The X-men run missions and work together with the NYPD, striving to maintain a peaceful balance between humans and mutants. When it comes to a fight, they won't back down from protecting those who need their help.
Haven presents itself as a humanitarian organization for activists, leaders, and high society, yet mutants are the secret leaders working to protect and serve their kind. Behind the scenes they bring their goals into reality.
From the time when mutants became known to the world, SUPER was founded as a black-ops division of the CIA in an attempt to classify, observe, and learn more about this new and rising threat.
The Syndicate works to help bring mutantkind to the forefront of the world. They work from the shadows, a beacon of hope for mutants, but a bane to mankind. With their guiding hand, humanity will finally find extinction.
Since the existence of mutants was first revealed in the nineties, the world has become a changed place. Whether they're genetic misfits or the next stage in humanity's evolution, there's no denying their growing numbers, especially in hubs like New York City. The NYPD has a division devoted to mutant related crimes. Super-powered vigilantes help to maintain the peace. Those who style themselves as Homo Superior work to tear society apart for rebuilding in their own image.
MRO is an intermediate to advanced writing level original character, original plot X-Men RPG. We've been open and active since October of 2005. You can play as a mutant, human, or Adapted— one of the rare humans who nullify mutant powers by their very existence. Goodies, baddies, and neutrals are all welcome.
Short Term Plots:Are They Coming for You?
There have been whispers on the streets lately of a boogeyman... mutant and humans, young and old, all have been targets of trafficking.
The Fountain of Youth
A chemical serum has been released that's shaving a few years off of the population. In some cases, found to be temporary, and in others...?
MRO MOVES WITH CURRENT TIME: What month and year it is now in real life, it's the same for MRO, too.
Fuegogrande: "Fuegogrande" player of The Ranger, Ion, Rhia, and Null
Neopolitan: "Aly" player of Rebecca Grey, Stephanie Graves, Marisol Cervantes, Vanessa Bookman, Chrysanthemum Van Hart, Sabine Sang, Eupraxia
Ongoing Plots
Magic and Mystics
After the events of the 2020 Harvest Moon and the following Winter Solstice, magic has started manifesting in the MROvere! With the efforts of the Welldrinker Cult, people are being converted into Mystics, a species of people genetically disposed to be great conduits for magical energy.
The Pharoah Dynasty
An ancient sorceress is on a quest to bring her long-lost warrior-king to the modern era in a bid for global domination. Can the heroes of the modern world stop her before all is lost?
Are They Coming for You?
There have been whispers on the streets lately of a boogeyman... mutant and humans, young and old, all have been targets of trafficking.
Adapteds
What if the human race began to adapt to the mutant threat? What if the human race changed ever so subtly... without the x-gene.
Atlanteans
The lost city of Atlantis has been found! Refugees from this undersea mutant dystopia have started to filter in to New York as citizens and businessfolk. You may make one as a player character of run into one on the street.
Got a plot in mind?
MRO plots are player-created the Mods facilitate and organize the big ones, but we get the ideas from you. Do you have a plot in mind, and want to know whether it needs Mod approval? Check out our plot guidelines.
>> "Yer girlfriend asked to be trained in combat because she wanted to protect you. She was practicing with her powers and after a brief missunderstanding I agreed to teach her how to fight and not get herself killed if she ever had to fight another mutant…Brusing is sort of mistake measuring in training, more bruises you have, more mistakes you make, more you have to train. Rebecca doesn't get all that beat up because she's a fast learner."[/color]
Agnes tilted her head. Rebecca…combat training? What the hell was she taking combat training for? Sure the last time when they were out at her house some combat training probably would have been helpful but they had not gotten into any dangerous situations since then. At least not that Agnes knew of, unless Rebecca was doing some things that were dangerous behind her back and was simply not telling her everything. The runaway could believe that. As much as she loved Rebecca (and she was sure that she was loved back), she knew that the young Scot wanted to protect her.
She narrowed her eyes further though. Protect her? What was she thinking? That Agnes didn’t know how to take care of herself? For over a year she lived on the streets, fighting people off and running for her life and suddenly she needed protecting? Her fists balled up a little at the thought.
Rebecca was SO in for it now.
But even as she thought this, her eyes looked up to Emerald who was standing there, having spoken to her as nonchalantly as possible. Emerald bruised her girlfriend and was teaching her to fight and pretty much allowing her to throw herself into any dangerous situation. During her fight with Malachi, Rebecca was already pretty brazen and not it would only going to be exponentially grander! Especially now that Emerald was training the young woman.
It was the thought of that that definitely started to make the young runaway angry. Of course Rebecca was her own woman and could make her own decisions but this was obviously the wrong one! And for the wrong reason!
She shook her head as she set her violin case on the desk next to her a little angrily.
“Goddammit,” she muttered bitterly. “I don’t need any protection. I lived by myself, without a home, in that city for a long time. I know how to protect myself! I’m going to kill her myself,” she growled. Then she turned to Emerald. “Why did you agree to train her? How could you do that? She so idealistic she’s going get herself killed!”
Agnes…hurt. Whatever had fallen on her had been pretty big, at least the size of a human. Come of think of it, it felt pretty human too. Had someone actually fallen on her?! Agnes struggled to move, as she could see and hear the sounds of the coming pedestrians. Really she did not want to stick around for any Q & A but whatever had fallen on her was not moving, or even uttered an apology! So Agnes wiggled a little more (making soreness rip throughout her body) as he tried to move out from underneath this person.
It only took a couple of seconds though before it seemed that this person finally grasped what they had done. Suddenly the weight was lifted and Agnes breathed in a sigh of relief.
“Ooowwww…” she groaned.
>> "Oh no, I'm so sorry I wasn't paying enough attention and I fell. Oh dear, are you ok? Is anything broken? Can I help?"
“Just…every bone in my body,” she mumbled.
Though Agnes was surprisingly not in that much pain, she really did feel sore. Slowly she moved herself into a sitting position. Her wings, slightly crumpled, fluttered a bit and attempted to straighten themselves out. Those were probably the most sore since they could indeed be sensitive. But they didn’t feel completely broken. But she obviously was not able to tell right now. She was going to have wait until she straightened up and tried to flex her wings some.
Unfortunately, before she could attempt this, she noticed the ring of people that had surrounded them. A glance up and the shy runaway blinked as she noticed the various expressions that flashed across their faces. Many were curious, some were concerned, but it was obvious that a couple of them were a little disgusted by the sight of the mutant. At least that is what she assumed when she heard the word “muties” being uttered.
Wait…plural? She blinked as she turned and—
Wow…that’s really purple… she thought to herself.
>> "Um, I'm really sorry but I'm not sure this is the best place for us right now. Can you walk?"
“Um…yeah, I-I think so,” she said as she slowly moved onto her feet amidst groans and winces.
Luckily nothing felt broken except for her pride. Once she straightened up, though she finally understood the full extent of this woman’s mutation. The purple skin was only one part of it, the rest were the various tubes that were extending out from her body in a loose circle. That certainly was quite interesting. She blinked, though she glanced around at the group of people. Many started to wander away once it was proven that both girls were fine, but others were still narrowing their eyes at them in a rather threatening away. As if it was their fault that they didn’t break their necks or something and make two less mutants in the world.
Agnes nodded through as she took a step away from the crowd, noticing the gap that two old women had left when they wandered off. The runaway took the woman by the arm and motioned to the gap and to the open sidewalk beyond it.
“I think you are right, maybe we should go,” she implored.
@ Sky: That would definitely be fun! Yes, my plans are for Agnes to live in seclusion and have a territory that is wrought with her insects and won't let anyone through unless they have her permission (tactic to keep people away). So far the only person who will have her permission is Gina, but it would be interesting to see Amber wander through as well!
>> "Howling with the other wolves gave me a lot of practice with he whole singing thing. You should come to the forest with me some time and listen to the sound of the other wolves. It's really a beautiful sound to hear,"[/color]
Agnes smiled a little in thought. Listening to Emerald talk, she actually began to imagine it. Sitting out in the middle of dark and green wood, closing her eyes and feeling the sway of the breeze, listening to the howl of the wolves and the feeling of nature all around her. Agnes could practically feel the grass beneath her bare toes, the sharp cry of the wolves in her ears and instantly she felt somewhat at peace. It really was a glorious sensation in the back of her mind. Maybe she was romanticizing it, but she couldn’t help it. It all sounded too beautiful.
She sighed, though, as she tried to imagine, being surrounded by wolves and not fearing them. She knew that Emerald could shift into a wolf, as a matter of fact she had seen it a couple of times. But real wolves, out in the wilderness, would Emerald be able to protect her from them? What if she had gone on her own? Would she survive.
Agnes blinked and shook her head. She was carrying such thoughts way too far. And it was ruining the imagery. She sighed a little, forgetting her fanciful thoughts when she allowed herself to return to the conversation at hand.
>> "Well I guess if one of the toughest chicks around says I'm tough, then whose to say I can't be one bad ass with a good music skills?...Yeah, we seemed to have gotten caught up in our love interests. Which you changed again without telling me it seems. Rebecca's a tough girl now that she's my student but I'm warning you beforehand if you ever find any bruises, those are probably from me."[/color]
The runaway paused and tilted her head? How in the hell did Emerald always seem to know about these things?! It was a concept enough to drive Agnes mad! But as she eyed her, she quickly noticed Emerald’s nose and instantly she realized it. If Emerald had met Rebecca by chance then, of course, she would have smelled Agnes scent on her. Damn Emerald and that nose of hers!
Then again, how could she really blame her? She was right. This was the second time that Agnes had a girlfriend behind Emerald’s back. God, she really hoped that Emerald didn’t think less of her because of that.
But she arched her brow when she mentioned bruises. Bruises?
“Wait…w-why…would she have bruises from you?” she asked as she narrowed her eyes.
@ Saph: you should totally have Saph looking for Agnes. Since she will be one of Sebastian’s horsemen. She will be living in seclusion out in the wilderness, trying to live with herself after having played a part in causing the world to turn to this. She will be bitter, angry, and in commands of legions upon legions of insects. I would love for Saph to seek her out to make her pay, only to learn that she was just a confused mansion student who was tricked.
My poor Jorge settlement. He just wants there to be at least some pocket of civilization left in the world. I don’t exactly know if the man would trust an ex-politician to have any say in his settlement (since he doesn’t trust politicians to begin with).
Also, I was playing with the idea of the (phantom) attribute points. I could just make Jorge’s power super refined so that he will be able to sense/track clean (not poisonous) water. Maybe that will make him a sought after commodity in a world struggling for certain resources?
Agnes had tilted her head. How could Emerald not realize that she was that good? How could she even consider that she would be anything but? The more she thought about it, though the less odd that it seemed. After all, people told Agnes that she was good all the time and yet she never wanted to believe them. Honestly, the only reason that she had applied for Julliard was because…well…she didn’t know why. But she had to admit, Rebecca’s pep talk (plus their mutual admissions of love) did serve to be an excellent prod in her arm.
She smiled a little at the thought before she finally greeted Emerald with a smile and a nod. She really hoped that Emerald was just being modest, not that she really and truly believed that she didn’t have any talent. Modesty she could work around…
“Of course I do,” she said with a nod and an encouraging smile. “Emerald you have a beautiful control and a wonderful voice. I’m actually a little jealous,” she grinned. It was true. She knew how to play her violin but stick her into a sing situation and she would more than likely blush fiercely.
>> "Well, other than howling which is a wolf's natural music, I'm afraid people will think I'm some sort of softy...which according to my little sister I'm a big squishy softy, but no one else has to know that…Ruby's actually never forgiven me for going out and earning money back when she first got here. Stopped doing music stuff for a while because I wanted to make sure she was healthy and okay, she had a lot of medical problems when she first got here. Still don't understand why she's mad at me, she's way more important then my tinkering on the Ivory keys."[/color]
Agnes had to chuckle a little at Emerald’s words. It definitely sounded like something that she would do; doing whatever she felt was best for whoever was involved. Emerald was a sweet girl, she really was, but she tended to take her role as the alpha extremely serious. That meant that she always needed to exude this tough demeanor in order to maintain her place at head of the pack. On top of all this, she was now dating someone, a situation that would have to call for her to be vulnerable every once in awhile.
No wonder she was hiding out in the music roll and played all by her lonesome. She probably needed to get some of these vulnerable feelings out. Agnes almost felt a little ashamed for having interrupted her and invaded this private moment.
…almost.
She smiled warmly.
“Emerald, bit of advice?” she said as she leaned forward. “It takes real balls in order to be a musician, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise,” she nodded. “In my book, that is a bigger sign of being tough than anything else.” As she said this, she reached over and squeezed her friend’s arm. “Been awhile,” Her smile evident that she missed her friend. “For awhile there, I thought that maybe you had forgotten about me,” she grinned. It was nice to see Emerald again.
>> “So, you heard and saw the whole thing didn't ya…Guess one more of my big secrets has been revealed. My ability to averagely play music. Maybe I should give you the pack title of secret keeper.”[/color]
Agnes smirked a little as she listened to Emerald. It took her awhile to finally turn around and face her but Agnes was not surprised. She had not really intended to catch the woman off guard, but it was doubtful that Emerald was expecting an audience when she started to play that piano and began to sing. Emerald was not really the type to suddenly start singing for an audience. For a second Agnes actually feared that she had ruined this whole experience but, thankfully, the wolf girl had not suddenly bolted over and started to bite her face off.
Not that Emerald would actually do something like that…
Well…not that she really knew whether or not she would…
…okay her head hurt now.
She giggled at Emerald’s last comment and shook her head. It was probable that Emerald did not want it found out that she had this talent, but Agnes could help praising her.
“Emerald, why would you ever want to keep that a secret? And you are definitely not average!” she said in a fawning manner. “You have a beautiful voice and play wonderfully. Much better than some of the kids I have seen come through here,” she beamed.
It was true. She took music classes here and she had seen only a few students who were exceptional at the piano. That was not to say that she was mocking the others, only that they needed more practice. Emerald was, by far, well beyond them on the scales of talent.
“Why would you want to keep something like that secret?” she asked. Quickly, though, she recanted and shook her head. “Gah, I’m sorry, that’s really none of my business, is it? I mean, you sing and play gorgeously, but I’m sure you have your reasons.”
She smiled warmly, though as she looked at Emerald with a bit of extra pride. It was nice to learn something new about people…especially something so sweet and surprising.
There it all was. Agnes had said her piece and waited to see what Sebastian’s reaction would be. Maybe he had forgotten about his offering? Maybe he had decided to rescind it since it had been so long since he offered. Whatever the case, Agnes thought she would at least check. She didn’t know how the man would react to her sudden want to be involved; but the look on his face seemed telling enough. His gaze did not waver from her own and it really felt as if she were getting to him with her words. She saw that old sympathy there, the same that she saw the first time she met him.
>> “Before you make your choice, let me fully explain the offer. We have all the time in the world; there is no need to be hasty. I want to make sure you understand everything before you accept. Please, allow me to offer you a seat so we can discuss this.”
It was only the sound of his voice that had shaken her from her musings. She blinked as she nodded, realizing that she was being steered away to a place in order to sit down. Left behind were the shiny swords and dashing coat, instead slid into a pew, next to Sebastian as the man seemed to regard her closely.
Though she was not attracted to him, the attention was still enough to make her blush. But despite that she listened intently once he began to speak…
>> “First, in order for you to fully understand, I need to explain something about myself…I have a very powerful gift. You've seen part of it in action, but the entirety. The blood flowing through my veins allows me to heal myself and others, but it also keeps me alive, indefinitely. I am immortal and can not die.”
Agnes breath caught in her throat. Immortal? Did this man really just tell her that he believed himself to be immortal? A god among men? Agnes didn’t want to believe it at first but as thought about everything he had said, she did have to agree that yes, he did have a powerful ability. Look what he was able to do for her? With a touch he erased any physical evidence of her parent’s cruelty. The man had performed a miracle.
Therefore…was it really at all surprising that his gifts could keep him alive, cure him of all harm, even the harmful effects of aging? It seemed almost too much for her to accept but slowly and gradually she was beginning to. But why tell her this? What was the possible reasoning behind that?
>> “Recently, I have discovered that with the wonders of modern medical treatments, I can share this gift with others. I can give you my blood, and with it, you too would be able to heal yourself. You too would be immortal…It is a gift I would be willing to share with you, but you must understand that this gift can be both a blessing and a curse. You will be a goddess, both blessed and burdened. Do you still wish to accept?”
Again Agnes found herself unable to catch her breath. He just offered her…immortality.
…
…
…what was this some cheesy teenage vampire romance novel now!? Normally Agnes would have scoffed and laughed away his statement. After all it was ridiculous. Why on earth would he even ask if she wanted something like that? Even if it was true, what was the point in giving her immortality? What was the point in living in a world so cruel for the rest of one’s life? It was positively daft! Agnes was set to shake her head and turn away from the man and return home. Maybe she could convince Rebecca to hang out of someth—
Rebecca…
Agnes paused and over her eyes fell the veil of that sweet, redheaded Scot; that young woman with whom she was just a friend and nothing more. She thought back to that day, the day Malachi nearly killed her, the both of them actually. It was a day that Agnes felt at her weakest, a day that she loathed so deeply.
She had come to this church seeking a way to make a difference. Really, how much difference could she make in a single lifetime? Even if she dedicated every hour of her life to stopping people like her parents and their followers, wouldn’t they just spring up again, like all zealots and their beliefs do? Up and up like weeds. They would need a constant gardener.
If it took a thousand lifetimes…she would stop them.
God never did anything for her…maybe that was because a goddess was needed (as silly as it sounded since she was not foolish enough to think she would be an actually deity). Such power…it would help though.
Eyes locked onto Sebastian, conviction filling her gaze, she suddenly nodded.
“I do.” she sighed. “I…I’m still not one hundred percent sure what I can do…but I don’t want people like them coming back or hurting anyone else. I will protect them…”
Agnes paused in her reading as she glanced back at Rebecca. The sound of her voice really caught her attention but she really did not know why. Really, Agnes did not mean to come off as so rejecting, but she really did want to focus on passing this class. And as much as she loved Rebecca, the young Scot was certainly a distraction for her. Though it was obviously no fault of the sweet lass, it was simply that Agnes would rather spend time with her than studying.
That was behavior that she definitely needed to nip in the bud.
But still, that did not mean that she should have hurt Rebecca’s feelings. She glanced over to make sure that Rebecca was okay, but before she say anything or even gauge her girlfriend’s reactions, Rebecca had stretched and stood up from her seat.
>> "Ah cannae focus yet, sae hoo 'boot a massage tae work away yer finals tension?"[/color]
“What?” Agnes suddenly asked. A massage? She had never asked for one of those and Rebecca of course had to study for her own finals. But before she could protest, suddenly she felt those sweet, pale hands upon her shoulder and Agnes absolutely melted. “Oh…goodness…” she managed to squeak out.
Suddenly Agnes slumped a little, feeling those thin fingers as they kneaded her muscles and worked the knots out of her back. It was probably very undignified to drool right now but boy did she really want to. Rebecca really seemed to have the knack of finding just the right spots and, even with Agnes’ ticklishness, she managed to work past it in order to keep Rebecca from stopping. It just felt too good to stop so she allowed it as she closed her eyes and began to drift.
Agnes found herself lost in the excellent sensations that riddled throughout her body; the feeling of Rebecca’s hands, the warmth of her breath on the back of her scalp, tingling that meant that she was close by. Agnes reveled in all of it as she felt muscles loosening and knots disappearing. Slowly the young runaway groaned as she felt Rebecca move higher, her thumbs digging into stress points along Agnes’ back. It hurt but it felt so good at the same time…
Then she felt that accidental graze and suddenly Agnes stiffened up again, emitting a little squeak of surprise. Though she knew it was an accidentally (at least she tried to convince herself of that), Agnes still found herself reacting to that phantom-like touch. It was so insignificant and yet seemed to flip some kind of switch in the young runaway. She found herself thinking of Rebecca’s lips again, of holding her close, of kissing her deeply, losing herself in the long strands of the young Scot beautiful red hair. Agnes was merely seconds away from following through with this when Rebecca’s voice broke through the pounding in her ears…
>> "Sae am Ah helping?"[/color]
Agnes nodded. She certainly was helping…to distract her further. She bit her lip and smiled with a nod as she tried to keep her focus on her books but god it was proving far too hard. She knew that she if turned around to face Rebecca she would not be able to help herself. No, she had to prevent that. For once in her life, Agnes agreed that they needed to study.
“Y-You’re going great,” Agnes managed to say. Slowly, though, she edged away and stood up, stretching again. She smiled a beaming smile as she turned around to face Rebecca. It literally took everything she had to not suddenly lean forward and kiss her passionately. But Agnes managed to keep herself calm. “Um…I-I need to go grab a book from the shelves. I…I’ll be right back? Okay?”
But she didn’t want to suddenly just run away from Rebecca again. She didn’t want her to feel hurt or rejected. Maybe just a little contact would be okay? A smile on her face, Agnes leaned forward and wrapped her free arm around Rebecca’s waist, hugged her close, and kissed her on the cheek (maybe a little closer to the corner of her lips than she meant it to be. ). As she leaned back, her hand rested on Rebecca’s hip, a fraction of a second long than she meant it to really be, before she just accepted it and squeezed Rebecca’s waist.
“Umm…” she said as she tried to fight the blush that wanted to appear on her cheeks. “I-I’ll be right back?” she said with a smile. Another kiss to her cheek and Agnes finally managed to peel herself away from Rebecca, just long enough to start walking to the stacks. God, she really, REALLY needed to keep herself in check…
>> "Well, mah name's Rebecca. Ye shoulds get tae know me."[/color]
Unbeknownst to her why, Agnes giggled like a school girl at the sight of the look on Rebecca’s face and words that she uttered. It was entirely sweet, and cute, and just plain silly. She was reminded of why she was so ridiculously happy to have someone in her life to be silly with . That was a true test of a relationship, if the pair could share a moments like this that were so small and insignificant, and yet still could mean so much. She smirked as she took her hand back and nodded her head.
But they had to get back to work, unfortunately. Agnes eyed that English book with a little bit of disdain. How dare it ruin her cute time with Rebecca. Maybe she would teach it a lesson by tossing it under her bed and letting it suffer in the dark with the dust bunnies!
Ahem.
Back to the moment…
>> "Oh! Well, there are a couple ways tae read th' poem. It always made sense tae me tae read it as an Elizabethan feminist poem."[/color]
The blank look on Agnes’ face obviously was a revelation into how she felt about what Rebecca had just said. It was not that Agnes was unintelligent, she clearly wasn’t, but her passions were more in the sciences and botany and such. Literature was just a concept that always seemed way too over her head. The only real poetry she liked was Rebecca’s and what she could play on her violin. That was it.
But, she guessed that she vaguely remembered something about Elizabethan feminist poetry. She was sure it was in her notes somewhere. Thankfully, Rebecca seemed to rescue her from that more treacherous fate of digging through her notes.
>> "Elizabethan women were expected tae be very proper an' controlled an' timid. Th' volcano represents a lass— quiet an' dormant, bit there is more 'neath th' surface…Th' woman has a powerful untapped force in her. There is a repressed sexuality waiting to erupt 'at is overwhelming— even th' dashes make th' words rush together, and th' word choice of torrid implies passion and feverish sexual energy, an' even th' lips—"[/color]
Agnes was lost. Listening to Rebecca explaining the words of the poem, Agnes actually began to understand it but it also proved to be extremely distracting. Not only were the words just a little tantalizing and the hand on her knee sensational, but it was Rebecca’s lips that seemed to be the most attention getting. Unsure why, but her eyes followed the lines of her girlfriend’s mouth, sighing a little as half paid attention, half fantasized. When was the last time they really had a good, passionate kiss? That day they stumbled across Twyla, wasn’t it?
Seemed like so long ago that she wondered if her lips had changed any. But before she could think about this too far, before she could allow her quickening breath to give her away, or the flushed feeling on her face make her pass out, Agnes was shaken back to reality. Rebecca had stopped talking and was looking at her oddly…
>> "Um, Ah'm..." [/color]
Agnes paused…then looked down to see that Rebecca’s hand was on her thigh. She could feel it in the pit of her stomach, that sensation, the volcano that wanted to make itself known, but Agnes did her best to calm herself. At least she thought she did. But if so, why was her hand own hand on top of Rebecca’s and gently squeezing it with affirmation that it was okay?
Spine tickling, eyes focused, Agnes slowly began to lean forward, watching Rebecca’s eyes, her hand reaching out to rest on her girlfriend's waist. Just one kiss? That couldn’t hurt anything, right? It was only one! But even as Agnes found herself leaning in closer and closer, she had to pause. A glance at the table, at all the books and suddenly she remembered why they were here. Studying, finals, that was most important now, right?
Agnes sighed, in defeat and in reluctance as she rested her forehead on Rebecca’s shoulder.
“Um, t-thank you,” she struggled to say, trying to keep her mind off the libido that wanted to overtake her. “I…I think I understand it better now,” she said with an appreciative smile and literally had to force herself to straighten up and turn her attention back to her book.
The music was far more enchanting than Agnes had originally given it credit for. As she drew closer to the music room, she could not help but feel herself lulled on by the notes and the voice that accompanied it. Slowly it turned into a very beautiful song, but Agnes could not place who the voice or the talented playing belonged to. She remembered that Kate played the piano, but that did not sound like her voice. Besides, she doubted that Kate actually sang along with her piano playing, she played more classical stuff.
Lifting her gaze, Agnes quietly peeked into the room and peered closely to see, to her surprise, that she actually recognized the person playing the music. Her wings expanded with surprise as her mouth gapped wide. She simply could not believe that that was Emerald.
Emerald, the feral woman, who made her a part of her pack, who feared the full moon because of the damage that she could cause! This very woman played the piano and sang with a majesty that she really didn’t think existed in the world anymore. So shocked by this, Agnes nearly dropped her violin case. But she scrabbled to catch it before it clattered onto the ground and made a racket. She didn’t want to disturb this beautiful song.
As silent as a ghost, Agnes slipped into the room, unseen by the young werewolf so sang so beautifully and played the piano with such talent that it actually tugged at Agnes’ heart strings.
For whatever reason, she simply would have never thought of Emerald in this way. Music was so…vulnerable for people. It opened up the floodgates and allowed them to expose part of their soul, the part that needed to sing out for the rest of the world to hear it. Agnes never really thought of Emerald as having to expose herself in such a way. Instead Emerald always came off as the powerful woman that never liked to sound vulnerable.
This was definitely a surprise for Agnes.
Sitting in one of the desks at the very back of the room, Agnes smiled to herself as she listened to the music and had to sigh. It really was quite beautiful. And to think…that Emerald had kept this secret from her for so long…
When the tune finally came to an end, Agnes wiped a small tear away. Then, without realizing why, she had to clap…
It was supposed to be an easy trip but this souvenir hunt for Rebecca’s parents was proving to be far more problematic than she could have ever assumed. Suddenly she was now trying to find which of the many statue of liberty mini statues were A) cheapest and B) didn’t look cheapest! It was proving to be far more difficult than she ever could have imagined. But Agnes decided to press on. After all, she was not going to allow herself to be defeated in this endeavor. She saw a clear picture in her head of what she wanted to find, she just needed to not give up and to keep trying to figure it out.
She rounded a corner and decided to check another shop. Oh! This one had pretty snow globes. They were plastic but they were very pretty nonetheless! She hummed to herself, her wings fluttering curiously whenever she spotted something that interested her. Just as she knelt down to pick out an item to check out, some cleared their throat next to her.
“Ahem, excuse me?”
Agnes straightened up and spied that she was blocking the way of a pair of men trying to carrying a large piece of trash into the alley. The young runaway quickly uttered her apology and slipped out of the way, accidentally moving herself into the alley in order to both give them room and to avoid standing in the middle of the busy sidewalk.
As the men offered their thanks (and apologies for inconveniencing her), Agnes simply smiled and nodded as she made sure she was out of their way. But, just as she was about to return to looking at the pretty snow globes…the sky fell…
Agnes had ready the story “Chicken Little” but she had never thought much of it. After all, who would be silly enough to think that the sky was actually falling on their heads? That was lunacy! But in that fraction of a second, in that moment when she held a heavy object collide with her from above, Agnes could have sworn that, indeed, the sky was falling.
She collapsed into a heap, momentarily blacking out as the pain that shot through her radiated out into every part of her body. She felt the cool, rough touch of the concrete, and the heavy weight of something upon her back, even one of her wings was jutted out into an awkward angle and kept fluttering as she tried to recognize what had happened it to her. A crowd started to gather (she could head the footsteps), and her breathing was growing far more labored that she would have liked.
Agnes Nicholas, groaned as she tried to move, tried to rid herself of the fallen sky that had pinned her so effectively to the ground, so that she could announce that, indeed, the sky was falling…the sky was falling…
The bustling lights and sounds of Time’s Square should have scared Agnes Nicholas, but it didn’t. If she had been asked a year ago, though, she would have indeed been too scared to come out, for fear of running into her parents, or their disciples, or just people in general. When living on the streets, she absolutely hated the idea of having to be around bustling crowds, mainly because she knew what they were capable of doing; not only to those people who lives on the fridges but to one another. It was a mess that she never wanted to embroil herself within.
But such was no longer the case. Her life had hit a complete reversal. She was at the Xavier mansion, she had money to call her own, she was getting and education and she had a love of her life. All in all, Agnes was actually doing pretty good. That was why, despite the visible mutation of her iridescent wings, Agnes enjoyed her time out and cared little about what people were thinking about her.
She accepted herself and everyone else you have a problem with that were just going to have to deal with it. Besides, she was on a special mission today: a gift for Rebecca. With Finals nearing their ugly head, Agnes wanted to buy a gift for Rebecca just to show how proud she was of her. Rebecca had applied to Colombia and had even gotten accepted! It was so exciting! She needed to show her how happy she was that she was beginning to achieve her dreams.
Maybe she could get her a nice collection of things? Trinkets, souvenirs she could send home to her parents in Scotland, plus some extra special gifts just for her? That sounded like a good plan to the young runaway.
Strolling down the sidewalk, Agnes, dressed in simple jeans, a t-shirt, and her modified denim jacket; she tried to keep her fly wings pressed flat against her back in order to prevent them from nudging or fluttering against people, or getting caught on something. They could support her but boy, were they sensitive. She accidentally bent one in her sleep once and she nearly jumped out of her skin. She learned from that mistake so now she always tried to keep her wings flat.
In silence, she kept herself as she walked, eyeing business around her, looking for something adequate enough to hold her attention and maybe browse. So far it was looking a bit overwhelming, but she didn’t give up. After all, she couldn’t just except something interesting to fall into her lap, could she?
Agnes sighed. She was still trying to make herself feel better after everything that she had gone through with Julliard. It was hell waiting to find out if she even have made it into the school. Though she knew that her audition went well, that was not always the case with school like that. Maybe they wouldn’t like her background, or maybe they would think that despite her skill, she didn’t have enough experience or practice required. Whatever the case, Agnes was still a bundled mass of nerves as she tried to calm herself down.
Maybe she could play a little? Maybe that would calm her down. Though she did not know the success of that because playing her violin would only remind her constantly of Julliard, but she always played the violin whenever she was confused; it was indeed a conundrum.
The young runaway sighed though and continued her trek to the schools music room. She needed peace and quiet. Normally when she needed these things, she would turn to Rebecca, but she her sweet girlfriend was still in Finals Studying mode and Agnes did not want to interrupt her. Not again…
…ahem.
So she decided that she would go down to the music room and maybe get some private practice in, just to sharpen her skills a little and take her mind off of Julliard and what it would mean if she got in. But as she made her way down to the classroom, the young insect queen had to pause, her wings fluttering curiously. She tilted her head, catch the sounds of piano playing…and singing. At first she couldn’t make out the words clearly, but the music was very pretty.
She was struck by the beautiful of it and found herself following the music, almost as if she were following a siren’s call. She really could not stop her feet from moving. That was why she had found herself standing at the music room’s door and peered inside…
>> "Try numbers. And yes, at this point, Ah can barely tell apart a sine from a cosine.”
Agnes smirked a little as she finished her stretch and leaned back against her seat. That was the problem with the school library, the chairs were far too comfortable. Even made of wood, they had a nice cushion on them that made whoever sat in them feel like they were floating on absolute air. Agnes would have been just fine allowing herself to drift off to sleep while sitting up, rather than sit here, staring at a bunch of words that she really and truly just didn’t understand.
But she was a slave to the school system, a slave to the diabolical and sadistic minions of the ogre known as Academics. She mumbled a bit irritated again as she returned to trying to stare at her book and the words that floated by on the page.
Seriously! Who writes a poem about a volcano? she thought to herself as she once again went through the poem, line after line. It was so short and yet it still seemed like it wanted to make her heart palpitate with its confused words. Or maybe that was because of Rebecca’s presence.
Agnes caught herself, more than once, glancing up from her book and spying her redheaded girlfriend as she sat there, her face buried in her own textbook, mulling over the numbers that were splayed out in front of her, tapping gently with the eraser of her pencil. Rebecca looked almost as lost as she did at the moment to the point that Agnes heart beat with sympathy. But then again maybe there was something else underlining that feeling.
It was hard to not notice Rebecca. Not that she stuck out like a sore thumb or anything, but it was hard for Agnes to keep from stealing glances at her. Her exposed, pale skin, the flow of her beautiful hair, the flickering of her eyes as they passed over the pages and pages of text, the gentle nibbling of her lips that she did when she was deep in thought or concentration; all of it was a collection spotlight that was hard for Agnes to ignore. It was especially difficult since Rebecca was running around in shorts and a humorous red top (the joke being slightly lost on Agnes) and it was to the point that Agnes really had to keep herself until control.
She blinked a couple of times as she adverted her gaze before Rebecca found her staring and returned to her own book and the poem by Emily Dickenson. It was still just as confusing as ever…
>> "Want a little help with yer poem?"[/color]
Agnes looked up and sighed, smiling as if she had just been thrown a lifesaver. “If you don’t mind, sweetie?” she asked. “I mean, I know you have a ton of your own studying but, if you can at least point me in the right direction, you would be my absolute lifesaver.”
The young runaway stood up from the table and did a full body stretch. But the fact that her whole lower back and rear end were sore, only proved that she was sitting down for far too long. Agnes grumbled as she rubbed her sore posterior and gathered up her book. Calmly she walked around the table and beamed at Rebecca, taking an empty seat that was next to her.
She set the book down, open to the page that the poem was one. But she could not help just a little bit of levity as she smiled in a friendly manner to Rebecca and raised her hand, offering it to shake.
“Hello there, stranger,” she said in a cute way. “My name’s Agnes. I feel like I should know you.”
you should totally have Saph looking for Agnes. Since she will be one of Sebastian’s horsemen. She will be living in seclusion out in the wilderness, trying to live with herself after having played a part in causing the world to turn to this. She will be bitter, angry, and in commands of legions upon legions of insects. I would love for Saph to seek her out to make her pay, only to learn that she was just a confused mansion student who was tricked. 