Cold nights make for misty mornings

O O C:
Who: CobaltThorn (me) playing Lazuli Tsyjn; Cooldood playing Surania.
What: Just chillin :)
When: Morning, Dyo 15, 81378 (Year the fourth)
Where: Janardan, in the courtyard
Ratings: PG to PG-13, most likely.
Specs: Laz is in quaddies, lyrics are Green Day, thread is private. PM if you'd like to join! </longwindedness>

The drops of fog-made dew dripped from Lazuli Tsyjn's cobalt-aubergine headfur in large fat drops, splashing upon the damp, flat-topped, lichen-worn rock he sat on. The faint light that swum across the velvety gray cloud-barrier made each drop glisten like a molten diamond before it liquified completely and smashed into even tinier drips and crystal-clear rivers on the rock beneath. Lazzy's fur blended in perfectly with the gray, and the silver undertones glowed perfectly in the damp. The pendragon's thick, luxe fur was a fine barrier to the chilly mist that settled in around the school. In contrast to the rest of the students, whose bodies were damp, black-clad streaks pasted with expressions of varied discomfort, Lazuli seemed completely content here, sitting on the rock. It was, in fact, his absolute favourite place to lounge in his much-frequented hang-out of the courtyard. It rested on the gentle crest of the only hill in the large yard, and it was a fine vantage point on which to watch the other students go by. Often music could be heard, flooding down from the peak of the little hill, for a small machina CD player of Lazuli's was often a companion of his when he came here. At the moment though, a tiny pair of earbuds rested in Laz's fur-lined, lupine, cute ears. The music rushed happily through his ears, and spread its charm through each limb, making Lazuli tap his claws against his copy of The Influence of the Rapine Through History". The insolent, bittersweet anthem gave him a rush, warming his slightly chilled body.

I'm not sick, but I'm not well
And I'm so hot, 'cause I'm in hell

A flicker of movement directed Ravyn's eyes to the east corner of the green courtyard. It was a student, female, with dark green, short-cropped hair. She wore a tight-fitting pair of jeans and a Janardan sweatshirt and looked tired and more than a little annoyed. Her booted feet left darker prints in the dew-glazed grass. Lazuli moved his gaze from the quickly moving femme and down to the grass. It was so green... quite cool in Laz's mind, as it had been so brown and frost-chewed so recently. Indeed, the trees that ringed the edges of the courtyard had suddenly been tipped with lush, plump buds, which soon had exploded into young, green, fluttering leaves. Spring had always been Lazuli's favorite season; it was perfect for romps, games, stories, and flings. The warm wetness always left a lasting impression in Laz's memory, of friends made and lost, of change and love and new seasons.

I'm not sick, but I'm not well
And it's a sin, to look so well

Lazuli sighed and picked up his book. Staring at the plain blue cover, he saw a sticky note peeking out over the top. In Lazuli's large, rounded script, was written, "Read Chapters 10-14 by tomorrow". Groaning, he tossed the book down carelessly upon the wet stone. It slipped a bit, and then rolled down the side onto the wet grass. The male rippled his pewter fur, letting a shiver play down from his shoulderblades down to his feline tail. He decided to ignore the book, and cram the chapters later in the morning. For every 5th day, Lazuli had a free period in the mornings. No matter what the weather, the block of unused time was always devoted to either fighting practise or homework in the courtyard. Fighting practise... It was his third free period this Quarter and he hadn't even done ONE session. The male flicked out one long, glossy claw and cleared his plum-coloured headfur from his eyes. He toyed with the idea of starting practise now, but the period was only forty minutes, and he'd already been sitting for five. Bored, he ran his tongue around his fangs and sat back for a moment, now debating whether or not to go down and get his history book. Finally giving up on the whole thing, Lazzy just perched there on the rock, letting the fog darkly spike his body fur.

I want to publish scenes
And rage against machines
I wanna pierce my tongue
It doesn't hurt, it feels fine
But you don't look so fine

The male listened to several more lines of the song, then pressed the STOP button on the Machina. He removed his headphones, and put them in his mouth. All laziness now put aside, he leapt smartly to the ground, landing with agility and bounding one circle around the rock. Then the male picked up his ever-present oilskin bag and tossed the player inside, along with his now very-damp history tome. From the bag he pulled some leather bindings, and with agile, human-like digits, he wrapped his legs for tendon support. Then he began a jaunt around the sandy path that wrapped the courtyard. Laz could have gone to Tsupeon, but the natural scents of dirt, pines, and rocks seemd so much better compared to the dusty, processed clay scent that hung around the large gymnasium-type-structure.

After two laps around the large yard, Lazuli loped back to the rock and gracefully leapt up once more, sitting to untie the bindings on his forearms and hinds. Then, he jumped off again to fetch his backpack and pulled out his headphones and his history book. The male then lay down, blending with the mossy-gray rock, to read his history.

I'd like to turn off time
To kill my mind
To kill my mind

His head bobbed slightly with the music, sending more droplets cascading onto the pages of the book. The male was the picture of a studious pendragon, except for the joyous flickering and swinging of his thickly-furred tail, as it hung over the side of the stone. All was well with the muscular platinum 'dragon, and all was well in Janardan.

O O C: Whee! Long!

 

O O C: Ahah. Go you. The post is wonderful. Okay, so here's the dilly.

Laz technically is only able to be in quad form, but since just about every 'dragon on RaL is either permanently in bipedal or can shift to it, I'm just going to take it as a given Laz can shift too. So he's got no clothes onnnn right now, on account of he's in quaddies. So give him a chance to get changed, and he'll be right with you, mmmkay.

I C: Lazuli flipped another page in his book, now at least half-absorbed in the first known invasions of the Rapine. His deep purple orbs flickered as he read quickly, trying to encompass the knowledge before his next class. His music still filtered through the earbuds, but he didn't quite acknowledge it, paying more attention to the problem at hand. He nibbled one nail tantalisingly, and soon became quite caught up in the story of the terrible soul-suckers whom began a new war for life each seven years. Laz didn't shudder. Though the Nothing seemed unpleasent, he didn't think he'd fear it. His tail still fluttered at his side, despite the grim story he read. As it were, Lazuli was quite surprised when a soft feminine voice cut through the music. Hi.

He looked up to see a strikingly-coloured femme looking softly into his eyes. His first impression was of her own oculars, which were stained dark plum, same as his own. She was younger than himself, but well-dressed, tall, and thin. He gave a genuine grin, quick and fleeting, and then removed the earbuds from his wolfish ears. Closing the book with a slam, he said, "Hey." For a second, he was at a loss of what to say, something that barely ever happened to the eager and charismatic male. Realizing that the female before him was walking on two legs, he blinked several times and leapt off the rock. He smiled again, and tossed his headphones behind him onto the stone. They landed with a metallic clunk, but he payed them no mind and shook his headfur, looking up at the female. She was taller than him, now, for he was in his quadrupedal state. He stared up, puppy-eyed and canine. He'd morph right then, but indeed, he didn't have any clothes with him, so he sighed and said, "Hey, I'll be back in a sec." With that, he took off at a bound across the slippery grass of the courtyard, to the path, claws extended and scratching wetly at the dewy cobbles. His fur rippled like silver ocean-water as his back lazily arched and dipped, matching the cadence of his lupine lope. As he went, he sent in thought-speak, <Don't go anywhere...>

Soon he was inside, rushing through the musty halls of the older quarters, dashing through the cafeteria and finally running through a small stone courtyard into the dormitories. A moment later he was hastily fumbling the key of room number 403, and soon the door swung open. He walked into the slightly messy dorm and headed to the wardrobe. It took him only a second to raise himself up to "furry" or bipedal form, and dress. The now-tall and muscular male was still covered in thick silver fur, with a shaggy mane of purple headfur, but he walked like a humanoid creature. Now he wore a dark blue pair of jeans, worn and ripped at the cuffs; and a pair of skateboarding sneakers. The look was topped off by a very tight vintage tee shirt, in maroonish brown, with JANARDAN ACADEMY (Tgyjst Pebeteym) printed across it in mustard-yellow; and a black sweatshirt with a single Ramathian letter L on it.

A few minutes later, Laz was outside again, trotting up the hill in the same, easy gait he had used in quaddies before, but now only on two legs. His platinum tail swished at his side; he rolled his shoulders a few times before speaking. "Sorry about that... I had no idea someone was coming down. I wanted to talk to you, so..." he said, and instantly cursed himself. Lazuli, damnit, you sound like a niotie. There was a slight awkward moment then, and Tsyjn looked down. He was about the same height as the lengthy femme fatale before him. She was cute...

"So what are you listening to?" he said, flicking a digit towards her CD player. Unbidden, a little smile again played across his face. He closed his eyes as a cold breeze suddenly swirled through the courtyard, making his fur prickle despite its thickness and his warm clothing. He looked up at the scarlet female, wondering if she was cold as well.

 

O O C: Aww. No problem. I'm not gonna cut the length of my own posts, but if you're having any problems, go 'head and give me some short ones.

And I'm sorry for my OWN delay, RL can be a bitch, must say.

I C: Lazuli's eyes widened in surprise at the coincidence that was before him. "Green day...? S'what I'm listening to. I like them, too." He shrugged slightly at the situation, wondering what the chances were that such a thing would happen. But he dismissed it then, as her words fell quickly from her maw in a gaggle. She did seem a bit nervous. So he smiled a bit, and said, "Yeah, it's no problem... I was just studying History." A wave of his paw dismissed this as a trivial activity, and he said, "Nice to meet you, Jabala." Calling his aqquaintances by their last names was a habit of his; he thought nothing of it and it escaped his mind without a thought. "Heh... would you rather that I called you Surania? I'm Lazuli Tsyjn, by the way. Freaking student extraordinare." With a roll of his orbs, he gesticulated towards his history book. "I hate it. Luckily, I've a free period."

Tiny pinpricks of drizzle were now beginning to filter through his thick silver pelt, and tip his skin with their tiny pewter needles. He sighed, and raked his claws through his now-damp headfur. "Speaking of..." he said, and trotted over to his book and bag. The gunmetal gray male crammed the former into the latter, and then cavorted back to Surania. She inquired as to whether or not they could go inside. He raised his eyebrows. "Sure, if you want. You don't have to ask." The morning was shaping out to be a bitter one, but he wasn't particularly chilly. "Where do you want to go? The cafeteria, or something...?" As an afterthought, he shouldered his backpack and said, "You could have my sweatshirt if you're really that cold." He clutched the soft fabric in his digits, hesitantly tugging at it, and waiting on her response.

 

The argent-furred pendragon grinned at her. "Surania it is, then. And sure, call me Laz." He was surprised that she'd turned down the sweatshirt; she seemed chilly. But he shrugged it off.

Lashing his aubergine-flamed tail, he gazed at the femme, nodding at her confirmation that they go to the cafeteria. Throwing his own bag over one shoulder, the strongly-built bipedal 'dragon walked across the yard to the walls of the school. The male glanced up at the wall, eyes flittering about the slick stone 'till he found the small clock mounted there. Good. He still had about a half-hour to spend with Surania until he had to dash through the halls to the gymnasium, where he would begin his combat classes.

Throwing out a silvery paw, he opened the door and ran through, holding it from the inside as he beckoned the tall, slim female to the interior of the Academy. It was the North Wing that they were in at the moment, the oldest bit of Janardan. The celings were close and short, and the air heavy and musty, like that of a library. Occasionally a disgruntled student would walk slowly by, their boots clunking on the floor and leaving black scuffs on the aged, always-polished wooden planks. The windows were high up; on a clear and sunny day shafts of dusty light would filter into the halls, creating a golden crisscross pattern through the hall. But today, the only source of light were oil-powered sconces burning away their fuel at five-foot intervals, between each window. The siding on the right side of the hall was also lined with machina radiators, which were, due to the chill, clanking rustily and sending out random waves of weak warmth.

The second Surania strode across the threshold, he let the door swing shut, rolling the chill off his body with his shoulders and letting in the slightly warmer air. He set off to the right immediately, towards the corridor that would lead them to the cafeteria. Checking to be sure that the female was at his side, he moved on, giving a nod here and a light shove on the shoulder there to those he knew. He recieved some of the latter; mostly the former. But many students were tired and dark, and many wore their Janardan sweatshirts with the hood up and their mitts wrapped in the fabric of the sleeves and stuffed into the kangaroo pocket.

As the two walked, Lazuli said, "What class did you just come from? It's a wicked early period. Did you have a dawn lesson?" He asked her conversationally. He opened his maw to say more, but they had come to the end of the Main North Corridor. He now took a left into the adjacent, narrower corridor. This one was much the same as the other, but student art now occasionally spotted the walls, and less students were seen walking up and down it. But every once and a while, a pupil carrying a steaming muffin or scone, or perhaps a shot of espresso in one paw, would trot by hurriedly. Laz ran his tongue along his bottom lip, thinking about a steaming cup of kyvvaa.

"And here we are," he said playfully, as they reached the narrow door to the large room. The celing was very high now, and the lights were brighter. Along with the lengthy benches, there were some armchairs over by where the kyvvaa shop was. Trotting in that direction, Lazuli quirked a finger over his shoulder in Surania's direction, beckoning her to follow. Once he reached a cushy green chair, he plunked down, looking up at Surania. "So how long have you been here?" he asked the femme, taking his wet bag off his shoulder and throwing it to the ground gratefully.

 

"So. I'm going to get some coffee. Would you like to come with, or would you like something?" He looked to Surania to find her sitting down. But her body had just touched the chair when she shot back up again. He trotted over and bent over the chair, but she had already nailed the culprit as a pin. "Stupid kids," he said, rolling his eyes. "The fourth formers do stuff like that all the time." (4th form=9-year-olds)

Lazuli nodded at Surania's answer, though he was puzzled she had ignored his other comment about his classes. Shrugging it off, he sat up and said, "Oh, so you must know tons of people. I've been here for a year now. It's been fabulous; it's nice when it's so big to meet lots of peo-ple," he said playfully. "I'm going to get my coffee now," He said a moment later, and walked toward the counter.

It in itself was not impressive: white, stained with brown kyvvaa spills. A sour-looking lunchlady was there, making drinks for some of the older students. A 12th former smiled at him as she stepped by with her newly made espresso. He flashed a grin back to her. No, it was a normal kyvvaa shop, but the difference was in the drinks. The coffee was absolutely delicious, which was quite strange for a boarding school cafeteria. But Laz wasn't complaining about the locations.

"Hey," he said to the hairnet-clad server behind the counter. She was young and pretty, with slim black glasses and a creamy brown coat. Her eyes were tilted intelligently. Still, she didn't look happy to be here. It seemed she was around 25oo; perhaps she'd just graduated. "I'll have an iced nykhu kuggokkemy with an extra shot of espresso, please, and extra creme in that. And hazelnut." As she nodded silently and turned away he looked at her and inquired, "Tria job? D'you just graduate from here?" She quirked her brows, stopping in the action of filling his cup halfway with iced coffee. She made a nearly-mute mmph noise, nodding her head twice. "There something wrong?" Laz said, cocking his head. She rolled her eyes expressively and opened her mouth to reveal a swollen, dark-pink tongue with a large silver stud through the centre. He smiled sympathetically. She nodded emphatically and closed her teeth with a snap, then went on to add ice, creme, and a shot of hazelnut syrup. Then she began the espresso maker. It quickly produced a silver-canistered shot and she poured it into the drink. That done, she added a lid to the cup and shook it; the ice clattered against the plastic sides of the cup. Lastly, she stuck a straw inside and plunked the drink on the counter. "Thanks," said Lazuli. "I hope your tongue feels better," he added with a rueful smile.

Heading back to his seat, Lazuli took a deep sip of the creamy-nutty-sharp drink, savoring the bitterness of the espresso, the chill milk, and the lovely snap of hazelnuts. "Hey," he said to Surania, sucking more coffee through the straw after the comment. "What're you going to get?"

 

<span style='width:100%;font-weight:bold; font-size:10px'>Out of Character</span>
<table class=ooc><tr><td>That's okay. And... um... post short enough?</td></tr></table>


Lazuli was, to be honest, quite taken aback by her Surania's very sudden change in demeanor. He looked up at her and cocked his head. There was sympathy in his stare. "I'm sure you do have friends," he said affirmatively, but he couldn't help but feel that he was dealing with some severe mood swings. So he kept silent for the time being, not wishing to say something he'd regret later. This was a change for him; he usually said straight out what was on his mind, and would only worry about consequences long afterwards. But somehow Surania prompted him to be gentler, more sensitive towards what she was feeling at the time. He still felt that her manner was strange and abrupt at times, though... but who's isn't, he then supposed.

I dont think I'll have anything, she'd then moped, and Laz sunk further back into his armchair, taking a deep sip of the coffee. "Oh-KAY then," he said, not meaning to be rude but rather feeling obliged to return the favor of her own abruptness. After that quick sound he said nothing for another moment, letting more of the lovely drink dribble creamily down his throat, leaving the taste of nuts to permeate his mouth. "So," he said, reiterating his previous question, "Did you have a dawn class? What other classes do you take?"