Oleander Academy discussion

The forest that lies behind the Academy is completely off-limits to students. It's also a popular hangout spot. A tall chain-link fence does it's best to keep the students out, but if you go far enough to the left, there's a huge hole in the fence that it's fairly easy to climb through. The trees are tall and dense, and once night falls? It gets intensely creepy. There's a desire path that runs between the trees, leading all the way up to the lake.

Griffyn trudged through the forest, dead leaves crunching underneath their boots. They stopped, looking around with the same irritated expression they usually had. "Dylan!" They called, like their best friend was some sort of lost dog. "Dammit..." Why the hell was this forest so big? They checked the compass on their phone again. He'd said he was on the east side, right? "Dylan! I'm over here!"

Dylan was probably the dumbest friend Griffyn had. And he’d be keeping that title, thank you very much. He heard Griffyn’s call, laughing loudly and getting down from the tree he’d climbed up in his boredom.
“Cool! Uh, I’m coming!” He called back, running towards where the voice had come from.

Griffyn sighed, rubbing their forehead. Well, at least they'd found him. They glanced at their phone one more time. The two of them would need to head southewst to get back to the hole in the fence, and it would be a pretty long walk. They looked up as Dylan came into view. "There you are. Dumbass. Why did you come out here if you didn't know the way back?"

“I was following a butterfly! But then it got stuck in a spider web so I had to save it. So. I was doing good things here, okay?” Dylan crosses his arms, furrowing his brow. He looked like a puppy trying to be scary.

Griffyn blinked. They watched his face for a moment, trying to figure out if he was joking. "You- Oh my god. You have to be kidding. A butterfly, Dylan? Really?" They shook their head in disbelief. "You walked half a mile for a butterfly?"

Dylan glared at them, though there was no real ill intention behind it.
“Yes, I did. A butterfly that would need my help. It was a passing period! Now I’m probably late to Mr. Angellus’ class, but it’s fine.”

"We're not late yet, but we definitely will be if we don't get back soon." Griffyn sighed. Getting lost saving a butterfly was a very Dylan thing to do. And it was also very hard for them to stay mad at him. "You do know your phone probably has a map, right? And a compass?" They didn't want to miss theater - it was a fun class, and if they wanted to keep the role they'd been given, they needed to at least show up.

(( could i insert lillith? ))

(( .. ))

((I think we kinda dropped out of this sorry))

(( np! ))

Lillith entered the forest, kicking a tree stump. She sniffed at the smell, turning to face away from the odd smell.
"It's dreadful, really, to what this school has become." She muttered to herself, lost in thought. This forest reminded her of back home. She shivered, wishing the thought away. If she didn't think of home, then it wouldn't exist, correct? She bit her lip, wondering if she should call it a house, not a home.
All this internal rambling made her head hurt, thinking about things that shouldn't be thought about. She frowned again, not trusting herself with her thoughts.

(( could she potentially discover a body tomorrow? once the murderer is picked? ))

((Maybe not tomorrow - we already have our first to die, and their death is already planned out - but at some point, definitely!))

Natella knew her way around the forest. She wasn't the most popular person in the school by far, but she got invited to almost every party out here. Right now, she just needed to clear her head. Her notebook was tucked under her arm as her boots crunched the dead leaves. She took a long sip of her coffee - of course she'd brought it out here, she rarely went anywhere without it. And then she bumped into someone. She stumbled and fell, landing hard on her back, and her drink spilled all over her blouse. "Ah, dammit... Hi."

(( k cool! ))

Someone bumped into her. Physically bumped into her. Of course, Lillith had been bumped into, but not since the sixth grade! Ah, but what was bumping into people in the grand scheme of things. "Are you alright, luv?" She flashed a toothy smile at the gal. "I see yet another person has fallen for me." A lie sprouted from her mouth, spewing arrogance.

"I'm so sorry, I really need to pay attention, my-" Natella rambled for a little bit, before the person she'd bumped into said something. "Oh. It's you." Her tone turned a little icy. She and Lillith had never exactly been friends. Nat stood up on her own, trying to ignore the dark stain quickly spreading over her shirt. She'd liked this shirt, too. "Please. Lily, I have taste."

"Ah, apparently bad taste." Lillith's eyebrows scrunched together, seeing the stain. "Let me help you with that," She said as she whipped out a handkerchief and started to rub off the stain. Unfortunately, it wasn't coming off. "Oh dear." Lillith sighed exaggeratedly and said, "If you ever want to get that off you must come by the dorm. Although you're always spending time around that-" Just as she was about to reveal that she'd been watching Nat, she caught herself. "Nevermind." So maybe she was intrigued by the life of Natella. She was... an interesting creature to say the very least.

Nat glared at her, taking a step back. "I don't need your help." She paused for a moment. "Around that what? What am I always spending time around?" Her voice turned slightly accusing, and she tilted her head to the side. It was at times like this that her talent for noticing things came in very handy. She had to pay attention to all the details if she wanted to be a reporter, and what Lillith had just said was more than a little suspicious. "Have you been watching me?"

"You're not the only one who notices things." Lillith grinned at Nat but sensed the air was getting tense as they continued talking. She fanned the air as if there was a bad smell, and said, "You know, all of this bad energy isn't good for the soul." Lillith grimaced. "Although you really should get that stain off. It looks like you shat all over your shirt." And gave her a loving pat on the shoulder.

"Flattery might work on whoever let you into this school, but not on me. Or was it bribery?" It was a low blow, and Nat knew it, but she didn't care. There was no way she was taking shit from this girl. "And stop deflecting. You didn't answer my question." She chose to ignore that last comment, still waiting for an answer.

Lillith let the façade down for a second, her face crumpling into something that wasn't hers. She righted herself again, and flattened out her t-shirt. Honestly, she was trying. Trying to right herself. Trying to be better. Trying to get the grades. Trying to make friends. After the article that Nat had published about her, she didn't know how to react. It's not like she knew when her parents paid extra for her to get in. Her parents seemed genuinely happy for her, and she thought that it was all her. When the reality of what had happened crashed down on her and was leaked, she didn't feel like she was enough. She was close to leaving the school when she received threats that she should leave or they'd make her. Fortunately, they died down after a while, but the pit feeling of not belonging stayed with her. She had stolen someone else's spot unknowingly, all because of her parents.
"I haven't been watching you. Like I said, I notice things." Lillith shrugged nonchalantly. "If you don't need me any more, I'll be leaving, then." She cleared her throat awkwardly, hurt showing through her eyes. She pretended like she didn't care, but things like this got to her.

Nat almost felt bad about it, seeing the look on Lillith's face. Too far, Deacon. There'd been a little pang of guilt that day she'd published the article, too. There almost always was. But she'd rather know an ugly truth than a pretty lie, and she assumed the rest of the school felt the same. "...Alright then." Fuck. Why had she said that? This was why she liked writing. She could revise and edit and fix it before anyone saw it. When you were talking, you couldn't just backspace. She always forgot that. "I'll... I'll see you around."

(( should we let them go their separate ways? or continue somewhere else? ))