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Lilly took a deep breath, and then another, and then one more. Each long inhalation brought with it a little bit of equanimity, and soon her panic was all but forgotten. She needed her wits, how else would she get through... whatever this was?

The dark haired boy in the coat was shouting something at the woman, so Lilly was unconsciously forced to look at him. There was something she found particularly repellent about him. His eyes maybe, or just his general volume. Now that I think about it, wasn't he encouraging Ardelia to mess with the book?

Lilly wondered for a moment, how the dark haired girl felt about all this. She was certainly uncannily talkative for her previously shy behavior, and maybe that was a coping mechanism for stress. Regardless, Lilly turned to Ardelia and gave a gentle, but wan, smile.

Lilly darted her eyes quickly around the space and lost her mental composure for a minute. What the hell is this!?
She raised a softly trembling hand to adjust her glasses and took a deep breath to steady herself. Her mind was racing as she tried to rationalize what was going on. The setting defied logic, and that woman gave her the creeps those things were certain. There has to be a reasonable answer to this. Maybe a mass hallucination? Maybe that smell was some sort of preserving agent on the book that had hallucinogenic side effects? Yeah, that sounds good.

She kept her thoughts to herself though. Even if it was a fever dream, a heat stroke, or hallucination it only made sense to listen to what "Norn" had to say. Ardelia's mouth was moving a mile a minute as she rattled off a handful of questions, and Lilly wanted to see if there were to be any answers.

The world swam slowly back into view. The other students stood around, most looking as confused as she felt. Lilly removed her glasses from her face and massaged the bridge of her nose gently before returning them to their perch. What..?

Lilly looked around at her peers to see if anyone might betray a look of insight. No luck it seemed. Ardelia let out a small nervous laugh and stammered "O-oopsies?"

Yes. Oopsies indeed. Lilly crushed any potential resentment she might have felt and let out a low sigh. No point in dwelling on it. Can't change the past.

She brushed her bangs to the side and folded her arms across her chest. "Thoughts anyone?"

I'm down for this.

The shy girl was ignoring Lilly, she moved like she was possessed by something beyond her control. Lilly could understand the feeling. There was something uncanny about that tome, she misliked the feeling it gave her a great deal. It almost felt like something whispering in the darkest recesses of her skull, urging her forward unlike any curiosity she had ever known before. She bit her lip and put a hand on Ardelia's back.

"H-hey... maybe we shouldn't..."

She let her words trail off. It seemed there was no fighting this.

After seeing Ardelia scurry off into the unknown, Lilly adjusted her glasses, hopped the barrier and followed suit. As she walked quietly into the gloom she caught sight of the artifact standing upon a lone pedestal, a lit candle burning above it. An exotic scent hung in the room that was almost cloying and the air was mysteriously electric. Smells like cheap incense in here.

Lilly quietly sidled up beside Ardelia, eying the tome wearily as a glob of wax dripped down the side of the candle and onto the exposed page. Her heart beat double time as she studied the text, she had always enjoyed mysterious things like this, it was probably what attracted her so much to history. As badly as she wanted to inspect it in greater detail she reigned in her curiosity with trademarked caution. It seemed like Ardelia, however, was unable to keep herself from continuing her own investigation. Lilly watched her reach for the book slowly and cautiously, and she felt a quick jolt of protectiveness.

"Uhhh, are you sure you want to do that?"

Lilly studied Roman for a moment, tall and lanky with outstandingly fair hair, his accent sounded... Russian maybe? He seemed pleasant enough and it would be prudent to at least give her name.

"Lilly, nice to meet you."

As she went to offer her hand in greeting she heard from behind Roman a tiny stutter of an introduction and peaked around the towering boy to find its source. She raised an eyebrow at what she saw. Tiny frame, inky-hair, striking mismatched eyes... Her quiet introduction was almost endearing. She seemed the little sister type. A cool breeze from the air conditioning made her skin prickle, or was it something else?

Lilly smiled gently in her direction.

"Ardelia was it? Yeah, I couldn't help that it piqued my interest."

Lilly padded her way silently to the to blocked-off section and joined her fellow mildly mischievous peers. It was uncharacteristic of her to do something like this on a whim, but the heat was so oppressive it made it hard to think. On the other hand, this would be a golden opportunity to see a rare historical artifact and that prospect quickened her pulse as much as the danger of getting caught.

She brushed her bangs out of her eyes and adjusted her glasses before addressing the other students in a low whisper.

"Well, it's nice to know I'm not alone in my need for air conditioning."

Lilly took a drink from her glass and sat back in her seat. It had been an uneventful summer, she had gotten her homework out of the way early to allow for maximum free time and since she was unemployed she spent most of her days thumbing through the pages of various history texts devouring the knowledge within greedily. She had spent the whole season in her hometown Traverseward, like she did every summer since her mother died. Steven was always working, and Lilly and Elise didn't have the means to go anywhere the city buses didn't run.

Before answering Luke, she allowed a half-second wistful day dream about one day visiting her other passion, the ocean. She had never been, but she loved the very thought of Joyce's "snot green sea". The fancy was short lived however, it would be rude not to make conversation.

"I suppose I can't complain. Yeah, always enjoyed a good field trip. Strange to have one so early in the school year though.

She glanced over at Elise and her friend chatting away animatedly next to them, then back to Luke. He always seemed sullen to her, nice, but sullen. She watched his body language carefully, like she did with everyone she spoke to.

"Did you do anything interesting over the summer?"

Elise, perpetually full of energy, jumped up from her seat to greet her friend with a tight hug. Lilly, as reserved as always, gave a short wave.

"Hey Luke, how are you?"

She adjusted her glasses and gave a gentle smile.

Character specific dialogue colors in spoiler.
[spoiler]Lilly Avdalen
Elise Avdalen[/spoiler]


Lilly's eyes fluttered open slowly as she woke from her afternoon nap. The air in the livingroom was hot and still, like a suffocating blanket. She mopped the sweat from her brow cursing the summer heat, and fumbled sleepily with out-of-focus objects on the coffee table until she found her glasses. She slid them slowly onto her face and glanced wearily across the room at the television, which was to blame for her awakening. It was ejecting light and sound like a drunk ejects his liquor. Lilly strained to recognize the broadcast, one of those Japanese cartoons with the magical high school girls her sister was so fond of. After an unsuccessful attempt at deciphering the unintelligible plot Lilly slumped back on to the couch and stared at the ceiling.

An upside-down head popped into her field of vision.

"Are you awake yet Onee-chan?"

Lilly reached up to ruffle Elise's russet locks and smiled gently.

"Don't call me that."

Elise stuck her tongue out playfully.

"Aw... Why not?"

"Because it's goofy."

Elise circled around the couch and plopped down next to Lilly's feet, a can of soda clutched in her hand. She took a long drink, eyes glued to the television, scanning subtitles.

"What are you watching?"

"Magical Historian Satomi! Its super cute, she shoots lasers out of books and fights for justice and friendship!"

On screen a girl with aubergine hair and a sailor uniform launched a salvo of flickering laser beams at what looked like a futuristic Hun with a jet pack. It was beyond Lilly's comprehension but she knew Elise wanted her approval so she acquiesced, lauding its cuteness. They sat in silence for a while watching the spectacle, when a growl escaped from Lilly's tummy accompanied by a pang of hunger.

"Say, I'm getting hungry are you?"

Elise nodded in agreement taking another swig from her soda can.

"I'm not in the mood to cook anything, so why don't we go out? We can get something at that family place downtown, they're alright."

The pair slipped on shoes and made their way down the street to the bus stop. Although the weather was nice and somewhat breezy Lilly didn't quite feel like hoofing it all the way into town. Aboard the bus were a handful of schoolmates Lilly recognized, and some regular commuters on their way to their preferred lunch destinations. Along the ride Lilly found herself watching her sister. Elise had grown so much in the past ten years and was looking more and more like their mother, but Lilly would always remember the bawling three-year-old she had tried her hardest to raise.

Finally, the bus came to a halt at their stop and they walked the rest of the block to the restaurant. The inside was teeming with students trying to wring a few more hang-outs from the last weeks of summer. Lilly and Elise found some open seats and ordered a light lunch. Not far away, a boy burst into raucous laughter while his female companion flushed a bright red. Lilly eyed them with casual curiosity thinking she may recognize them, and then engaged in idle chitchat with her sister while they waited on their food.

As they ate, Lilly thought to herself how pleasant she found the situation and silently hoped for a routine and uneventful school year...

Lilly will be here for a while, so if you think you might wanna chat stop by her booth!

Name: Lilly Avdalen
Age: 16
Race: Caucasian (distant Norwegian ancestry)
Gender: Female
Hair color: Strawberry Blonde
Eye color: Payne's Grey (bespectacled)
Height: 5'7"
Weight: Average for her height

Favorite things: History, pancakes, Fall, cooking, and the ocean/nautical things

Hated things: Stupid people, mushrooms, summer, and "fake" people

Personality: Generally reserved and analytical, she doesn't like to talk excessively or mince words. In spite of seeming aloof, she is actually very kind and takes great pleasure in helping people. She speaks softly but authoritatively, almost in a matronly fashion.

Background/ General personal history:

Lilly comes from a small family of middling means. Her father Steven worked the corporate grind and her mother Sarah did her best to bring her up right. She had to grow up quickly when at the tender age of six Sarah passed in a car accident. Steven, in his grief poured himself into his work to try and drown out the pain, and Lilly was forced to play a motherly role in her younger sister Elise's life.

Lilly, not believing it right to play favorites, has no "best friend" but never the less she finds constant companionship in Eileen Anderson whom she met in middle school.

Friends/ Relationships

(* indicate +5 relationship NPCs)

Steven Avdalen - Her hard working father, hes rarely home but their relationship is not strained.

*Elise Avdalen - Her younger sister of thirteen years. Elise looks up to Lilly because of the parental role she played after their mother died.

*Eileen Anderson - A friend of Lilly's she met in middle school. She is "sporty", easy going, and trustworthy. Even though Lilly claims not to play favorites, Eileen is clearly her closest friend.

Crappy visual reference in spoiler.
[spoiler][/spoiler]

Oh yeah, I forgot about my mad healing prowess.

Wait... Second best? That's after my fairy right?

Well, never been good at introductions but lets give this a shot.

I was persuaded at knife point by our pal Oath to try my hand at some forum based role-playing, so here I am! Ive got a little background in pen and paper games and used to DM for a D&D 4th Ed. group about a year ago, but since my group disbanded Ive been looking for a way to fill that tabletop shaped hole in my life.

I guess it could be said that I'm an avid gamer, although most of my attention has been focused on Final Fantasy 14 lately. I'm pretty big into history and have BA in Art with a focus in functional ceramics, even though I don't really have time to make pieces anymore. Oh, and I work nights at a museum.

That about covers it. I'm looking forward to being a part of this! :P