[JOKER] Oh My!

The place that people go to reach their potential’s top.
Where many people brawl and show what their made of.
The next clue will be what brings you to your goal.
Look at each end and line, perhaps it will help you in post.


[ooc; The students first prompt is to find the location they are meant to meet up. It can be up to you whether this process is long or short. Once they find where they are going I will pop in to give the next clue! Enjoy ]

As soon as she'd seen the flyers for the Valentine's Day Scavenger Hunt, Lisette had signed herself up without hesitation.  Not only did it appeal to her curiosity and long-standing interest in scavenger hunts, but the romantic buried deep inside her couldn't resist an opportunity like this.  Of course, she preferred to stick with the first explanation; the second was a secret she would keep buried deep inside her.  Not that there was something wrong with being a romantic and loving the idea of love, but she felt like she had to keep up some semblance of composure and dignity, or retain some aspect of her old personality.  Although a new school was the perfect opportunity for a new personality, she mused.

The clue was somewhat vague, and it took her a moment to remember that someone had told her there was a battle arena somewhere around campus.  She supposed that was her best bet for success.  Now to find the battle arena.  Lisette was certain there'd been a map somewhere in her dorm when she'd first moved in, but searching for it was a lost cause now.  Somewhat grudgingly, she decided to instead ask a few people on her way out of the dorm.  The first person she came across was busy acquainting themselves with another person's face, and she quickly left them to their business.  Guess they don't need a Valentine's Day event, she laughed to herself.  The dorm was unusually quiet--perhaps its residents had all joined the scavenger hunt? It took a few minutes before she found someone who could direct her to the battle arena.  She grimaced when she realized how much time she'd lost just trying to find out where the damn arena was.  Sighing, she shifted into falcon form, clutching the scrap of paper in her sharp talons.  The heavy clouds and snow made flying in this weather an absolute pain.

When she arrived at the battle arena, the rest of the clue made a lot more sense.  The "goal" and "post" in the riddle must refer to the American football goalposts, she realized.  She shook out her feathers as she landed, then shifted back into human form.  

~

It'd taken a while to draw Alastor out of 'hiding' after he'd first arrived at the school, but Kyland had finally managed it.  Aside from the scar on his stomach, he was basically completely healed; the power of magical healing continued to astound him, even if he would never show it.  Alastor had encouraged him to participate in this scavenger hunt, but he had his own motives, too.  It was a chance to explore the school he'd been magically shipped to, and perhaps to find out where in the world it was located.  The prizes were tempting, too.  A pass to skip any class?  That meant less hard work and less academic dishonesty.  Then again, was it really cheating if their thoughts could be considered his?  He shrugged mentally.  As if it made a difference to him either way.

Alastor was the one who suggested that the clue referred to the battle arena, and so the two minds in one body made their way there, head ducked against the wind, snow, and gazes of the other students.

Constantine had no idea why a clue had shown up in his dorm room and what the possible meaning of it was. He couldn't remember having signed up for any sort of event, but as he stepped out of his dorm room and found another student he asked them what it was about. Apparently it was an event being held by the school with some considerable prizes. As the other student listed out the prizes, both of Constantine's eye widened in surprise. Even if he was terrible with riddles, how could he possibly miss an opportunity like this?

Staring down at the clue in his hands then, Constantine took a long time to figure out what exactly it was telling him. After long consideration the young man finally guessed on the battle arena, since it had mentioned fighting - even though fighting took place all over the school, the special area for it was definitely the battle arena.

After getting dressed in some warm clothing, Constantine made his way outside and toward the battle arena. The young man was clad in dark colored jeans, a slim fitting pea-coat and a black wool hat atop of his head. A mix between casual and formal, mostly so that he would still look nice but keep warm at the same time.

Finally upon reaching the battle arena, Constantine briefly wondered how long he would have to be out here and how many other people were coming. As he looked around though, Constantine's eye briefly connected with Lisette's frame. She was doing this too? Constantine's lips quirked upward for a moment as he walked toward the girl, the sound of his boots crunching in the snow.

Lisette absently brushed flecks of white snow out of her dark hair as she made her way gingerly down the stairs of the bleachers.  She glanced up a few times, searching for her assigned partner, and it wasn't until she was halfway down the steps that a dark form appeared.  Two, actually, from opposite ends of the arena.  One of them approached her, and she realized that it was Constantine.  Offering a smile, she moved towards him, then stopped as she realized she had been acting as if she was meeting an old friend she could run up to and embrace.  With a wry laugh, she said, "What a coincidence.  I'm assuming we're partners, then?"  If anything, she was glad to have been partnered with someone she already knew--meeting new people wasn't exactly her forte, and the whole scavenger hunt would definitely be easier if she didn't have to worry about getting to know a stranger.  Not that she knew Constantine very well, she amended mentally.

The boy walked at a pace that was almost a light jog, flipping his hood down as he advanced towards the pair that was standing together.  Curious.  Wasn't it only supposed to be groups of two?  What with the Valentine's Day theme and all.. huh.  Then again, he had gotten the 'Joker' clue.  Was this the school's idea of a prank?  Harmless pranks weren't really his thing.. he much preferred--or maybe Alastor preferred--small felonies.  Stealing a small object here and there was no big deal.  Setting some things on fire?  Even more fun.  

Kyland's hands were shoved into his pockets and clenched into fists.  However much he wanted to deny it and keep a sullen, unapproachable facade, introducing himself to strangers was giving himself a fair amount of anxiety.  Especially because it was more than one person--he hadn't prepared himself for this and was feeling slightly resentful towards whoever had organized this event.  

He purposefully put more weight into each of his steps, letting the sound signal his arrival.  The girl turned around to face him with a curious but not unfriendly expression and arched an eyebrow at him.  "Constantine, we have company," she said.  All his muscles were tensed, prepared for a hostile reception from the other person.  

Constantine couldn't resist a slight smile at Lisette's laugh, there was something about her that made his heart speed up just a tiny bit. At her question, Constantine nodded easily "I guess so." He said to her then, his original confusion about being placed in this event left him - oddly enough he was just excited to see Lisette again.

Constantine was just then starting to think where they should be looking first as Lisette started to speak. Frowning, the young man turned to face Kyland - obviously not happy about his presence. "Are you lost?" Constantine asked the other teenager gruffly, seeming strangely protective of Lisette.

All around them little drops of snowflakes started to fall to the ground, causing Constantine to slump his shoulders in an attempt to stay warm. The snowfall was light for now, but could easily pick up later in the day.

[ooc; this is super short, sorry!]

Lisette's own smile in response to Constantine's was automatic; she was hardly aware she was smiling.  Anything she would have said to continue the conversation, though, was interrupted by the arrival of a third person.  She was somewhat worried about Constantine's reaction to the newcomer, although the protectiveness was almost endearing.  

"No.. I think this is where my clue was indicating I should go," Kyland responded hesitantly.  "I'm Kyland, by the way."  Although his appearance was threatening and made him seem unapproachable, he was hesitant to anger anyone at this school for magic wielders--he had no idea the scope of powers that the students here held, and who knew if they all had powers that could demolish him with a single thought?  His 'powers' were certainly not much help.  In fact, having a pesky little demon that occasionally took control of your body seemed more of an annoyance than a power.  And considering the hallucinations and moments of blindness that Alastor was probably responsible for, Ky was pretty sure he would have been better off without any sort of special abilities.  Then again, the spirits of the dead were his main companions, so maybe it wasn't such a bad thing.  He could hear spirits whispering around him, and with a monumental amount of self-control, refrained from snapping at them aloud.  

The girl shrugged.  "Well, an extra brain is always helpful.   We might as well get on with the search, then; there are other teams competing for the prize."  It was a little disappointing that she wouldn't get time alone with Constantine, but she wasn't about to kick someone out of the group.  She cast the boy standing beside her a look, trying to telepathically implore him to be nice to Kyland, then pulled the original note out of her pocket, hoping it would provide a hint as to where they were supposed to look for the next clue.  

Still standing in between Lisette and Kyland, Constantine looked the man up and down - noting that the other teen in question did not seem aggressive at all. Looking back at Lisette, Constantine watched the girl curiously for a moment before taking a few steps back - opening up the area to make more of a group setting instead of Constantine standing in between Lisette and Kyland. "Constantine," the teenager said then in response to Kyland introducing himself.

A few seconds later, Lisette seemed welcoming enough of the other person and Constantine sighed lightly. He wanted to admit to Lisette that he wasn't very good at things like this, but with Kyland being here - the young man felt a strange sense of competition. Almost as if he had to do better than the other guy despite the fact that Kyland in question hadn't even hinted at being interested in this event. "Where to start?" Constantine asked then, directing his question toward Lisette.

Constantine had never been a real conversationalist and now being placed in a situation where he had to communicate with other people to get things done, well that was almost stressful in a sense. The young man silently cursed at whoever had signed him up for this even, but thanked them in the process since he had an excuse to see Lisette once more. The argument continued on his head then as he waited for the other two to respond.

They don't want you here, Alastor sneered mockingly in his head.  Maybe they don't want YOU here, Kyland bit back, pettily angered by the obvious and unnecessary statement, eyes narrowing subtly as he argued with his literal inner demon.  Sure, sometimes (sometimes) it was nice to have someone to keep him company no matter what situation he was in (even if Alastor was occasionally unresponsive).  In other situations, like this one, he would have given just about anything to get rid of this pesky parasite.  "I'm... going to go look around," the boy said aloud uncomfortably.  He was all but certain that he had interrupted the two in the middle of something--they definitely weren't strangers; perhaps even romantically involved in some way.  Seeing the countless couples around school--both his old school and Foresta--made him curious as to what romance felt like for purely scientific reasons.  As he'd never felt anything remotely resembling the emotion before, he didn't really think it was possible for him to have the desire to feel it.  Positive emotions like love, compassion, and such didn't fit him very well.  He was more of a... death-destruction-rage kind of guy, to put it quite honestly.  

Not wanting to wait around any longer, he began to amble over to the end of the field.  The clue seemed to indicate the football goalpost, and he headed toward the one that was further away from Lisette and Constantine.  If they weren't too entranced by each other to participate in the scavenger hunt they'd signed up for, it left them the option to check the other goalpost together.   

Hey, just think of it this way--I'm your partner!  Kyland gave the incorporeal demon a disgusted look that Alastor would experience first-hand more than see.  "That's a whole new level of no," he muttered.  When possible, he preferred to speak aloud to the demon, as he felt that mental communication did not quite convey proper anger.

Lisette shrugged at Kyland's departure.  "Shall we check the other goalpost?"  They were just stood here like there was no competition, and now that any sort of intimate atmosphere had been wiped clear by the arrival of a third person, her attention had been diverted back to the scavenger hunt at hand.  

Something… Here?

Neither of the goal posts seem to have anything of worth at face value, but perhaps a closer inspect will prove otherwise.

Constantine watched silently as Kyland walked away from the two, slightly satisfied that it was just Lisette in his company once more. Despite that though the young man realized that any advancement in their relationship wouldn't be happening anytime soon now with the addition of a third person. Letting out a soft and barely audible sigh, as Lisette suggested that they check the other goal post - Constantine nodded in response. "Sure." He said to the girl with ease.

Taking only a second to wait for the girl to start following him, Constantine walked over to the goalpost opposite of the one that Kyland was inspecting. Leaning forward, the young man peered curiously at the dirt surrounding the metal - kicking around said dirt just in case any sort of note may be buried or covered.

[ooc; I'm sorry! I know this isn't too much to reply too right now, Ebony. D: ]

The previously tangible tension disappeared when Kyland wandered off to inspect one end of the field.  Lisette was glad, but almost felt sorry for the boy.  It wasn't exactly easy to acclimate oneself to a new environment, and it certainly wasn't made easier by people who seemed to hate you for no reason.  

Constantine and Lisette walked side-by-side to do their portion of their work.  As the tall boy began to check in the dirt, she turned her attention to the goal post itself, running her hand over the surface, checking for the possibility of an engraved clue.  She pulled the small slip of paper out of her pocket, wondering if she had missed some detail in the clue.

"Look at each end and line," she muttered under her breath.  More loudly, she inquired of Constantine, "Could this be referring to the lines painted in the field?"  She was hardly familiar with American football, but it seemed a bit outrageous to think that the white lines would be called anything but, well, lines.  If there was a clue hidden there, though, she guessed that it was either quite small or she hadn't been paying enough attention, as she hadn't noticed anything whilst flying overhead, even with her heightened falcon vision.

Suspicions!?

While the goal posts didn’t seem to unearth much of anything at first, after Lisette inspected the post for markings, she would find an impression of a tiny arrow lightly carved into the side of the structure. It pointed upward, perhaps suggesting that there was something higher upon the long pole.