un: mortiscausa

[subconmodo]

What's up, everyone? Enjoying your midterms? No? I thought not.

Lucky for those of you taking my class, I happen to be feeling generous. Take note, people. This is a once in a term event here!

I'd like to offer you unlucky souls a deal. See, I've been trying to get a little fitter over the past few months. Can't use magic to solve every problem you have, right? Right! I want to see how much progress I made.

That's where you come in.

You beat me in a race? You get an A on your midterm! I'll even put it in writing so you have a paper trail. The only thing I ask is that I get to pick the time. I'm a busy man, you know.

Feel free to ask any questions you want. And don't feel put out just because you don't see any replies. I'm screening all comments in order to protect my students' previous privacy.

((Please see the OOC post here!))

Comments

[subconmodo]

I said I would put it in writing. I never said what language.

[yokeye]

I agree to these terms as presented~!

[subconmodo]

PERFECT!

[He holds out a pen for Toki to sign with. Not in blood, of course. Not only does he just not Do that, but that's a good way to ruin a perfectly good, non-magical pen. Also this is a contract, not a Contract.]

[Once he's finished, he puts his wax seal on it, folds the paper, tucks it away, and grabs his copy of the material.]

Gehring, if you would be so kind as to do the countdown?

[spelleton]

[ Well, this is a contracting class, so he can't fault that logic. He just sort of shrugs, as if to say 'fair enough'.

And he obliges, counting down from three. ]

[subconmodo]

[The second the countdown is over, Avery plunges the room into darkness.]

[And then he begins reading the material that Toki provided, legal terms flowing from his lips with practiced ease.]

[yokeye]

[Oh, shit. Okay. That will give Avery a head start. But nothing in the contract signed states that they had to stay in the classroom. Toki steps out into the still-lighted hallway and reads as fast as possible before something else goes wrong.]

[subconmodo]

[hm. Good thinking on his feet.]

[Avery's reading slows down a bit as he reaches into his pocket, then briefly stops as he tosses something into the hall, the glitter-bomb exploding into sparkly delight that will likely spell his doom at the hands of Mario at some later date as it passes over Toki's head.]

[yokeye]

[Don't look at them. He keeps reading, brushing off the... really shiny sparkly things... No... Where was he? Okay. He lost some traction there, but he's just flipped to page three and will not be deterred that easily.]

[subconmodo]

[Toki may have bested distraction one, but Avery still has one more trick up his sleeve. He reaches into his other pocket and pulls out a cheap pen.]

[And as he continues to read, clicking it the whole time.]

[How does he dare survive this menace?]

[yokeye]

[Being out in the hallway, and fairly loud, Toki doesn't even hear the pen clicking over the sound of his own voice. And there's the turn to page four.]

[subconmodo]

[Avery does what he can, including toss out one last glitter bomb, but even with his prep he still can't beat Toki when it comes down to this particular contest.]

[It's close, however, and he finishes but a moment after, half-breathless and wishing he'd brought a cup of water.]

[The lights come back on]

Congratulations. You actually managed to do good work there.

[He sets the paper aside.]

Now. What did you manage to learn from this experience?

[yokeye]

[He didn't truthfully expect to win here, but he supposes Avery was banking on that shroud of darkness thing. He returns to the classroom when the lights come back on.]

Actually? That surprises you~!? I'm offended you think so lowly of my previous endeavors!

[Now what did he learn...]

I have learned, most importantly, that any underhanded tactics should be employed whenever possible~! And that winning is only a matter of luck because no one will ever play fair~!

[subconmodo]

[He grins]

Exactly! You never know what someone will bring to the table. Always be looking for an opportunity to exploit the terms of your contract.

[He paces back and forth, a hand on his chin as he continues.]

You did good with the negotiations--took one look at the fact that I didn't specify what sort of race and ran with it! Used that opportunity to pick something that was in your wheelhouse. And you made sure I wouldn't have an advantage by memorizing it in advance. I'll even give you props for ducking out of the room when I darkened it. There was nothing in the contract that stated we needed to stay in here.

Just make sure to keep your opponent's abilities and history in mind when you can. You left yourself wide open on that front.

[yokeye]

Excellent advice~!

[If he ever decides to put forth enough effort, he will do thorough background checks on all the faculty; his current "opponents".]

I would just like to say that you're my absolute favorite professor, even before the A! Also, that my invitation for a night out in Soleil still stands despite the passing of the holiday~!

[subconmodo]

Don't push your luck!

I'm proud of you for once, kid. Don't ruin it for yourself by trying to suck up.

[yokeye]

[Despite appearances, praise from Avery is very appreciated. He might even attend the next lecture. Toki opts for waving before he says something else stupid and heads for the door. Half way there, he stops...

The landscape is barren and surrounded in a cloudy mist. A group of people dressed in dull colors and hats are gathered at a tiered square depression in the ground. One chips away with a chisel, another brushing debris away with what appears to be a paintbrush. As the mist dissipates, vague shapes of ruins in brick and stone appear. He has some kind of tool in his hand, it's tiny and looks like an awkward shovel. When he looks back up, the mist has darkened into some shadowy prescience. He's instantly filled with intense dread, though he can't actually see what it is he's afraid of. The others are screaming. It's suddenly extremely cold, so cold it burns.

...He can still hear the screams as the images fade. He's shivering and he can't feel his fingers. He needs to makes notes on it all before he forgets, but he drops his phone attempting to take it out of his pocket. The screen cracks, though it's probably still usable.]

[subconmodo]

[He stops in place, eyes darting wildly around.]

[What just happened?]

[This wasn't his fault, right?]

[Wait. No. Of course it isn't! He had a witness! He didn't even touch the kid!]

Uh. You going to be okay there, Trooper?

[yokeye]

W-what?

[Oh. Yes. He was still in the classroom.]

I'm f-fine. S-sorry.

[It's so cold. Toki manages to grasp his phone, the feeling slowly coming back to his fingers. It is indeed still usable. He sits at one of the desks and inputs everything he can remember about the vision into a text file to sort out later. It will need less sorting than most, being fairly straightforward for once, but still making little sense. When he's finished, he's unsure which way to go.]

I um... I was l-leaving...?

[He only has a vague idea of what he was doing here. Something about midterms. It will come to him.]

[subconmodo]

[Avery frowns. Now that it appears the kid is mostly okay and he's not going to suffer any repercussions he's pulled himself back together]

Yes. You were.

After you tell me what just happened.

[yokeye]

I had a vision, it's fine~!

[He's not freezing anymore, and slightly more aware of why he was here. Definitely midterm related.]

I failed the midterm, right!? Are there going to be an other extra credit things not listed on your profile!?

[subconmodo]

[Seers, man.]

No. You took the challenge I posted onto the network and managed to pass with an A.

[SIGH]

Thigh it seems I'm going to have to repeat the advice I told you.

Go take care of your vision. I'll... write it down or something, I don't know.

[yokeye]

[Toki can't help but laugh at that for a second, but it registers that he at least passed, though the A had to be embellishment.]

I would have believed a D, maybe a C, but you went too far~!

[He waves and leaves the classroom. He'll check the network for whatever this "challenge" was later.]