Bellboy of the Gods |
Summary: | Loukanos meets CS's newest arrival. |
Date: | IC Date (2018-03-13) |
Related: | Related Logs (Say None if there aren't any; don't leave blank. You have to use full URLs, like http://coralsprings.wikidot.com/logtitle) |
NPCs: | Players go below, other chars that deserve mention can be listed here |
Scene Runner: | Who ran this scene, NA if no-one or mutual |
This old Georgian/Colonial mansion is in a current state of repair. Being structurally sound, it's not at it's former prettiness….yet.. New paint helps, but anyone that knows houses can see it's still in desperate need of a new roof.
The grounds have recently been serviced. Nothing fancy, but the grass is cut, weeds have been pulled and the trees are not growing wild any longer., Large trees are sprinkled around the 13-acre estate. The backyard is expansive, an overgrown garden with paths that have been long covered up and statues that have claimed by vines. Seems the gardener has not gotten to the backyard just yet. The entire estate is surrounded by a wrought iron fence. A pea-gravel driveway leads to a newer garage building.
A standard yellow cab pulls off the nearby interstate and comes to a stop in front of the mansion. Inside the cab is the driver who appears to be a man of Pakistani nationality. He looks back to the young teenager boy sitting in the back seat. "Here the place." The driver gets out and heads to the back of the cab to open the trunk. He pulls out a rolling suitcase that has a bit of wear and tear on it. He places a small duffle bag on the suitcase just as the teenager climbs out of the back seat. The teen holds his hand up to the sky for a bit before heading to the back to collect his luggage. The teen asks, "Do I, uh, owe anything?" The driver shakes his head and says, "No. All prepaid." Then without another word, the driver gets in the car and drives off leaving the young lad standing there. He watches the cab drive off before turning to look at the mansion with a slight sigh. He grabs his luggage and starts to head towards the mansion. He struggles to get to the door and then works even harder to get inside.
It has been snowing relentlessly for the past few days. So much so that without divine intervention, the front of the school would be nigh impossible to traverse through. Fortunately, the gods are on the student body's side. One of them, anyway.
A golden-haired teenage boy stands in the driveway of the Winberry Estate, eyes closed and lips moving as soft chants of an ancient tongue leave them. Whatever he's doing…it's working. Despite all the snow, it feels like a warm spring day here at the moment. The golden boy wears a yellow sweater. It probably means nothing to a newcomer, but it marks him as a Guardian of Prometheus.
He opens his eyes to regard the incoming student, and his mouth spreads into a pleasant smile, "Do you require assistance?"
Bryce looks like he barely weighs more than the luggage that he is trying to lug along. He wonders if that is where the word luggage came from. Lugging heavy stuff around for what seems like an entire age. He stops to look at the smiling youth and nods his head. He looks up at him and says, "Um, yes, please. That would be - er - helpful." He realizes that the person who is offering to help would, of course, be helpful so his tone dropped a bit when he said that last word. "Sorry. I'm rather, um, new, but I guess that is sort of obvious." He pauses for a moment and then hesitantly adds, "Oh, I'm Bryce." He seems to purposefully not say his last name.
"Loukanos," The youth introduces himself and hefts the luggage up in front of him. If it's less than a ton, he shows no sign of struggle. "Don't worry about it. I exist to help others," For the most part, he speaks English perfectly, though there is a faint accent that refines his words. "New? We seem to be getting quite a few new students recently. I suppose that is not entirely unusual, considering the school's purposes."
Considering, Lou adds, "You have come upon the school at a bad moment. It is lacking power at the moment. I believe it is being sustained by generators," He sounds uncertain. Modern technology often alludes him. "It is dark. And a little colder than usual," Notably, when his chant dies down, the temperature drops as well.
Bryce nods his head trying to remember the things he was taught about politeness as a child. "Pl-pleased to meet you." He looks a bit surprised when Loukanos picked up his luggage like it was a feather. He blinks looking at his hand holding the luggage. He knew he was weak, but he didn't know he was that weak. Finally looking back up at him, he says, "Oh, I didn't mean to come at a bad time." He looks back at the interstate wondering if he should go, but the cab left and his mom wouldn't be too happy about it. He crosses his arms over his chest as though preparing for the cold. "What happened to the power?"
"My strength is naturally enhanced," Loukanos explains, catching the look Bryce gives him. "I am stronger than your world's 'Olympians'," He chuckles, referring to Olympic athletes. He'd never seriously compare himself to the gods. That usually ends in someone getting turned into stone or an undesirable animal against their will.
"The snow. In fact, you are perhaps more lucky than most. This means no classes," He winks and starts to head into the school. "The weather here is remarkably inconsistent. I wonder if that is normal for the area or if Mother is upset about something." He frowns then. "Kore will return to her soon enough. I have no idea what she could be angry about."
Bryce mouths the word 'oh' when Loukanos explains about his strength. "I am on the other end of the spectrum it would seem." He glances down for a moment. When he mentions classes being out, Bryce says, "I'm, I'm not sure what to think about classes. I've never actually gone to a school before." He then realizes how bad that can sound so he tries to quickly add a qualification "I had private tutors." He then wonders if that sounded any better.
He glances towards the dark school building and then back to Loukanos, "Your mother? What does your mother have to do with the weather?" He also wonders why the teen said 'your world,' but he doesn't want to ask too many questions. His dad often got angry with his overly inquisitive nature.
"S'okay. Supernatural strength is a pretty boring power, anyway," Loukanos tries for an encouraging smile. "Eh. I never went to school before this, either. It's not terribly uncommon. We get folks from all corners here." He tilts his head. "Private tutors? I guess my education was private…frankly, I never received a formal one."
As for his mother, Louk gives a rueful smile. This is where things often get complicated. He tries a different approach this time, "Mother's moods affect the weather. When she is happy, it shows in the beaming sun and fertile crops. When she is upset, well, snow storms, famine, drought. Anything that gets rid of crops." He enters the building. "I am glad I have the honor of being the first person to welcome you to Coral Springs!"
Bryce is a bit surprised hearing about his mother's moods. "But I thought that… " He cuts himself off. He shouldn't be so quick to make decisions and judge things based on the science he has been taught so far. It isn't like science can define or even fully describe what he does. "I mean, who is your mom? Do you get to see her?" It seems the topic of 'mom' is close to his heart.
He then nods his head at the welcome and says, "Thanks. I hope it isn't always this cold." Being so close to water made things seem colder. As for powers, he says, "Your powers make you stronger? That's, well, cool. Mine seems to do the opposite."
Well, a direct question sorta ruins what Loukanos was going for. Avoiding naming his mother is one thing, but lying about her or hiding her? Louk could never. That would be to deny her glory. "Demeter," He says simply. "I can see her sometimes. It has been a few months since I last visited her. I think…right before the attack on the original school?" The topic hits him hard as well. His smile wavers a bit, sadden by the conversation.
He quickly shakes it off, and suddenly the smile is back times ten. "You get weaker? That's curious. Surely, there is some tradeoff." He looks at the luggage in his arms and sets it down. "If it's alright, I will carry this to your dorm once you are ready." Since the other boy struggles. "May I ask what team you joined, if any?"
"Demeter?" Bryce thinks for a moment and says, "I think I read a book about someone named that before." He closes his eyes for a moment and starts speaking in such a way that sounds like he is reading something. "Demeter, from Ancient Greek religion and mythology, goddess of harvest and agriculture. Titles include Sito, Thesmophoros. Daughter is Persephone." He suddenly stops talking and opens his eyes. "Oh, sorry. I do that sometimes."
When he offers to carry his luggage, he says, "That's great because I don't even know where the dorm is. I've read about the teams, but I didn't really have a chance to decide. It seemed like a good idea to me to come and see more details about the teams before I join. As for the tradeoff," Bryce shrugs a bit and says, "I guess it is my mind. It can … do things."
Loukanos frowns when Bryce seems unfamiliar with his mother because HOW CAN SOMEONE NOT KNOW DEMETER?? "Yes, her. She can manipulate the weather. To a lesser degree than Zeus, of course," Of course. He nods, lips quirking in a quizzical smile. "It's not a problem. But what exactly did you just do there?" It's like the other boy read straight off of Wikipedia.
"The Boy's Hall is upstairs," He gestures to the large staircase leading to the dorms. "I will show you." He's feeling especially obliging today! "That is prudent. The teams are not so important, though. They decide where you will be sleeping, but intermingling between teams is encouraged. Expected, really. I am a Guardian of Prometheus." So that explains why he's so helpful. He tilts his head and grins, "We can all do things with our minds. That is the gods' greatest gift to mankind: consciousness," He chuckles. "I assume you are referring to some kind of psychic power?"
"Thank you for your help," Bryce says sound quite sincere. "I'm not sure how I would have gotten those things up the stairs." He then goes on to explain, "One of the benefits of my mind is that I, well, remember stuff. A lot of stuff. If I read it, I can pretty much recall it." He shrugs. "It is supposed to get stronger as I age."
Bryce then nods when asked about psychic power. "I can use my mind to, um, create stuff. Well, technically I'm not really that good at it. I just started trying to work on them and was sent here to learn." He then lifts his hand up towards his head as a circlet of silver around his head lights up. A beam of thin purple light emerges slowly from his forehead and stretches several feet from his head. After some time and with a lot of focus, that thin beam of light becomes a sword that looks almost like a katana.
"Ah, so like, um, eidetic memory?" Loukanos nods. "That one is new. I don't think I have encountered an ability like that within the school yet." He offers an encouraging smile and watches the display of powers with clear interest. "Remarkable," He grins. "And that comes from your mind? The constructs I make are mystically created."
Bryce nods. The encouraging smile seems to have an effect as does the interest. Bryce seems a bit more excited about talking about the powers. "Sort of. It's not fully eidetic yet, but that is the thought. In time. Well, if it doesn't, um, kill me first." He shrugs a bit and starts to withdraw some more. "And the constructs are created from my psychic energy. I have tried making other stuff, but can't do too much yet. You make stuff too?"
"I do," Loukanos smiles and wisps of gentle gold, vibrant blue, and bright white converge around the entrance foyer, solidifying and turning into various animals of Earth. Several birds take flight around them, a couple of foxes skulk by, and a few snakes slither at their feet…there's a lion in the corner as well. They are vaguely in the shape of the creatures they represent. The larger the animal, the vaguer the resemblance, but all of them, regardless of the animal's natural coloring, are white with blue eyes and golden streaks.
"I create life," He giggles as a colony of ethereal butterflies weave through them. "I am not the only one. A boy here has psychic spiders, and Ashton has magical ones." He sobers up once the butterflies are gone and not tickling him. "Kill you?" A dove lands on his shoulder. Concern is clear in those big, blue eyes. "What do you mean? Mayhaps whatever is afflicting you can be healed through magic."
Bryce stops talking and ends up looking around him. The katana fades into a purple haze and disappears altogether. "Amazing. I can't even imagine doing anything like that." He is silent for a few moments. He reaches out and starts to touch one of them but stops him from doing so. He then glances back at the teen when he mentions what others can do. "Maybe learning how you and the others make yours will help me make mine better. The more detailed I try to make mine, the harder it is."
Then the issue of killing him. "I don't know. My father spent most of my life trying to keep it from killing me. Apparently the stronger my mind gets, the weaker my body gets. It is possible that at some point, my body won't be able to handle my brain anymore. In fact, it almost already happened before."
"There are usually not so many," Loukanos looks around him, his face beaming with pride. "Potentially. From what I have gathered, Theo's spiders are not really constructed. They are just there. Ashton's magic works differently." He shrugs. "If they cannot help you, I will do my very best to. These creatures are divinely created, not psychically, so it may be a little different."
"Hm," He listens intently, stepping forward. The creature that Bryce reached out starts to drift towards Louk and suddenly reverts to its wisps form. "I will have to think on a permanent solution to something like that. It sounds like an awful curse, to lose your body as you gain your mind." The wisps buddle in the golden-haired boy's hand and he holds it near Bryce's arm. "They are also capable of temporarily increasing the physical attributes of another person. May I?"
That idea seems to make Bryce a little more worried. "Um, maybe not just yet. I, I should probably find my room and put my stuff away. It, it was a long drive to get here." He does look at the wisp and asks, "Is it, well," He shakes his head. "Never mind. I shouldn't ask everything all at once."
Loukanos nods. The divine animals and the wisps dissipate from existence. "I did not mean to overwhelm you," He hefts the luggage over his shoulder and begins to move towards the staircase. "Follow me, Bryce. Your room is right this way." Apparently, the godling has become a bellboy. How humbling!
(feel free to tag the log with character names of those involved!)