Fandom High Dormitories

Merlin was still trying his best to not be seen, even as he was there to help lead the reserve. It was a very complicated maneuver. "Hello everyone," He said, looking at a nice tree that he hadn't made a fool of himself in front of.

"We thought, in light of the---weekend---we ought to come up with a plan of what to do in case you remain normal as that happens again."

This was Karla, eyes on her feet, steadily repressing any memories she might have of leather catsuits and her 'darke Master'. "So, we're definitely going to ask anyone who did remain normal to share what they experienced," she continued, fighting off a blush. "Especially if they have tips to share."

"How did you realize that people weren't normal?" Tony asked. "I mean, sometimes it's obvious, but sometimes it's just something small that makes you notice things aren't quite right."

Merlin managed one tiny glance over at Karla and Tony and--Karla again. He couldn't seem to look away now.

"I--yes. Small things." He cleared his throat and moved not so vaguely straight for her. He hadn't never truly realized how he felt until this very moment.

Well, it was kind of hard not to acknowledge at Merlin when he was right there. Karla glanced over, experienced yet another moment of slight dizziness where it felt like the world was shifting beneath her feet, and then dazedly blinked up into his wonderful, handsome, incredibly beloved face.

"Precisely," she breathed, swaying closer to him. "The problem is, the people involved don't seem to have any idea that they're behaving in any way unnaturally. It seems perfectly sensible and logical for them to engage in whatever bizarre activities they've adopted and they have no memory of being in any way different."

Would he be willing to kiss her? Would he mind if she kissed him? Did it matter? All Karla knew was that she loved him more than anyone else in the world. Hell's fire, he was her world.

Tony gave them a funny look, then quietly slid his camera phone from his pocket. "It never hurts to get pictures or video of what's happening," he said. "For documentation purposes."

[OCD up!]

There was an army waiting to greet the members of the Magic Reserves today: an army of practice dummies from the salle, standing at perfect attention behind the refreshment table. Crepe paper had been tied around each dummy's waist, with a long streamer left hanging down their sides. More rolls of crepe paper were resting on the refreshment table.

"Hey," Tony said. "We've got a cool activity today, but before we do that, Dinah's going to tell us about her abilities." He smiled at Dinah. "And if anyone wants to volunteer for next week, let us know."

He turned to Karla. "Wanna explain the activity?"

She nodded, before turning towards thr group. "Today, we're going to focus on the possibility that one day, we'll have to rescue prisoners and hostages from an invading enemy force," Karla said, giving everyone a cheerful smile. "While every step of an operation like that is difficult and fraught with danger, one of the most common mistakes people make is that assuming once they've freed their comrades, the hard part is over. Not only is that wrong, but it's the kind of thinking that can get people recaptured or even killed."

It was hard thinking like this in the face of enemies like carnivorous vegetables, but they had to be prepared.

Merlin shot her a slightly nervous smile as he stepped forward to add, "To keep that sort of thing from happening, we'll be running a practice at escaping with the dummies." The lovely, lovely dummies. "Whomever you are rescuing may be able to move on their own should this actually happen, but for this case we will assume the worst and they will be unable to walk for whatever reason. Which should make it--um--interesting to accomplish without being caught again."

"This is how it's going to work," Karla said, picking up the thread again. "Your dummy is your friend. Get him from one side of the Preserve to the other without him 'dying.'" She tugged on one of the crepe streamers attached to a dummy. "This is his 'life.' If this gets ripped off, your dummy is dead. Everyone who participates will also tie a streamer around their waist and the same rules apply. If your streamer is torn, you die and are 'out' for the rest of the round."

"Either singly or in pairs, people are going to try to rescue the dummies. Everyone who is not rescuing the dummy is a bad guy and will do their level best to stop the rescuers from getting back to their base. Rescuers can use whatever magic in their arsenal to keep their ward safe and to fight off attackers. Bad guys, you can't use magic--you've got numbers on your side. Feel free to use physical attacks all you want--but let's all be careful, okay? No clinic visits if we can avoid them."

"If you want to be a rescuer, but aren't comfortable using your power on other people, just let us know. We'll be happy to animate a few of these extra dummies to act as your antagonists. However, in that case, we'd be able to use magic on the bad guys' behalf, since there's no way they'd actually be able to actually fight you."

"If you have any questions before we begin, don't hesitate to ask, okay?"

[OCD up!]

There was considerably less excitement and enthusiasm from Karla today. The dark circles under her eyes and the way she was clutching her mug of coffee for dear life might have suggested one reason for her subdued nature. She was also a little put out by the reports of napping on the radio. It didn’t seem fair that other people could just fall asleep at the drop of a hat, while the one time she’d closed her eyes, she’d had a dream so horrifying that she couldn’t fall back asleep. Looking gloomily out at the folks who’d shown up today, Karla really wished that she’d had a chance to nap before the Reserves started. Merlin also looked as if he hadn’t been sleeping well. He seemed distracted, though he had plenty of energy to twitch and fidget.

“Hey, everyone, thanks for coming,” she said when the mingling and grabbing of snacks came to a natural lull. She wasn’t really up for shouting over folks today. “So, our meeting today is going to be a little different than what we’re used to. Rather than practice a skill or something, we’re going to sit in a circle and talk about our feelings.” That got a ghost of a smile out of her, especially as she glanced at Arthur if he is there. “Since Monday evening, some folks around Fandom have been having odd feelings. Not Hormone-Week feelings, thank the Darkness, but kind of creepy, ominous feelings. Some people have compared it to feeling like a storm is coming. I myself compared it to feeling like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Ordinarily, most people would dismiss feelings like that out of hand. But we’re not most people. We’re the Magic Reserves. Dreams and feelings and portents mean a bit more to us than to the normal person. And while it’s possible that the weird breakfast thingies falling from the sky” Pop Tarts still didn’t deserve the title of pastry “just has us all on edge from the sugar overload, I don’t think so.”

She’d paused to give Merlin a chance to say something, but he was still fiddling with his tea cup, eyes firmly fixed on Arthur. So she took another long sip of her coffee and continued. “Even if you’ve never had a precognitive dream or episode or ‘funny feeling’ before, that doesn’t discount you now. I’m sure I don’t have to tell any of you that Fandom is a funny place.” She gave them all a wry grin. “It could be awakening powers that have been dormant within you all along. Or it might kindly be giving us all a head’s up before it unleashes something upon us. The important thing is not to discount anything. We don’t know what we’re up against, but hopefully by talking things through, we’ll get a better idea of the big picture.”

“So today, let’s talk. First, we can share any odd dreams we’ve had in the past few days, especially any dreams that were exceptionally vivid or real-feeling. Dreams that didn’t feel like dreams. Also, any visions you might have had or even just vague feelings. Just remember, you don’t have to share if you aren’t comfortable doing so. Dreams, visions, and feelings are awfully personal. But if you have anything you think might be related to whatever-this-is, I urge you to speak up.”

“Secondly, if we do assume that something bad is on the way, what can we do to prepare? Are there magical items we should stockpile to make your spell-casting easier? Are there ways we can protect the dorms, the school, the town? Is there some kind of signal we can use to alert everyone? Acknowledging that we don’t know what kind of threat we’re facing—if any at all—let’s brainstorm ways that we can be as effective as possible when it comes to protecting our own.”

[OCD coming up]

Karla was feeling moody. Maybe it was knowing that shes was moving out of that cabins and back to the dorms with a roommate she didn't know. Maybe it was homesickness, stirred by her booth at the Multi-Cultural Fair. Maybe it was knowing this next week was going to be filled with a lot of anxiety that few people could actually know about. Whatever it was, she was a mess of different emotions, most of them unpleasant.

And so, she did what any Kaeleeran Queen would do: she found a garden and started working on it. Queens needed a connection with the land; it soothed them, help them think, and, in return, they made the land healthier and stronger. It was a nice trade-off.

Today, however, Karla wasn't concerned about making the land better. She just wanted somewhere peaceful to work while she sorted through her odd jumble of emotions. So she spent the afternoon weeding, thinning, watering, and just basically getting good and mucky.


[Establishy but open]