Theoretical Thrones (Open, PM to join) | Wyrdwood Academy

[Hope]

Jax didn't know why Laeni looked so scared, either. He kind of wished he could speak to Brahgo privately- after all, Brahgo was more empathetic than he was, and tended to, well, notice things a bit better. Of course, it could be said that Jax was just an insensitive prick.

He felt relieved- saved yet again- when Brahgo brought up the clock tower. Surely he couldn't mess this one up? The clock tower was Jax's favorite place in the whole school- his safe place, his hiding hole, his own private cathedral for his thoughts and emotions and meandering philosophies. Just thinking about the place gave him a steadying sense of contentment.

"I'm down. Laeni?"

[DragonSong]

"Oh!"

Realizing she had just been...staring at them, Laeni flushed and dropped her eyes. Then she took a breath and looked up again, trying for a smile. They're being nice. They're trying to help. Stop acting like a shut-in!

"That...sounds really nice." She got to her feet, one hand coming to rest between Rey's shoulders as the panther sidled up to brush against her hip. "I guess, ah...lead on?" She smiled again, and this time it felt a little more natural.

Brahgo grinned in return--Okay, at least she can smile like a normal person. Good to know--and clapped Jax on the shoulder again. "We're with you, mate. Shall we?"

[Hope]

Jax lead the way across the school grounds towards the giant tower. Archways surrounded the bottom of it, and during class hours students rushed through the arches from all directions. The clock itself rang with a beautifully clear sound.

He skirted the edge of the tower's base and pushed back a piece of peeling stucco to reveal a small, thin entryway. There was a ladder inside the tower's base, and it was dark, but sunlight filtered down from above, illuminating the dust motes inside.

[DragonSong]

It really was a beautiful place. Brahgo had never been as attached to it as his roommate, but he could admit there was a certain peacefulness in here. He could see better in the dark than the two humans, and he started to reach for Laeni's shoulder to guide her before he caught himself and retracted his hand before she noticed.

"C'mon, the good stuff is up top, right?" He shot a sidelong grin at Jax, one tusk catching on his upper lip.

Laeni was once again speechless, though now it was...less uncomfortable. She was simply quiet, padding along behind the boys nearly as silently as the large cat at her side. She cocked her head at the ladder and bit her lip. "Um...Rey, can you even get up there?"

"Rrow."

"Well, yeah, you could wait, but that's less fun. I can carry you," Brahgo offered the cat. Rey gave him a rather wry look--an odd expression for a panther--but didn't reject the proposal outright.

[Hope]

"It's not a very long climb, just a few minutes." Jax sidled up to the ladder, giving it a firm stomp to make sure nothing had deteriorated since his last visit. "There's a trapdoor so I reckon I ought to go first. Are we ready?"

[DragonSong]

All three of the others nodded, even the cat. With a quick check for permission, Brahgo dipped to scoop the animal up onto his shoulders before following after Jax.

Laeni openly gaped. Rey was not a small animal, and regardless of the half-orc's size that—that was just impressive.

She managed to close her mouth and ducked her head as she brought up the rear, trying to focus on putting one foot in front of the other without slipping off a rung. "This is very different from climbing trees," she muttered to herself under her breath, unthinking.

[Hope]

Jax laughed softly at Laeni's comment as he reached the top and popped the latch on the trapdoor. "That's for sure."

He clambered out onto a soft rug. Sunlight filtered in from the faces of the clock, and there were carvings, smeared ink splotches, and smudges all over the available floor and wall space. A bench stood next to one wall and there was an old chest in another corner.

Jax looked down at Brahgo and Rey and moved to give them some space. "Want some help?"

[DragonSong]

Brahgo heaved himself up through the hole in the floor, wincing as Rey bounded out into the room, scratching his back and shoulders in the process. Very prim, the panther set about licking the fur on his chest, rumbling something indignant in Jax's direction.

Brahgo rolled his eyes and pulled his legs up, but remained sitting on the floor. "He's a cat. They don't admit they need help. Ever."

Laeni chuckled softly as she perched on the other edge of the trapdoor, so concerned with keeping herself from sliding back down the ladder that it actually took her a few moments to gather herself and take a look around. When she did, her eyes widened.

"Oh..."

It really was beautiful. She stood slowly and turned on the spot, watching dust motes glitter through a beam of sunlight. "This...this place is..."

She trailed off. For the first time since leaving home, she felt...safe.

[Hope]

Jax followed her gaze, feeling that easy peace settle in his stomach at the familiar sights. He went to the chest and tipped it open to reveal all sorts of writing implements. "You can use one of these if you want. It's customary to write something when you first come up here." As he took another look around, he spotted something in one corner and walked over. Taking out a small pocketknife, he finished up the word "serendipity" that someone else had begun carving.

[DragonSong]

"But I, um..." Laeni looked around again, twisting her fingers into the fabric of her robes.  "Is that...really okay?"

Brahgo shrugged, bracing his palms behind his back and letting his head tip back slightly into a shaft of sunlight. "Meh. Everyone does it, so I guess so? Everyone who comes up here, at least."

That...didn't seem like much of a reason to her, but she didn't have the wherewithal to argue with him. With either of them. She looked from Brahgo to Jax, drawing her legs up under her body and curving them to the side. "So...what am I supposed to write?"

[Hope]

"Anything you want," Jax replied, flicking back a strand of hair from his eyes. "It's a safe place. A place to write down your secrets, or dreams, or wishes, and they just might come true." She didn't look so sure, so he added, "Do you want to see what I wrote when we first got here? Maybe Brahgo?"

[DragonSong]

Brahgo snorted. "She wouldn't be able to read what I wrote, it's in orcish," he said at the same time Laeni protested, "Oh, I don't--that seems really personal, I wouldn't want to..."

She trailed off, blushing a bit again, and looked away from them. One hand absently reached out to scratch between Rey's shoulders when the large cat leaned against her. One other hand still played with the hem of her robes, but she seemed more considering now than nervous.

[Hope]

Jax shrugged and shot Brahgo an easy grin. "Hey, I can't read what you wrote, either, but I liked seeing your handwriting like that. The lettering in Orcish looks so fascinating."

He pointed out a small, scribbly patch of handwriting peaking out from under the rug to Laeni. "That was my first. You don't have to if you don't want to," he added, unsure if he was talking about writing or reading. "And look, if you peak out from the clock face, you can just barely see the sky. The cloud formations come in like a shadow and they look like animals sometimes."

[DragonSong]

The shapeshifter huffed and rolled his eyes, but there was a hint of something like a pleased smile at the corners of his mouth. "Yeah, fascinating."

Laeni got to her feet and picked her way lightly over to the clock face, peering out into the sky, and then down at the grounds.

"It feels unreal up here," she murmured, almost to herself. "Separate."

[Hope]

"Even the time seems to slow down up here. Kind of ironic, isn't it, in a clock tower?" Jax walked back to the rug and lay on his back, letting his eyes drift a little closed. From this angle, he couldn't see the height of the tower when he looked straight up, only an elaborate scrawling pattern.

Hold up.

That wasn't just an elaborate pattern. Patterns underneath towers were symmetrical, with many triangular structures for strength.

This was something else. This was... a word? A character? A letter in some language? He squinted, trying to turn the metal beams into a recognizable letter, but while the character seemed familiar, Jax just couldn't make it out. "Uh... Brahgo? Can you come here for a sec?" he called out.

// Just for fun or reference... also cuz it beautiful :)

[DragonSong]

"Hm?" The half-orc glanced up at him, a little surprised, but when he read the intent frown on Jax's face he stood quickly and moved over to him. "What's wrong?"

Laeni glanced back over her shoulder at them. She was tempted to step closer, see what they were talking about, but was a little too shy to make herself do it.

Shy was better than afraid though, as Rey seemed to say with a slow blink as he curled up at her feet.

[Hope]

"From this angle, when you look straight up... do you see, like, a letter or something?" Jax pointed towards the top of the clock tower, forehead scrunched in concentration. "I'm trying to read it but... I can't. It seems familiar. Can you read that?"

[DragonSong]

Brahgo squinted up, trying to see what his friend saw. He was quiet for nearly a full minute, then huffed out a breath and shook his head, reaching up to scratch at his cheek.

"Sorry. I mean, maybe something's up there, but I can't read it."

He glanced at Laeni, who had gone back to looking out through the clock face. Lowering his voice, he muttered, "What are the chances Kitten there will have better luck than us?"

[Hope]

"Hmm..." Jax mentally took note that Brahgo was now calling Laeni "Kitten," then looked over at her. She seemed so peaceful... still, he supposed it wouldn't hurt to try. "Hey, Laeni?" he asked. "Can you come over here for a second?"

[DragonSong]

"Hm?" Laeni snapped her head toward them, eyes a little wide again. "Oh, yeah. Sure." She gave Rey another little pat on the head and moved to stand in front of the two boys, glancing back and forth between them. "Um...what's going on?"

Brahgo shrugged. "Jax sees something on the ceiling. Apparently."