New York, New York

[eudaimonikos]

Who: Michael and the Drama Club
What: Drama Club class trip to NYC! Gonna see the sights! Absolutely not fight any monsters in the subway tunnels!
Where: A plane / New York City
When: March 29 - March 31
Warnings: None anticipated?

Flyin' High

[The flight to America leaves late - a necessity, given that it's the last day of finals and some students may still have had tests to take. But it's going to be a long one anyway, so sleeping through as much as possible is probably a good idea.

Fortunately, the group has first-class seats. Michael's always willing to spend Daybreak's money, and he's never bothered with human air travel before. He wants the best out of this experience!

This is probably a good thing, because the flight is so, so long. Hopefully you can get some rest.]

Out and About

[We've got a few days to kill in the city!

Michael doesn't want any students going out entirely alone, but he's only one professor and there's a lot of them, so he doesn't mind if people break off to do their own things so long as they're at least partnered up. There's plenty to do in New York, after all! There's no way for one person to see it all during this trip!

Of course, the hotel is also pretty nice, for when you get tired of walking. There's several suites for the students to divide among themselves, while Michael has his own room nearby. It's attached to one of the student rooms by a door which he has very clearly locked and may or may not ever answer. He probably shouldn't be a chaperone.]

Daemons for Ham

[It's time to go see Hamilton! Where did Michael get tickets? Don't worry about it.

He snaps his fingers before the group leaves the hotel, and suddenly you all look like child versions of yourself. Or, at least, what Michael imagines you looked like as children; he only knew a few of you at that time, so he's just making stuff up.]

Now, if anyone speaks to you, you're all orphans from, oh, eight to twelve, and you're dying. Don't take off the illusions, no running - can anyone cry on command? This is important Drama Club stuff.

[And off we go!]

Comments

[suddenlybees]

[ Most humans, yeah, but blood mages are something of a different tier, aren't they? He should be more wary of the entire situation than he is, wanting to speak up and claim that he can take care of himself and doesn't need to use Michael as a shield— because if he can't stand side by side somebody, that makes him a hindrance, and that's the last thing he ever wants to be. Man, he just wants to grow up and be big and strong and powerful already, but this is also taking a step towards that, so he just shrugs his agreement and hangs back half hidden behind Michael. ]

Gotcha~ I got your back!

[ He'll just phrase it like that, to make himself feel better. He's not hiding behind Michael, he's just watching his back. That works. ]

[eudaimonikos]

[Michael nods and steps up to the door. It's an old, run-down building, but the door is pretty solid - right up until Michael just sort of takes it right off its hinges. He sure doesn't look that strong. He looks around and starts up a flight of stairs.]

Probably should've asked before, what exactly do you think is gonna happen here?

[Like, are they breaking this ritual up, are they gonna try to get in on it...?]

[suddenlybees]

[ jfc, Michael unnecessarily removing entire doors is even worse than Kano unnecessarily unscrewing doorknobs, but it does make for a quicker getaway if that's what it calls for. ]

Hm, hmm~ Watching, mostly. I think it'd be fine if we just let them do their own thing, so long as that thing doesn't involve murder? [ They can only revive people, not kill to supply the revival, thanks. ]

I want to see how they do it! What spells they use, things they channel through, symbols that are drawn, those sorts of things~

[eudaimonikos]

[Well, maybe he should've left the door where it was, if they're going for subtle.]

Alright! Okay! Let's just go invisible then. I'll get it.

[Bam! Cloaking tech!

The place doesn't look like anyone really lives here, per se. It's probably more of a secret magic hole. Michael walks purposefully towards a room in the back, where there's a couple people, a magic circle with candles and stuff, and a bag that is definitely moving.]

Oh...looks like they're trying to power up that one guy.

[suddenlybees]

[ Despite being invisible, Kano sticks to the sides, back pressed against the walls while he tries to keep Michael in front of him. He has a sharpie out, copying that magic circle down on the back of his hand. ]

With the... what...

[ Whatever's in that bag, he supposes, and is incredibly grateful that he can't see what's inside because otherwise he might throw up. ]

There are runes that power you up, you don't need blood magic, right...

[eudaimonikos]

There's lots of ways to do it. Blood magic's fast, is all. You don't need a lot of study to figure that out.

[The basics, at least. It's extremely direct, taking a life. Michael's done this kind of invisibility game a lot, so he's comfortable enough with it to walk over, bend down, and sort of scooch the bag over enough so he can see inside.]

There's a cat in here. [He's fairly sure this is the sort of thing he should...not allow, at this point?]

[suddenlybees]

[ Blood magic being fast and apparently not all that hard to do— really, the only barrier seems to be that it's frowned upon, but it's not like that was ever something Kano cared much about. But there's morals associated with blood magic, and there's morals associated with animal cruelty, and Kano doesn't even like animals and he feels his stomach drop when he hears what's inside the bag.

You know what? Change of plans. ]

Hey, Michael. You know what I want for my birthday this year? An early birthday present? It'd be really cool to have a pet cat. Like, a live, non-reanimated one.

[eudaimonikos]

Yeah.

[Seems like he was already kinda on the same page. Michael, watching the people, waves Kano back towards the door.]

Get going, I'll be right behind you.

[He's not going to do anything. He just wants Kano to have a head start on either running or getting out of the way, because once he grabs the bag and starts exiting the room with it, there's surely no way these guys won't notice some or all of that happening.]

[suddenlybees]

[ He doesn't want to just leave without knowing 100% that the cat will be alright, although he can trust Michael to anything and he knows it. A small part of him wants retribution... and it's that part of him that he squashes down, because that's not the path he needs to go down just now.

He digs into his pocket and hands over that doorknob before getting the hell out of here. ]

Here. It'd be rude not to leave something in exchange, right?

[ Just swap it out for the cat and we're golden. ]

[eudaimonikos]

[Michael could kill these men. Easily, he supposes. But even if these are the sort of murders he could probably justify, if anybody asked, he didn't come out here tonight to kill. Stealth missions are kinda more fun. And they haven't done anything just yet.

If they come after him and Kano in a few seconds, well, that'll be different.

He raises his eyebrows at the doorknob. His plan was to take the entire bag - won't the cat be wriggly, otherwise? But okay, he can roll with this. Nodding, he slips the doorknob into the bag and comes out with a scruffy-looking orange tabby. It meows, but it's been meowing this entire time, so that doesn't immediately attract any attention.]

Go, go, go. [Holding the cat and ushering Kano ahead of him, Michael turns to leave.]

[suddenlybees]

[ They could take the bag, but wouldn't it be funnier if the mages were doing their hocus pocus ritual and turn the bag out and a doorknob fell out? It's really too bad Kano doesn't carry glitter with him, that would've really made it.

He doesn't want to stick around too long to see it, though, because then the murder might be the other way around, and he's content enough seeing that the cat's alive enough to meow up a storm.

Down the alley and back to the subway, time to train their way out of here. ]

[eudaimonikos]

[Once they're out of the building, Michael cackles.]

This is fun!

[He's got a cat clutched to his chest, which is alive because of him. The thought is more gratifying than he might have expected. The subway doesn't allow loose animals, though, so he's absolutely just gonna disguise it as a suitcase or something.]

[suddenlybees]

Haha, it sure is, isn't it?!

[ HAHAHA NO IT'S NOT jfc Kano's just not cut out for rescue missions, and he especially hates running away from a scene and having to live the rest of his life thinking they're right there in the shadows about to get him.

But... Michael did good, huh? Saving a life like that, in and out without bloodshed, and hearing him laugh- even if it's a cackle- that's good too. The whole New York trip would be worth it just for this, and not even almost murdering Toki will bring it down as the highlight. ]

[eudaimonikos]

[Michael does seem pleased with himself, holding his cat-briefcase up to his face to inspect it. Looks like a street cat...was Kano serious about wanting to adopt it? He isn't sure, but he doesn't want to just toss it back where it came from regardless.]

I want to drop this off in the hotel. But we can go out again after that, if you want - I didn't really expect our first stop to go like that.

[He did intend to be out for longer than like, an hour or whatever it's been.]

[suddenlybees]

Maybe we can see some normal touristy things instead, this time~

[ Instead of shady blood magic alleyways. His curiosity's been sated for the time being, thanks. ]

...What are you going to do with the cat, though? Going to keep it?

[ Kano would take it, maybe— mostly because Maverick also lives on his floor so he's confident the cat won't die if he lets it run around the dorm— if Michael doesn't feel up to being a responsible cat owner. Is there some special bond that forms between savior and savee? Who knows, but he'd give Michael the option first. ]

[eudaimonikos]

I - I guess I could...

[Michael frowns thoughtfully, having literally never considered that as an option until this exact moment. He could, though. How difficult can it be to keep a cat alive? Probably a lot easier than Kano.

And a lot of humans keep pets. There must be some reason.]

I totally could. I'll do that!

[suddenlybees]

[ If Kano's managed to stay alive a whole 16 years, this cat's going to grow up to be immortal. ]

Then, congrats~!! You're a cat owner now!!! I hope it grows up big and strong, a proper daemon~

[ Cats, daemons, same thing. Michael's got this. ]

[eudaimonikos]

[Michael grins, a reflexive response to Kano's cheer.]

Yeah! I'm gonna be great at this!

[we'll see]