EVENT: Snowed In

[the_npcdo]

[Early Monday afternoon, the snow starts. At first, a charming novelty glimpsed through the classroom windows, but within minutes it becomes a veritable blizzard. Any classes being held outside are urged to bring themselves inside. Within half an hour, the power's cut out and the snow is piled high enough to make entry/exit from the buildings difficult. Within an hour, it's impossible. Snow is piled halfway up the first floor windows, and most of the doors have frozen shut. The second story windows seem to be working just fine, though, as are any rooftop access doors.]

[The blizzard finally calms down, but students and faculty are trapped inside--or outside, if they managed to be on the wrong side of the doors during the storm. The power's out and the cold is starting to seep in through the insulation. Worse, there seems to be some kind of unseen presence in the buildings, an eerie cackle echoing through the empty halls or an unsettling sense that you're not alone.]

[Someone's going to have to restart the generator before we end up with a school full of studentcicles. It wouldn't hurt to clear some pathways out of the buildings, either.]

Comments

[losingherhead]

[Celty isn't typically a nervous person. Except around humans. And authority. Okay, St. Augustus is a nervous place for her sometimes. But she's certainly not afraid of the dark. The darkness is comforting and she thrives in it.

But now there's spooky cackling laughter going on. And that's no fun at all. So she's done the sensible thing and has removed her helmet to examine the hallway carefully. Her smoke floats from her stump, helping her get a good sense for anything strange out and about. It also handily wraps her arms and legs a little. With all cold it is out, you need to stay warm.

Surely a headless student covered in smoke in the halls will attract no alarm, everything is fine.]

[partyhats]

[ Oh, a late snowstorm. Quaint. Or is this late here? Lissa doesn't know the climate.

Oh, it's snowing really hard.

...oh they're trapped. Lissa's in one of her awesome new magical classes but she's pretty sure she'll just hurt something if she tries to use fire magic on this snow, if she can even make it work, so she just ends up with her face on her desk, muttering things about how this just.

Is the worst. ]

...cold...

[ofsevenseas]

[He hid a smirk as Duncan turned around and dismissed them anyways. If pressed, he'll claim seniority.]

And moving will keep you warm.

[Sinbad knows there's a day when they're reduced to half staff - he just never bothered to remember which day, hopefully it's not today. Or that they're stuck somewhere]

Stick close, the air around me when I'm like this will be less biting.

[inchesofevil]

Thank God for that.

[Duncan steps out into the hallway after him and immediately spazzes out and ducks back into the classroom] Jesus fuckin'--

[okay, breathe Duncan. It's just dark in the hallway because there aren't any fucking windows in it. It's dark, but it's not The Dark, you can do this.]

[he rifles through his pockets and digs out a mini-flashlight, switching it on before stepping out into the hallway again. you don't spend five years deathly afraid of the dark without learning to carry a light around.]

Okay. I'm good. Let's go.

[sounds like he's trying to convince himself more than Sinbad though]

[clockworkheals]

[The moment that power flickers off, Tsukiko actually goes into action. The library may be large, but thankfully, it's not difficult for anyone to hear her voice in there.]

We seem to be having some trouble. While I can't force anyone to stay in here, I would prefer it if you do. I have some blankets stored away.

Anyone who wants to stay here can wait by my desk. I'll be back in a moment.

[After which she disappears into a back room, before dragging out a...fair number of blankets and pillows. As well as a bunsen burner, and a backpack full of supplies to make tea.]

[infinitejustice]

OW!

[Well, one of those books managed a lucky hit -- square in the face. That's enough to knock Athrun over, too. Clutching his face with one hand, he feels around for what hit him.]

...Is this a textbook? Did someone just throw a textbook at me?

[This time, the voice sounds exasperated.]

[diethedesu]

[This was well outside the climate parameters in this part of the country. Combined with the classic signs of a haunting, can only indicate one thing:]

Somebody is meddling. We'll need to investigate.

[She says this to whoever happens to be around, honestly, although most likely to her fellow students, as Monday afternoon she'd still be in class. She doesn't really care who her audience is, since in her opinion it's a job for all the students.]

However, there are other things that need to be done first.

[Dlanor can be seen around the main buildings doing her usual super-responsible act, attempting to open doors for trapped students and trying to find someone who knows where the generator is - sadly, that information was not in the student handbook.]

[diethedesu]

...I was listening.

[But that's not important right now.]

Everyone please stay calm. Power should be restored shortly.

[diethedesu]

[Dlanor saw movement out through a window through the snow as she was running around attempting to help other students, and made her way to the door it appeared to be heading toward.]

[Time would tell whether it was actually a trapped student or some other weird thing, but she was prepared for either.]

[thirdtenkaistar]

[Thomas starts as he's ran into, his arms jutting out, widmilling to keep his balance and ended up grabbing whatever it is nearby in a failed attempt to feel from falling over completely]

Who....whoa!

[hair_guitar]

[Ellen hits the floor with another shriek but she's quick to scramble up to at least a sitting position, ready and able to bolt. But to where? Back the other way is where all that horrible laughing is happening and right in front of her is some terrible, chain-rattling--

-- that moment of indecision is enough to get her to stop and think here. Because... ghosts don't say "ow".]

Um....

[The voice that answers back is a little shaky and small because she's still gasping for breath from her run and the rush of adrenaline, but still probably one Athrun can recognize. She gulps, really hoping this isn't the part of the story when she gets eaten alive.]

Wh-who's... th-there?

[hair_guitar]

[Ellen does not thrive in the dark. She does not thrive in it at all. Normally, she can keep her composure but definitely, definitely not when there's scary laughter echoing all around her and nobody in sight.

Except... no, wait! There's somebody now! She quickly starts running toward the new person. Finally, she doesn't have to wander these spooky halls all by herself anymore!]

Hey--!

[Her words catch in her throat just as quickly as she goes stock still, staring as every last speck of color drains from her face. There's... there's no head at all. Nothing but a stump with thick black smoke pouring out of it. No... head....]

[The scream that followed could accurately be said to have shaken the walls of the Academy. Whatever Celty does next, Ellen's already on the move, having picked a direction and fled all while shrieking.]

THE HEAD IS MISSING! IT DOESN'T HAVE A HEAD! THERE'S NO HEEEEEEEEAAAAAD!

[starlightheart]

[All things considered, this really isn't the best time for gym classes, or combat practice. As such, Nanoha is tending towards helping with more practical classes.

It's not hard to notice the way this girl is taking the situation, either. She might be strict in some areas, but... she can't let something like this be unattended to, either.

As such, she'll eventually find Nanoha trying to drape a blanket over her shoulders from behind.]

Well, we can't let you just freeze then now, can we?

[partyhats]

[ This sucks. Lissa doesn't really like the cold, and while this is manageable, it's only... just.

Still, she's surprised enough to jump a little when someone puts a blanket over her, nearly knocking it off before she grabs at it to pull it over her shoulders. ]

U-uh thank you very much! And no. You can't let me freeze.

[losingherhead]

[Hm? Celty turns as she spots the running figure out of the corner of her... smoke. Is that another student? She does seem vaguely familiar. Maybe they could work together to find whatever that noise is coming from.

She lifts her hand up to wave to the girl politely before noticing the shock on her face. A tinge of unease rises in her stomach.

SHIT. SHIT. SHE SCREWED UP SO BAD. She immediately starts racing after Ellen. Maybe she can do some damage control and make sure not too many people find out about this?]

[soundslikehighmay]

"'It's not far' I said. 'I don't need my HEAVY jacket' I said. 'I should get used to the cold' I said."

Jaime tugged futilely on the door to the school as the snow came down in drifts around him. He was already shivering, and could feel his fingers going numb, which was probably a bad sign. Also concerning was the buzzing in his head. The scarab was getting better at using words, but it was still difficult to follow.

Immoderately inclement encompassment for homo sapiens. Exingency of dissolution!

"What does that even mean?"

Exingency of dissolution!

"Use less stupid words.

Death!

"I'm not gonna die!"

Enacting to maintain optimal viability of host status!

"Wai-"

Then there was a flurry of motion as Jaime was devoured by some manner of black and blue force. When it finished, a strange looking creature in his place. It looked down at its hands in alarm.

"NOW you decide to work. At least I'm not cold any more."

[worldcup]

Okay.

[ Her voice sounds tiny and worried, but nonetheless hopeful that he'll be able to help as quickly as possible. She is shivering a little, though. ]

[tsunderbolting]

[ Just great. First there was a power outage that wasn't her fault and now there's a snowstorm. Although class is dismissed for the rest of the day because of it, that does not mean that she is going to stand by idly while everyone else goes up in a panic. That isn't like her. Sure, she may only be in 9th grade, but that did not mean that she couldn't make herself useful.

Especially due to the fact that she's an electromaster.

This was just staining her poor name, and she was going to find out exactly who did it.

People who pass by might notice the young girl with a working flashlight wandering around the halls, looking left and right as if searching for something. Whether or not she's actually searching for something... well. You might just want to ask her directly. ]

[tsunderbolting]

[ That sure was a thing that happened. And Mikoto swears that it was not her fault for the power outage. This time, at least. But before anybody can go blame her for that, she's just going to.

Attempt to sneak out of the classroom.

Very discreetly as she gets to the door before looking over her shoulder and saying in a sweet tone - somewhat sarcastic, somewhat worried, sounding a little guilty even though she didn't do it: ]

You know what? Since there's a blackout and all, I guess we can't— y'know. Have class. So I'm just going to just leave now if that's okay with you.

[ Or at least try..... ]

[tsunderbolting]

Let's see, the generators should be somewhere around here...

[ There seems to be a young girl with a flashlight pressing her hand against the wall with a curious hum. She seems to be talking to herself more than anything, but at least she seems to be doing something useful?

Not that she's noticed Dlanor. ]

[inchesofevil]

[god, he can almost feel the cold seeping in already. slithering in under the windows, clawing its way into the room... it's not actually cold in here yet, the temperature hasn't dropped that far, but the anticipation, knowing it's going to happen, that's almost worse.]

[so he's kind of doing the deer-in-headlights stare at the snow outside the windows and doesn't even notice one of his students trying to sneak off until she speaks up.]

[at which point he spins around and points her back to her desk]

Absolutely fucking not, sit your ass back down.

[he's not angry, that's just...how he always talks... the most professional]

During my classtime, I am responsible for your safety, and there is no way I am letting you out in that.

[tsunderbolting]

[ She has absolutely no words for this, because she is not sure if she should snap back at him or comply, but she's leaning towards the latter, if only because she's a good student.

Ha, ha, Mikoto being a good student. . . Okay, admittedly she's somewhat of a jerk, but she means well! Honest!

But she will slink back to her desk with a disapproving grunt, sitting back at her desk as she crosses her legs. ]

So what, are you still going to teach while the lights're still out? I wouldn't highly recommend it, you know. [ Mikoto's basically asking what they're going to do in the meantime while this is happening. ]

[worldcup]

"Oh!" There's a surprised look in her eyes as Illya decided to wander the halls. Now that she's in her winter coats, she isn't as freezing as she was before. But the temperature was steadily decreasing at a fast rate, which, for her, was bad.

Very bad.

Very very bad.

Not that she would show it on her face as she beamed at his transformation. "Looks like you finally got it to work, onii-chan."

[worldcup]

[ Usually it's in bad taste to prank someone while there's something strange going on, but she can't help it. This is just too easy... ]

Boo.

[cant_breathe_no_heir]

[Okay, okay. Equius had just punched through quite a bit of snow. He was tired, and cold, and was this close to getting back inside the school, where he would obviously be safe from the snow storm he unfortunately found himself in.

And then he spotted the doors opening, and students poured out. They were coming in his direction.

Naturally, he had no idea what was going on.]

...What.