He's going to wear his voice out [OPEN]

[subconmodo]

Who: Avery, open
What: Avery attempts to get his rep back. Questionably -- Will match people's format!
Where: Around campus
When: Before the Herald announcement
Warning: Pop quizzes



A1. Truly a being who inspires fear (Variant 1)

[Wow, whoever's in charge of taking care of the weeds on campus sure seems to be slacking, huh? Or maybe, considering all these thorns are cropping up in rings, the fae decided to go goth? Either way you've somehow managed to step foot in one of them and it's like you've been pulled into another dimension, filled with dark, swirling purple fog. It might even be a sight familiar to some of you.

What might not be familiar is the 15-foot tall shadow ripping itself up out of the ground, eyes glowing bright as hot coals as it stares you down.]

FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL! Smooth moves there! You really know how to screw yourself over!

[Is that... Professor Atchison?]

You know, if this were my forest, you'd TOTALLY be dead right now! Luckily for you, it's not. Unluckily for you, I'm not feeling that charitable.

Time for a pop quiz!


A2. Truly a being who inspires fear (Variant 2)

[It's a beautiful day out. Birds are singing, the sun is shining, flowers are blooming...

Shame all of that's hard to see at the moment.

Somehow you missed the trap laid out and now you've been ripped up into the air, trapped in a bag. Luckily (or unluckily), the fabric itself is rather flimsy, and with enough of a struggle you'll be out in no time.

...Right into one of Avery's traps.

Cue the FOOOOOOOOOLery from above.]


B. Truly a being who inspires... fear??

[How many times have you stepped into these traps by now? Or maybe you just were REALLY not who he was expecting. Either way, once Avery pops in to give his speech, it's a bit... lackluster.]

FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooo... Oh. It's you.

[He actually sounds a little hoarse]


C. Office Hours Catch-all

[Looking to talk with Avery one on one? Feel free to hit him up here!]

Comments

[subconmodo]

Sure am. It is my forest after all.

So technically, if you think about it, that mask of yours is mine too.

[hattersgonnahat]

[That makes him a lot more uneasy now. That mask was his livelihood, what little there was left of it. It does not belong to anybody else - not now, not ever.]

I-it can't be yours. [He got defensive.]

[subconmodo]

[He rolls his eyes]

What you're not big enough to be able to deal with the world around you without your mask? I thought you were a big kid, but maybe I had the wrong idea.

[hattersgonnahat]

[...That isn't at all how it is, or have anything to do with it.]

[He makes a glare at him. Really missing those other two a lot already.]

[subconmodo]

Heh. Back to the silent treatment, eh? Guess you don't know who you're talking to.

[Shadows shift to cover his face in inky blackness, leaving behind only his glowing eyes and mouth]

[hattersgonnahat]

[Why were the shadows...]

[Wait.]

[He was...]

[The monster that ruined the forest? It was here?!]

[subconmodo]

[He gasps dramatically and puts a hand to his chest, the shadows fading again]

You DO know! Good! Makes things less awkward, know what I mean.

Too bad I can't get a good look at your gave. Now that would have been a sight to see.

[hattersgonnahat]

[Had to run, had to run, had to run--]

[...No. No if he did that, he would only get caught now. It'll be all over.]

[The kid trembled. All he had ever done for 400 years was hide, and hide some more so that he could hide another day. It may be the only reason he lasted this long, but what had it all been for?]

[Was it just to lead up to this?]

You... Why did you destroy our home?! What did we ever do to you?!

[If he was going to be eaten by the Snatcher now, at least answer a few things.]

[subconmodo]

[Avery's smile fades.]

What in the world are you talking about?

[hattersgonnahat]

Don't act like you don't know! You stole the forest from us! You froze us all, and turned everything to how it looks now!

[He already claimed to own it, it just confirms it.]

[subconmodo]

[There's a moment of silence, and then Avery laughs.

And laughs.

And laughs.]

Really? Me? You think I was the one who did all that?!

[He zips forward, suddenly right in the child's face]

Little piece of trivia, kiddo: the whole place was ruined by the time I took over. I just moved in afterward.

[hattersgonnahat]

[....Uh oh.]

[Is this the part where he gets eat--oh, maybe not..?]

Who else could it have been?!

[subconmodo]

Try your dear, sweet, LOVING queen.

[hattersgonnahat]

[...Queen? But..]

She couldn't have done anything like that.

[She can't and she wouldn't. She did not have any magic like that, or of that sort, and certainly would never use it on them.]

[subconmodo]

She can and she did.

[The words behind that cruel smile are bitter and cold. It suits the situation his home is in now quite nicely, really.]

Funny thing about Vanessa: you think you know her one minute, and the next she's giving you the cold shoulder. And you don't even know what you did to deserve it.

Maybe it wasn't anything at all. Who knows?

Doesn't stop the kingdom from being a frozen wreck, does it?

[hattersgonnahat]

[Regardless who or what did it, the kingdom was already gone - that part is true. However he still wanted to know.]

It can't be the Queen... I saw a shadow do it.

It attacked more people just recently.

[Granted, they were people that were planning to sell him, so they had it coming, but...]

[subconmodo]

[He rolls his eyes]

And I've been teaching at this school for three years. Much as I would have liked to teach those thieves a lesson--and trust me, if it WERE me, I would have gladly killed them--it wasn't me.

[hattersgonnahat]

[Any school that considered making the Snatcher a teacher is crazy. ...But well, he was here after all. Maybe he was actually telling the truth about something.]

...Most of the thieves are frozen solid now. Just like we were. There's no point to kill them.

[...Although, their group did smash a few of them. So they're extra dead now.]

[But perhaps this was just shorthand anyway for saying he does somewhat believe him. Even just the slightest.]

[subconmodo]

Oh, trust me, I know. Some of those frozen fools managed to pull themselves together enough to come after me and some of my students.

Seriously! In my own home! How rude can you get?!

And you lumped me in with all them.

So how are you going to make this up to me, hm?

[hattersgonnahat]

Make it up to you? [Even if he didn't freeze them all, he's still a daemon that steals souls. It's not a whole lot better!]

[subconmodo]

[Avery speaks slowly and deliberately, as though talking to someone not particularly bright]

Yes. Make it up to me.

You insulted me.

That's rude.

[He leans forward, chin in his hand and lightly taps his desk with his finger on a slow, steady rhythm.

Tick tock, dweller kid]

[hattersgonnahat]

Why do I need to do that? [He's done plenty of other horrible things to deserve it!]

[subconmodo]

Because you're not technically a student, which means I've got a little wiggle room in how to handle a little pest like you.

[It's a bluff, but the kid doesn't need to know that. Technically, Avery's telling the truth, but the thought of devouring a soul that was once part of his kingdom makes his stomach turn.]

[hattersgonnahat]

[...Oh.]

[Going to nervously step back then. Still not going to take back those words. But...maybe he won't...]

[subconmodo]

[Theeeeere we go. That's the response he was hoping for]

Although...

You've managed to catch me in a good mood. Hoes about we make a deal? I'm sure even a little thing like you will be able to appreciate what I have to offer here.