Dormitory Lounge

[kaisan]

A blinding flash of light suddenly appeared before Hitomi.

The next moment, she couldn't see. Her vision went completely white, her head aching from squinting her eyes.

What... just happened...

Then, her vision begins to clear. She could barely make out the outline of a man, and a large one at that.

She heard him speak. "Don't you dare do anything to her, I know what you are, especially you, vampire. The full moon is not yet out, and yet you already thirst for blood?"

Hitomi wanted to speak, but from the man's figure and his tone she had a feeling that he'd be picking a fight. A wrong word could mess things up. She did not like this.

And so she turned around and fled into the wall, shifting into her ghostly form.

[Phagetthree]

The other unliving one had fled.

This one, however, seemed very resilient to his exorcism spells.

Pureblood? Father did mention that once, needs at least seven high leveled paladins or archpriests with a ward to take one down. For the more senior ones that is, a highly skilled and experienced veteran could take a younger one like this one. But... I'm merely an aspirant.

Frederick relaxed his stance, partially due to the hidden command in her speech.

"I understand what you mean, and I apologise if I have reacted rashly. You see, the village near my home and many others are being constantly attacked by cowardly vampires who prey on the old and weak, and so that was my first instinct."

He did not leave yet, though. Lingering doubts remained, a lifetime of indoctrination and training to be a paladin taught one to always seek the truth and justice.

He helped Nimue to her feet. And turned back to Lucetia.

"Perhaps you can explain more of this to me, then. More than a thousand years of vampire hunting and whatnot within the Order cannot be proven wrong by one incident."

[ponpokorin]

Everything was a blur after that. Nimue felt herself being helped to her feet by someone, and somebody asking if she was alright, before suddenly there was a bright flash of light and abruptly there was nothing to support Nimue, and she fell back into a sitting position like a rag doll, hitting her head against the wall.

"Oww..." Nimue curled up, clutching her head. Her head throbbed and spun.

She sat like that for a while, eyes shut tight, wishing the pain to go away, until someone tried to help her to her feet again. And succeeded.

Nimue slowly opened her eyes, unwilling to expose herself to another bright flash of light. Her legs were shaking badly. Noticing how the large teenager who had helped her to her feet had turned to talk to someone else, Nimue uttered a quick, high-pitched "Thank You" and staggered into the room, hand pressed against the wall for support.

Nimue took a roundabout route to the counter, following the walls. Each step was laboured, and her breath was shallow and fast. She had a sensation of something closing in around her chest, and knew she had to hurry. Thrusting herself forward at an increased rate, she charged for a seat at the counter, and climbed on just as the asthma attack took hold of her.

"Hkk!" Nimue clutched her chest as she dug in her pocket for her inhaler. Popping the cap with practiced ease, she held it to her mouth and shot three quick squirts in. As she began to breathe in the gas, the constriction eased itself, and Nimue could feel her breath return to normal.

Once she had recovered, she looked at the guy behind the counter, and said "Can I have some hot chocolate? Preferably in a big, ceramic or porcelain mug."

[Kim Kwan-Jang]

After the elevator doors opened, Sou slowly made her way towards the lounge. The door was left open by some previous student, causing waves of cold air to stream from inside the room. As she entered the lounge, she made sure to close the door behind her.

Just in front of her were two older girls in each others' arms. The shorter of the two stared at Sou briefly before holding the other girl even more tightly.

Sou steered out of the way and headed towards the buffet spread at one corner of the room.

The selection of food was certainly impressive. Rice, noodle, meat, vegetables, fish... However, Sou only picked up a plate of salad and sat down at a table nearby.

As she slowly poked the salad with a fork, she looked around the room. The bar had only a few seated, with some others sitting on the floor in front. At the other side of the room was a lone youth tucking into his food.

Sou said nothing and started to nibble on the salad.

[Kim Kwan-Jang]

Mao was getting slightly annoyed.

Alcohol consumption in school? That was unheard of in the past one year she was here. Not to mention the people coming and leaving noisily, sometimes even without finishing their food.

Don't they know the concept of harmony and consideration? Mao fumed quietly.

Mao had of course already cleaned off her kebab, and was now swirling her glass of prune juice somewhat violently, to the point where its contents might spill over any moment. At the same time, she kept looking towards the direction of the door.

Each year the quality of freshmen worsens, a senior had once told her. Last year she had dismissed it as mere opinion, but now it starts to look more and more like the truth.

Great, they're now carrying someone over to the bar. What did they do to her?

She took a sip. What annoys me most, she thought, is not the rowdy freshies.

Where the heck is Yoon?

Just at this moment, the door swung open widely.

She perked up, emptied her glass and placed it on the bartop hastily.

"Yooonnnnnnnn!" She shouted as she tackled the tall girl at the entrance, making sure she was leaning forward to compensate for the insufficient height difference.

Her face went spot on into the other girl's chest.

"Yoon." Mao looked up to face her, "why are you late?"

The other girl did not seem to mind this act, and replied with a smile, "There was this really enthusiastic customer who kept wanting to play Rock Paper Scissors with all of us, so I was delayed.."

Mao clung tightly on Yoon-Joo. "I don't care, I want to sleep in your room tonight."

"Sure, sure," she replied, "I'll always welcome you."

At this time, Mao noticed another girl entering the lounge. Shoo, what are you looking at. Mao tried to convey such desire to be left alone with Yoon-Joo through a long, heavy stare.

The girl, who looks to be a freshman as well, got the message. She stepped aside and headed for the buffet.

Mao tightened her hug. "Shall I get anything for you to eat."

"Ah, the cafe was kind enough to treat us to dinner, due to the unexpected overtime." Yoon-Joo smiled again, "Let's go upstairs now."

"Yoon," Mao said, "stay like this for a while longer, alright?"

Yoon-Joo nodded and stood in place.

[ivankira]

First, there was a small crash near the entrance of the lounge, just after the odd pair of males left.
Then, the girl in white, with the white top hat suddenly disappeared from her chair.

Woah...? So... Fast...?

And before he knew it, the slightly translucent girl was beside the white-girl, taking care of the slightly hurt, frail girl.

Well, they don't seem to be all that hostile-

Out of the blue, blinding white light flooded into his eyes.

"Inducto prescillintas Bane reductus sovito!"

"Inducto aesirinto sterreras ho!"

A deep male voice sounded.

But as soon as a girl's voice, saying "Stand down" with a huge aura of command and order, the white light seemed to literally stand down.

Bahh....

His eyes turned yellow, his pupils became like a slit. Shichi mutated his eyes to that of a cat's, such that they would be easily adaptable to any light intensity.
And he was glad that he did that, for in the next moment, the room became very dim. That menacing girl's voice sounded again, it seemed to be rather furious and was defending her pride and simple reasons to help the girl. Her eyes, were glowing bright red, like two red stars in the darkest of all nights.

He could see, that their positions had all switched. The two girls were forced slightly away from the frail girl resting on the bar seat, and in between them, was the huge dude, with some weapon of sort he saw earlier leaving the lounge.

As he watched all of these happening, he easily wolfed down his food, cleared his plate and wiped his mouth with some tissue provided on the table.

He was about to participate and settle the commotion, when it simply settled by itself, and the not-so-opaque girl disappeared.

Good grief...

He sat in his chair for a while, continuing to observe the surroundings. Another girl that he had not noticed earlier seemed to be fuming as something... But he could not tell. She seemed to be a year two.

Soon after, two girls entered the lounge, the year two girl rushed to the taller of the two girls, and seemed to glare at the shorter year one.

The two year two girls then seemed to be engaging in some form of private conversation that he didn't want to know of.

Les....? Meh, none of my concern...

Meanwhile, the other year one girl went over to sit at the other side of the longue.

Shichi could not stand being just a "watcher" and doing nothing, he stood up and made his way to the white girl still on the floor, at the same time, reversing the mutation in his eyes.

"Hey, maybe you two can talk about this some other time? I suppose that this young lady here needs some rest for now."

He told the pair as he stretched out his right hand to the girl and squatted slightly, with a gentle and reassuring voice.

[Carillus]

Lucetia was rather tired. After a good meal, and an exertion like that, she really did want to sleep. Plus, the blood pills were taking effect - taking so many in one night meant extra drowsiness.

How her mother had managed to spread the red mist over an entire country and still be in tip-top condition was a mystery to her. Maybe her thaumaturgical crest was not yet completed - it would take several more moons, she guessed.

But there were questions, and they warranted answers. She took the hand of the ordinary-looking lad and stood up, brushing herself off slightly. Her eyes were now a dull, deep shade of crimson.

"Thank you, but no thank you. I'll finish this conversation first."

She bowed slightly to the young man. Manners first, above all else.

"Your Order is of course not wrong in their vampire hunting. In fact, we vampires are hunting them too. But I guess you have not yet reached the part of your curriculum where you are taught the differences between vampires.

There are two different types of vampire. My kind is a natural-occurring kind, a result of evolution. The species homo sapiens haemos. Our kind are genetically evolved, and share weak affiliation with the other kind of vampire. Thus the traits of weakness to holy attacks and sunlight and things like that.

The other type of vampire is the theological kind - an unexplained cancer of magical origins. I believe text mentions that they were most probably derived from the corruption of homo sapiens through the influence of the magical substance Propella. This is the kind we both hunt because of their threat to society.

We are not unliving - we are flesh and blood and age just like you do, just that we do so at least ten times slower, and it slows even further over time. They are unliving. We do not thirst uncontrollably after blood. They do. We do not lose all sense of rationality under the full moon. They do.

Understand, ... Frederick, was it? I do not know why you were not taught this before you were sent here, but you will be spending much of your time in the company of homo sapiens haemos. Our headmaster is a four-thousand year old homo sapiens haemos, so you must try to remember not to attack us on whim. We are human, just like you are."

She turned.

"Now, I am tired, and I will be retiring to my room for the night."

[Kim Kwan-Jang]

George served up a mug of hot chocolate along with some marshmallows placed on a separate dish to the young lady who just a while ago stumbled over to the bar with some difficulty.

"Here you go," he said, placing the mug in front of her, "be careful -- it's still hot."

After which, he resumed his endless task of wiping the bartop. Miss Choi and Miss Hono had just walked out the lounge holding hands. The girl who entered with Miss Choi had also finished her meal and is preparing to leave as well.

As for these other students in front of him loitering on the carpetry...well, isn't that what this lounge is for anyway?

George smiled to himself, and continued wiping the bartop.

[RaineScarlet]

"I'm.. coming." Kris answered Venser, and carefully made her way down the stairs. She was still a bit weak at the knees, but not enough to cause her injury as she walked.

Her green eyes swept across her surroundings, left and right, as she went, taking in the details of her surroundings. She drew close to the lounge, and noticed a small group of people lingering in the hallway. One smaller female figure detached herself from the group and made to return to the rooms.

Dressed in lacy white.

Kris's footsteps quickened with her heart rate, and she sidestepped the girl, passing others along the way.

I have no way of knowing what these people are capable of. She realized with a jolt. She felt blind, as is she were walking through a thick mist, not seeing until it was too late.

No, stop this. I'm pretty sure that the school accommodates for these situations.

She walked over to the buffet table. There was a small gathering around the bar, and she wanted no part of that. She dumped several oriental foods on her plate--noodles, rice, vegetables--and started towards the most isolated seat.

[theburntone]

Alexa Bai

Alex walked up to the bartender. Oh well. Better stick to his sister's requests, as much as he wanted to order something fattening just to spite her.

"Erm, I'll have... Caesar salad, with extra chicken without skin. Hold the croutons, but egg's okay. Don't use salad dressing, use balsamic vinegar and olive oil."

Okay, that was almost all the bad fat and carbs gone from the dish, and that was about the only thing he could think of that wasn't fried or loaded with those carbs Alexa feared so much. She would be happy, he supposed.

[theburntone]

Ellen EnGrave

Time to check on the food. And the people.

Ellen had left her room and entered the lounge. She immediately noticed the buffet, and walked over with a plate. The food here was strange, but smelled good. She took noodles, fish, an egg, a bowl of mysterious yellow soup which looked like it was swimming in red oil, and from within the soup, a tiny, skin-covered bird wing as well as a piece of odd yellow... fruit?

Sitting down at the bartop, she attempted to strike up a conversation with the muscular-looking armoured guy. He kind of looked like some sort of holy knight, so she asked, "Hey, are you affiliated to any religious order? I'm from the Eran White Order. I'm not from your world, though. At least I don't think I am."

[Qi En]

Quimby, along with Pamela, walks around the lounge. They were marveled by the variety of food and available ingredients the lounge has to offer.

"Ah, perhaps I can buy some snacks and frozen food to stock up in my room! There should be plenty of ingredients in the kitchen around here that might come in handy some day!" She exclaims after looking around.

"Well, why not we talk to someone first?" Her puppy, Quimby went.

"I'm kinda uneasy about talking to strangers, though." Pamela replies with a chuckle. "Perhaps if someone approaches me..."

Proby, the now orange furball, throws another tantrum, only to be stopped by Pamela again.

"No, proby~, you must behave yourself! Don't worry, I'll be fine. Besides, we can't be talking to our friends only..."

"meanwhile, since when did you turn from a white furball into an orange furball?" Quimby askes.

"WELL, an actual F.O.E. is orange! So I paint myself orange to fit the theme!" Proby exclaims.

"We'll better stuff him into a box or he'll make sure you can't speak to anyone. I'll take care of that, so be careful from now on, master." Quimby went, and took Proby away.

And so, Pamela takes a deep breath and walks around, hoping to find a familiar face.

SPOILER: Click to show

<data modification success, further recalculation on future notice>

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<In other news, sorry for the long space between my posts. my mum came back for the past week and I was unable to do much due to CCA and family commitments>

[Phagetthree]

[OOC@burntone: I'm not wearing combat attire now :V]

Frederick pondered the new information for awhile. He did not pay heed to the vampire moving off.

Well if she stays true to her words then I suppose there is no cause for alarm.

"Hey, are you affiliated to any religious order? I'm from the Eran White Order. I'm not from your world, though. At least I don't think I am." A girl sitting on the bartop called out to him.

He met her gaze.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, ma'am. I am Esquire Frederick of the Order of Æsirs. I do not think our order is affiliated with yours, though, although I would be honored to work alongside you if the need arises."

He made his way back to his seat.

"Now, everyone, assemble in the main lobby at eight. All the new boarders have now arrived - introductions are now in order." Loudspeakers blared allover the compound.

Checking his watch, Frederick noted that he had just enough time to finish his dinner. Addressing his newly made acquaintance again, "I apologise, perhaps we could continue this conversation later? I'm famished and there isn't much time left to eat."

He then finally started his meal in earnest.

Delicious!

[ivankira]

Shichi watched as the white girl left the lounge.

Vampire eh? Wow...

He discretely made his way to the bar and rested his right forearm and elbow onto the table, and leaned forward slightly, putting his weight onto it.

"Hey George right? Umm... Do you have anything to reccomend for someone who has suffered a shock to both her body and mind?"

He questioned, and continued.

"Oh, and one more thing, are take-aways back to the dorms allowed?"

Shichi took the chance to study the lounge better. It was very well taken care of. Clean, tidy and everything that would just give off a pleasent sense of organisation. He liked that very much.
He also became aware that there are new people entering the lounge and striking conversations here and there.

Shichi then looked up at the clock hung on the wall...

Wow... Its already 7.30pm...

[Qi En]

Pamela looked around. Everything around her... seems fresh and interesting, but uncanny for some reasons. Hoping to meet someone who can help her, she walked around till she ends up at the bar. She heard someone speak:

"... are take-aways back to the dorms allowed?"

"Hey, I want to know that too!"

With that, she made her way behind the person, the boy with a coat and a hood. If he can get a take-away, she'll probably be able to get some ingredients for cooking.

"I just hope I don't startle him..." Pamela thought for a while, and gentlely prods him on the shoulder.

[kaisan]

Hitomi found herself back at the lounge, which was where perhaps most of the people on the site had gathered.

Might as well get a light snack...

She headed over to the buffet, grabbed a small sandwich and began eating. Noticing that there were more people gathering at the bartop, she decided to move in and listen in on some conversations.

[ivankira]

While waiting for George to reply, he felt a slight prod on his left shoulder.

Oh?

Shichi turned around casually, still leaving his right arm on the bartop, to see a rather pretty girl looking back it him. It kinda took his breath away for a moment.

The first thing he noticed, was her green, emerald-like eyes. They were large [OoC: like, normal large. and not *cough* diabetic *cough*. this is an insider joke =X]
Following the eyes, he then noticed, the sleek, long black hair, which reaches right down her back, and possibly beyond. Although she wasn't moving much, or at all, her hair seems to defy gravity slightly. Having a wonderful bob-like feeling and lightness, that almost any kind of gel, wax or clay could not actually style.
Naturally, after noticing the face, Shichi carried on his "scan" of the female stranger. His eyes moved downwards to her chest.

*Gulp* Whaa...?

His eyes were supposed to continue down to her feet, but it somehow remain glued to her chest, and as if his eyes didn't want to do what his brain ordered. Or was it vice-versa?

".....For the year ones, I am the lady in charge of running and keeping the place in order.
Now, everyone, assemble in the main lobby at eight. All the new boarders have now arrived - introductions are now in order....."

The speakers suddenly sounded and just as abruptly as the lady's voice had sounded, it faded away.
Luckily, that was enough to snap Shichi out of his short daze and gaze at the girl's chest.

He hastily tried to be normal and replied,

"Oh... H-..Hi. Errm.... Anything the matter?"

Oh dang. What in the world am I doing? I sure hope my jaw didn't drop. Like, literally.

It was his first time having met a girl who is very much developed, and not donned in a white coat and clothes that masked everything underneath. This girl, was dressed casually and it "revealed" most of her body shape. Shichi just wasn't able to handle this all that properly.

[ponpokorin]

"Thank you... I can't have marshmallows though. I'll get hyperactive. Sorry..." Nimue pushed the plate of marshmallows slightly away, then brought the cup closer to her and held it, warming her hands on the warm cup of hot chocolate.

She had barely taken a few sips of coffee when she heard a familiar voice.

"Ni! Mu! Eeeeeeeeee~"

Jorryn had stampeded into the lounge, and spotting her best friend at the counter, stomped up to her and hugged her from behind, her stunning blonde hair trailing behind her as she went.

"Uwah!" Nimue nearly split her hot chocolate. "Jack, don't do that!"

Ignoring Nimue's protest, Jorryn buried her face in Nimue's back, causing her to flinch. "You're so cold~"

Nimue tried her best to ignore the ticklish sensation on her back, sipping her hot chocolate slowly and feeling the warmth spread through her body. Jorryn's face was warm in her back, making her feel comfortable.

After a while, a voice boomed through the speakers.

".....For the year ones, I am the lady in charge of running and keeping the place in order.
Now, everyone, assemble in the main lobby at eight. All the new boarders have now arrived - introductions are now in order....."

Leaning back slightly, Nimue asked, "You want some? I don't think I can finish on my own in time."

Pulling her face out of Nimue's back, Jorryn sniffed the air.

"Hot chocolate!" Nimue almost fell out of her chair when Jorryn jumped for the cup. She seized the cup before Nimue could drop it and began to slug down the contents.

"H-hey! I'm not done yet! Jack!" Nimue cried desperately, pawing at Jorryn's hands.

Jorryn stopped, then handed the cup to Nimue. "Here."

Nimue looked in the cup.

It was empty.

She glared at Jorryn. "Very funny..."

"Aww come on, I'll pay for it if I have to!" Jorryn scratched her head.

Nimue sighed again.

"I should go get changed..."

Nimue set the cup on the table, got off the chair and made her way out of the room.

Jorryn followed her out.

[RaineScarlet]

She systematically picked the food from her plate with her chopsticks, not tasting the flavors as they slid past her tongue. Her eyes were sweeping across the room, taking in faces and mannerisms for future reference.

In one corner, a girl dressed in business attire was trying to make conversation with a large boy. He'd been lingering in the hallway earlier for some reason. He seems more interested in his food than the lady. Of course, this is the part where I accept him as an all-right sort of fellow until he busts out with some weird powers.

A boy and a girl were engaging in the usual teenage banter by the bar. He appeared dazzled by the girl's substantial assets. So typical, Kris thought with a disapproving pout. But he could probably pull something outrageous out from his rear end and maim me if I said that out loud.

She moved along, eyes lingering on a pair of girls who were snuggling in plain sight. No shame whatsoever, huh. Maybe even super-naturalists need their share of warmth. She thought mercilessly.

An announcement over the loudspeakers interrupted Kris's thoughts. It was prompting everyone to leave in some time. Am I done? She looked at her plate. She had missed some vegetables that had been pushed to the edge of the plate, but the majority of the food had been consumed. It was an odd habit that she picked up in school. She could eat without looking at her plate, and get most of it down.

Kris stood up, keeping her eyes lowered, and disposed of her tray. She had roughly 20 minutes to get her room together.

[Kim Kwan-Jang]

George hesitated.

Chicken soup would definitely calm one down, but take-away upstairs? Maybe he had not met Ms Wunderwaffe yet.

Serving alcohol was alright since it was done within the lounge area, but he had no control over what will happen once people step outside the room.

All he could do now is to give the kid an informed choice.

"Well, chicken soup would do wonders to someone recovering from anything," he began, while clearing away the untouched plate of marshmallows left behind, "but as for take-aways, I'm afraid that..."

[schrodinger]

Re-entering the lounge, Venser made a made a beeline for the food he'd left untouched, glancing at Kris in the meantime to see if she was alright. Apart from being slightly disturbed by the public display of affection ongoing in the middle of the lounge, she seemed fine. All was well, then.

The announcement meant that he didn't have much time to finish eating - worrying, since he'd ordered quite the feast. Oh well. It would only be proper to finish eating it all, since the chef had gone to all the trouble of preparing it. He'd just have to... hurry a little.

Sitting down before his food, he spoke softly under his breath, reciting the incantation for the Greater Invocation of Haste as he picked up his utensils. His body suddenly felt much lighter, his reactions quickened a thousand times over.

Let's do this!

A moment later, he dismissed the spell and sat back, wiping his mouth. The dishes and cutlery lay before him, cleaned thoroughly of food.

"My regards to the chef, George. Pardon me."

He had a little time left before everyone was supposed to gather. Getting up from his seat at the bar, and bringing his cocktail along with him, he sat down on one of the sofas scattered around the lounge. It was getting noisy again - more people around, with their attendant inner voices. The alcohol helped him ignore them, but he still had to focus to keep his head clear of noise.

Sipping leisurely at his Japanese slipper, he tuned out the irrelevant details of each person, and began to sift through their salient features, picking out points of information that would prove useful to him in future.

[Qi En]

Pamela was about to speak, when an announcement suddenly interrupted her;

".....For the year ones, I am the lady in charge of running and keeping the place in order. Now, everyone, assemble in the main lobby at eight. All the new boarders have now arrived - introductions are now in order....."

The boy with the coat and hood, who looks a little dazzled, then replied, "Oh... H-..Hi. Errm.... Anything the matter?"

"Um, I'm Pamela!... Nice to meet you! I'll like to know if we can get takeaways...-

Just then, the person in charge of the bar, who appears to be named George, informed the person: "Well, chicken soup would do wonders to someone recovering from anything,"

But as he clears away an untouched plate of marshmallows left behind, he added: "but as for take-aways, I'm afraid that..."

Seeing a somewhat dissapointed look on the stranger boy's face, Pamela asked George with a warm smile: "What about purchasing ingredients? If I can have some chicken stock and meat..."

[ivankira]

"But as for take-aways, I'm afraid that..."

George's voice faded off in his throat, with a tingling sense of uneasiness.
Shichi knew instantly, that it was impossible to have take-aways, due to the school rules or what so ever. His slightly smiling face fell a little.

Aww man... Now how am I to get that girl some food?

"Is there really no special cases?"

Shichi asked, or more like, pleaded.

"She's in quite a bad shape, or so it seems."

There wasn't much time left, for him to get back to the assembly area, or even let the girl get some food before assembling as well.

He then turned to Pamela and said gently,

"Well, if its possible to buy some stuff back and cook it yourself, I do hope that you could help out a girl in mostly pink."

Shichi took in a short breath, and continued,

"By the way, you can just call me Shichi."

He finished off the sentence with a little smile, before turning back to George, hoping to get a positive answer.

[theburntone]

Ellen EnGrave

Ellen nodded, and started eating. The soup was nice, and the yellow fruit went well with it. In fact, all of the food was excellent when she spooned the soup over it. Oily, but good.

"Mmm..."

The knight would be a useful ally, if she needed one. Though she didn't like men in general, this one had something good about him. That was nice. Not like her father, who'd just absented himself, and sent her off to this place instead of letting her go to the frontlines.

The announcement blared over the loudspeakers, and she paused, then continued eating. The food was delicious!

Constantine Ward

Having finished the last of his potatoes, Constantine slumped back in his seat. Even the high metabolic cost of running a server in his body couldn't reduce the sheer bloatedness he felt.

He heard the announcement, and grumbling, got to his feet.

"Ah well. Might as well get there early. Hey, George, thanks for the meal!"

He stretched a little, then walked out of the lounge.

[Phagetthree]

It wasn't too long before Frederick had wolfed down his food.

"Thank you, George. That was a fantastic steak!"

Turning back to the female who had addressed him earlier and tried to initiate conversation. She was still eating, but he went ahead anyway.

"I'm sorry, I did not ask for your name. Have you had any experience against Banes, or undead and malevolent spirits as such? I've only had a few sparse encounters and so perhaps we could trade tips."

Then he noticed that Venser had already finished his relatively large meal.

That was fast.

"Hey, Venser, what made you rush upstairs just now? Was anything particularly wrong?"