smiling and kissing his wife's cheek as their daughter preformed. "She's wonderful!" John whispered to her. Michael cheered as well, along with Jupiter and John's parents. Michael was really proud of his sister, she was really talented. He couldn't help but look forward to Dom's performance however. He had never really seen her dance before, well at least not since his feelings for her grew.