Alas, Babylon [IC - Still Accepting]

[KittyMii]

A lack of energy was creeping through Luke's veins, gradually tiring him out, letting the weariness settle in.
Snap out of it!
His eyelids snapped open again and he shot up in a sort of dramatic twitch, looking around as if paranoid.
Yet no one was coming down either end of the corridor. He was still alone.
Guh. I'm so paranoid...
Standing up with a firm resolution to find his way to his dorm, he staggered slightly and leaned against a small table, his hand brushing against what appeared to be a little vial.
" 'ello, what's this?.."
Luke picked up the small crystalline object and held it to the light, examining it at every angle.

[Oran Tarlin]

The shining silver remained dormant, the grained steel edge didn't move as it was handled. In a moment, however, the cap of the sleek box moved just a click.

Suddenly the entire hallway was engulfed in cyan smoke. It was like a smoke bomb had just gone off. Suddenly, a ways away, sitting in one of the old Victorian chairs, was a very tall, very beautiful man, or rather, spirit. From the middle of his thighs down, he simply vanished into the smoke, which gathered around the old red chair. The smoke was beginning to turn a darker hue.

He looked like he was carved out of stone. Literally, it was like you could see the grain of the marble in his bright skin, which was now the color of magenta, and fading to a deeper crimson.

The smell in the air was intoxicating, ones greatest desire all spoken in aroma.

"Simyaldahi, Luke" He said, with a voice as enchanting as the aroma. The man, wearing loose pants which dissolved into smoke, and a cloak which similarly vanished at a point, relaxed and examined his fingernails. He looked like some sculpture of a Greek god, pondering his next move, it was frightening to a point.

"I make no effort more than you desire, I make no mistakes. I am Ian."

"Your wish, is my command, Master Luke" he said, turning and smiling. He always loved the look on their faces when they thought they were dreaming, he figured introducing himself as a Genie wasn't exactly necessary, hopefully he could figure it out.

[ShiningSaber]

Nikki then slowly came to realize the fact that there was was no one there. Prehaps it had been her mind playing games with her. Whatever the reason, there was stilll no one there. Nikki then began to walk the halls in search of Shadow, who was still yelling at the voice in his head to shut up. However, she only found a boy. this one real, for sure. He held in his hands Crystiline object of unknown origins. While, unknown to her, at least. She approched the boy from behind, curious as to the object, but too shy to let the boy know of her precense. then, The hallway became engulfed in smoke. And, at the other end was a man. She thought this was another illusion, a trick if the mind, but it seemed so real.

[KittyMii]

Luke yelped and jumped back as the smoke rose around him, a strangely sweet smell wafting around him, yet one that he didn't recognize. It smelled of oil and candyfloss, strangely enough, the kind of scent you would catch in a funfair...
Snapping back to reality, Skipper, eyed the figure in the chair in front of him and took a step back-
-into a girl who had also seemingly appeared behind him.
Yelping like a girl yet again, he fell down and looked from the man to the girl and back again.
Glancing at the aforementioned man again, he came to realize that from the waist down, he disappeared into smoke. Looking up his body that was so perfect it seemed sculpted, he realized the smoke-man was talking.

Your wish is my command?

"Well, there's a beautiful man in front of me and a cute girl behind me, I think there's a few good wishes I could choose from..." he mumbled to himself, not taking his eyes off the first of the two.

Thinking back on his own words, he remembered the girl and turned around so fast something in his neck cracked.

"Are you with the Smokey Clan too?" he asked, pointing towards the man in a slightly panicky manner.

[ShiningSaber]

Nikki shook her head no. "I have no idea who he is." She said, going from the boy, to the man in the smoke, then back to the boy. the man looked to be chisled from stone by a great sculptor. He was near perfect. What confused Nikki the most was from his thighs down, there was nothing but smoke. Nikki had caught on to the whole Genie thing when he mentioned Wishes, but it was still a very confusing time.

[Oran Tarlin]

"Sorry for the lack of a turban, people always seem shocked when I don't have a turban" He said, indeed, he had sort of long, wavy black hair, it fell to his shoulders but parted ethereally about his face, and by ethereally, I mean it sort of grew and shrank in a rhythm.

"All the world is under my command, and I am under yours."

On the steel, square bottle, five niches appeared, each in the shape of a little crescent, open upward. "You have five wishes. Your first four may be of anything in the physical world, nothing of the spiritual or emotional, and the last may be anything you wish, free of restriction"

He rose, this man of marble had to have ACTUALLY been marble. There were veins of orange stone about the gray stone he was carved of, and as the smoke changed color, those veins always stayed one shade darker. They were a deep ocean blue as the smoke returned to Cyan.

"You can ask your wishes to me personally, or you can simply write it down and stuff it in the bottle, if you don't want the smoke and smell, and by the way, the smell is necessary, the smoke I can cut back on, and I can change my appearance to suite you, sans wish."

He rose as though to his feet, and though his half-thighs were standing, it was still just a cloud of smoke beneath, the leggings dissolving and the cloak flitting in and out of existence about him.

"Be glad I speak English now, the last master had to use playdough on the niches to make wishes because he couldn't understand any language I spoke." The genie stared at the pair rather absentmindedly, his eyes were yellow, brilliantly yellow, gold and amber and copper and all of autumn were caught in his eyes.

"Also, you can summon me by opening the bottle, and banish me by closing it." He pointed to it with his strange, stone finger. The bottle wasn't open more than a crack, it's strange sleek design simply looking like a steel box split about a quarter of the way across.

"And you girl, I'm sorry, I cannot grant your wishes, you are not my master." A little cold, but Ian felt it was better than having her wish and not realize she had no place in the wishes, of course, once the five wishes were up, all she had to do was open it.

This was a first, to have two people know he was a Genie, usually one person found him, used him, and Ian could escape, but now that there were two... they could get 10 wishes out of it... Ian wouldn't let on, however, he remained as stoic as possible. Yet perhaps it was just the mesmerizing color or smell of whatever you most desired, but he looked quite pleasant in his emotionless hover.

[ShiningSaber]

Nikki nodded, looking the genie over with intrest. It was almost something out of a fairytale. Almost. No 3 wishes, but 5. No turban. Granted, the smoke tail is there. He was almost like her, in one sense. he broke the mold of the sterotypical Genie. She broke the mold of the Sterotypical dark lord. Her mismatched eyes studied him with an undisquised awe as well. How many people get to meet an actual Genie? Few. She just happened to be one of those few. As she studied him, her armored left hand was clenching and unclenching for some reason, making a small creaking sound as the metal joints were forced to move, obviously against their will.

[SithFaced]

Alyssum had been contemplating Shadow's words; A psychic in the school? She didn't think there were any.

"Shadow, I don't think--" she began, before Shadow spoke again, though these next words to come from his mouth were more of a growl than anything. Alyssum was a bit taken aback by the harshness of the tone of his voice. She wasn't sure if he had been talking to her, or the apparent voice in his head.

A hurt look was on the blond's face as she shrunk back from the boy slightly. "Shadow, maybe you should go to the infirmary..." she suggested timidly, if only to get him away from her for a moment. Though she understood that he probably had not been talking to her, she still felt as if it was partially directed at her. Her normally smiling mouth set itself in a firm line at the thought.

Looking towards the game board to direct her attention away from her thoughts, she examined the playing field. Benny had taken the lead by far, and was almost at the end of the game board. It appeared to her as if he would be the one getting the candy.

Turning to look at Nick, she gave him a slightly worried look. Her hands rested nervously on her stomach - almost protectively - before she turned her gaze on Shadow.

[KittyMii]

A genie.. a flippin' genie...
It's my lucky day, I guess.
Yeah, but you STILL have to get to your dorm.
Should I just take Ian The Genie in his little bottle and ask questions in the room?
Sounds like a plan. Go go go!
Huh. Odd. The voices rarely agreed. Maybe this only happened in time of panic.
---
I, the Narrator, should like to take a moment of your time, you, the Reader, to bring these little mental conversations inside Luke's mind to your attention. I should just like to point out that these two voices are separate things from Luke's thoughts. They could be compared to the Angel and Devil that sit on your shoulder - though which is which is up to you. Whoever wins the debate will influence Luke's decisions, but during their debate, he may think to himself, sometimes unaware of the discussions going on in the nether regions of his mind.
However, this particular time, the line 'Huh. Odd. The voices rarely agreed. Maybe this only happened in time of panic.' is Luke listening in on the debate, as he should like to know what to do. Fast.
Now back to our boy Luke's point of view.
---
Luke sat and listened intently to the rules and restrictions of Ian's magic.
What kind of a name for a genie is Ian? Sounds English to me.
I'm guessing not all genies are from the One Thousand And One Nights. Tsk, stereotype.
...oh shut up, me.

"Sooo, one thing I'm really curious about first of all, is how did I set your bottle off?" he questioned, standing up properly and dusting himself off.
"Oh, by the way, I'm Luke, pleased to meet you." he muttered to the girl, shaking her hand.
"And you can change your appearance? Oh please do demonstrate! And how do you fit in this bottle?! Do you suffer pain too?"
He asked every question in rapid succession, snapping his fingers and making a flame at the end of the last one. All these questions were buzzing around his mind like angered wasps trapped in a nest, stinging at his lips, wanting to escape.

[Oran Tarlin]

"You showed an interest in it, I can usually decide how much effort is needed to summon me, but for whatever reason, it just happened, so it goes."

Ian wasn't fazed by the boys rapid questionnaire.

He responded, slowly and methodically in contrast to the frenzy of questions. "Well, how about this?"

Suddenly the smoke around the room changed to a rainbow of colors, some turned a shade of green, which was the same shade as a bit of wallpaper, it laid itself down along the wall, totally blending in, frozen in air, some turned to wood color, and the rest turned to a flesh tone and gathered around Ian.

He shrank from his impressive height to an inch shorter than Luke exactly, his hair was the same long black, but was no longer shifting and growing randomly, and was touched with streaks of red. His once more physically domineering body turned into more of a stick.

His cloak dissolved into the smoke, and again around his body. Soon he looked like the stereotypical emo-rocker-skater boy... black hair tossed to the side, struck with red, pale skin, skinny jeans, he was actually imitating a poster he had seen once.

His voice was awkwardly as enchanting and wise as it was before. "It takes a little while to get all the colors right, but generally it works well."

"I fit in the bottle because I am not as blessed as a human, I was wished into the bottle, and in the bottle I shall stay, it is quite comfortable, actually." He left no explanation further.

"I can suffer pain, and a great deal, odd question. Most people get straight to their most folly-filled wishes when they discover me."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nick saw Alyssums discomfort, but remained calm and silent, he gently wrapped his arms around her, setting her on his lap, his arms over hers, two parents shielding their children.

[ShiningSaber]

"I'm Nikki." She said, the metal joints on her armor creaking during the handshake. She normally would have just done small talk at that point, but Luke was already firing off questions to the Genie, which the Genie, named Ian, answered at a slower pace. Nikki only half listened, as this did not really concern her. At least, not at the moment. She leaned against a wall, waiting for Luke's first wish, if he was going to make it. Or for him to ask another question.

-----------

Shadow was able to catch on to Alyssum's disconfort and tried to supress his rage, managing to control himself, but only just. Underneath that darkened visor, Shadow's face portrayed how he felt. Frustrated. One more appearance from Mr. Head voice would send him over the edge. "No, I do not need to go to the infirmiry. I was just ............ Just a little frustrated." He said.

[KittyMii]

Luke watched intently as Ian slowly but surely morphed from his strong, imposing self to a small emo kid. He looked kinda cute like that.
"Niiiice." he nodded. "Look, um, I have lots of questions to ask about the rules and whatnot - I don't want to make a wish yet - but I have to find my dorm. So could you please just pop back into your little bottle for a few minutes till I get there? I don't want another person finding out I have a genie now. Nicola - wait, that's not it, is it.. Nikki! Could you show me the way to dorm..." he checked a paper in his pocket. "... um, the silver room? Do you know where that is?"
Once he finished asking Nikki, he shut his eyes for a second and breathed slowly. "Okay. All better."
He picked up the bottle and clicked the top open, waiting for Ian to get back inside.

[ShiningSaber]

Nikki scratched her head. "No. One of my minions might. Or Shadow. He should know." Nikki said, quickly snapping the knight's armor back on her arm, as the armor had slid down a bit, and, had Skipper looked carefully, he would have seen mucsle. No skin, but mucsle, and some sort of darkish aura around it.

[Oran Tarlin]

Ian looked up at Luke with a blank expression perfect for the face he had stolen. In a second the smoke fell off the walls, rushing into the sleek steel bottle. After that, Ian simply dissolved into what looked like sand, all of which siphoned into the lid, and it suddenly clicked shut, a smooth steel box again, but now with five little crescent indents, open upwards.

The room had abruptly stopped smelling like one's greatest desire, and yet the room seem unchanged.

[KittyMii]

A rustling or clanking sound could be heard from behind Luke, and as he glanced over his shoulder he saw Nicola-
No, Nikki! Not Nicola!
-right, he saw Nikki pull up that strange armor on her arm. Raising an eyebrow, he thought it rude to ask, so instead turned back to Ian.
As the smoke dissipated and the genie dissolved into sand, before sweeping himself into the bottle, the sweet scents of candy and oil disappeared. He would have to ask Ian about that next time he opened the bottle. Could Nikki smell it too? Or was it just for the owner?
"See you later.." he murmured, holding up the bottle to the light. He wondered if Ian just shrunk a lot and had a little domicile inside the vial. Also something to ask next time.
Slipping the container into his pocket, he turned back to Nikki and smiled sweetly.
"Sorry I didn't get to talk properly!" he grinned sheepishly.

[ShiningSaber]

Nikki nodded. "It's alright. We can talk while we look for my boyfriend. He's around.......... somewhere. Who knows, we may find your dorm before him. Considering how big this place is, that's a possibility." Nikki said. She then noticed Luke had raised an eyebrow at her metal arm. "It's a long story I barely even know." she said simply. The armor then slid down again, exposing a bit of Mucsle, still no skin, and a darkish aura around it.

[KittyMii]

OH GOD SORRY.
My internet's been out for a few days. Sorry! D:
~
"Boyfriend? Can't say I'm not disappointed, you're a pretty girl." he grinned cheekily.
As the armor slid once more - she should fix that - the skin underneath was exposed. Well, not skin. There was no skin. Just raw muscle. It looked kind of like serious burns - he'd know.
"Do you know why there's an aura around it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Explain as we walk, will you madam?"

[ShiningSaber]

"Well, Ex-boyfriend. It's confusing." Nikki said. "I suppose I could tell you what I know, but that ain't much." Nikki added, mentally faceplaming herself for forfeting to make sure the armor ws on tight, then started walking with Luke.

[KittyMii]

"It's complicated?" he smiled, stepping in time with Nikki. "How do you not know? I mean, no offense, but your arm has an AURA and you wear armor over it."

[Sorry, short D: ]

[ShiningSaber]

"Well, with Shadow, everyhting is complicated. His powers, his personality, both are in a state of constant change. You never know what he pull out next. You see, I broke up with him because, odds were, we were enver going to see each other again. But, now that I'm here......... Well, you get it. I don't know how he might take, or how he feels about me." Nikki explained as one of her impish minions hopped up on her shoulder. "As for my arm, the transformation happened fast and violently. All I can remember is a lot of pain, and then everything goes black and silent, and when I wake, my arm is the way it is now. As for the armor, I think one of my minions stole it from the museum nearby. Not entirely sure. But, there medevil knight exibit is still missing an arm to this day, so I think that might be the case." Nikki explained