Life can be easy. It's not always swell (open)

[Dakota Shay]

"...so, as you can see, just because you don't understand it doesn't mean it's evil. In the Middle Ages, many Europeans believed wolves were tools of the devil and the animals were ruthlessly hunted. Epileptics and the mentally ill were often brought to court and accused of being werewolves, then put to death. Is that crazy, or what?

From the years 1764 to 1767, an unknown entity killed upwards of 80 men, women, and children. The creature was described as a giant wolf by the sole survivor of the attacks, which ceased after several wolves were killed in the area. Wolves were still found in England as late as 1600, but became extinct by 1680 due to mass hunting caused by irrational fear.

Let’s say that, thanks to some stroke of good or ill fortune you become a werewolf. It’s great at first – your senses are heightened, you command obedience from every dog you see, and every full moon you get to tear up the lawn of your most hated person! But, after discovering that every full moon you grow hair faster than you can shave it off, you realize that this is really going to kill your social life to the point that it won’t take too long to organize a werewolf-hunt. What the hell are you gonna do now?

There aren't many known effective cures, but then again, they're not real, right? So there's no need to worry about that." He wasn't quite finished speaking when he heard the bell ring. Letting out a sigh, he turned his attention back to the class. "Okay, there's no actual homework tonight, but I suggest you start reading up on the Phoenix. We'll start that Monday."

His words most likely fell on deaf ears as he watched the kids scramble out of the classroom like rats deserting a sinking ship. It wasn't as though he could blame them. He hated school when he was their age. Why was he teaching then? Fate was a bitch, that's why. He smiled inspite of himself. His classes today had been like a living hell. Most of them hadn't a clue as to what he had been talking about and only about half of the homework he'd recieved had been in anyway passable. He needed to be a lot more strict with the kids, but he just couldn't find the heart to follow through with it.

After he had put everything away, he headed out of the room and started down the hallway. 'Damn kids,' he thought viciously to himself as someone slammed into him and trampled on his foot. He held on tightly to the book in his arms. They were the new text books that had been recommended to him for next year and he had to review them before sending them back. He hated the research aspect. It was boring and tedious, but someone had to do it.

He quickly found out he'd been headed in the wrong direction and tried to turn back. This proved to be harder than he'd thought. The boys were pushing each other around and were raming into everything and everybody. As he made it past the giggling girls, he felt someone shoved right into him. Dakota's back collided with a hard wooden door and he soared through it falling flat on his ass. As he looked around, he saw he was now outside. This was just perfect. "Son of a Bitch!" He got up, dusted himself off, and headed back inside.

tagged: open
outfit: here.
words: 608
notes: meh...

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[rowena]

Rowena still couldn’t believe that she was back in her hometown after being gone for so many years. Carol Lockwood had been so enthusiastic about bringing back to Mystic Falls to perform as part of the celebrations for Founder’s Day. She had even managed to find a dress that resembled the one Rowena’s great aunt Elizabeth had worn when she had performed there back in 1864. And the strange thing was that it fit her like a glove. How was that possible? After all the dresses that were made back during the Victorian period were far different than the modern ones of today. It was as if this added more to the fact that she was so much like her late great aunt Elizabeth. Carol had even shown her the portrait of her great aunt which hung in the Mystic Falls museum. Apparently the portrait had been missing for some time and been recently discovered while she was away. As Rowena had stared at it she couldn’t believe how alike they looked. Except for the fact that she had brown hair whereas Elizabeth had blonde it was like looking into a mirror.

Unfortunately it was now a sad homecoming when she learned of the death of Mayor Lockwood. Carol had tried her best to be strong in Rowena’s presence but it was clear that she was very upset. Still, she kept her chin up as much as she could while arranging for Rowena to stay at Lockwood mansion. She had also asked if Rowena would sing at the funeral as it is what her husband would have wanted and of course she had agreed. It would appear that Rowena had a busy day in store for her as she was also scheduled to teach a master class at Mystic Falls High as well. But at least she would have the rest of the evening to rest. She did like traveling except in this instance where her flight had been late and she had lost some sleep. But Rowena was fortunate in that she was a singer who performed best under pressure and lack of sleep was not much of a factor. Carol had decided that morning to drop her off at the school herself and would pick her up at the end of the day. She had also spoken to the principal to make sure that Rowena was treated properly while she was there.

Rowena truly felt like she was a princess with the way things were being laid out for her. For the master class she decided to wear a simple blouse and long black skirt. It showed that she still had a taste of elegance but still a hint of casual as well. The last thing she wanted to do was come across as intimidating to the students or like some opera diva. Part of her wondered if the music students would even know who she was. Or…at least if they hadn’t before their music teacher told them about her. As she walked down the hallways it appeared that the school had not changed that much but it was certainly strange not being a student. As she made her way through with her tote in one hand and her violin case with the other she was suddenly taken by surprise as the bell rang and students came pouring out of classrooms. Before she knew it she was caught in the middle and trying to fight her way through like a salmon swimming upstream. It would appear that she had bad timing and should have looked at the schedule more closely.

Then before she had time to think she was pushed into someone but fortunately managed to maintain her balance enough. However the same could not be said of the poor man who was pushed through a door and outside. Pushing her way through the crowd she quickly made her way over to the man who had brushed himself off before coming back inside.

“Oh my god,” she replied with a concerned face. “Are….are you all right?”

[Dakota Shay]

As annoyed as he was by having been shoved out, he tried hard to control it. He remembered what happened the last time he’d let his temper get the best of him. He’d effectively managed to set fire to his entire apartment with nary a match in sight. That was fun trying to explain to the Fire Marshall. He’d learned, after Tamera, to keep that aspect of himself as well hidden as he could. The last thing he needed was an angry mob marching across the town square with torches and pitchforks shouting “Witch!”

Still, if he found himself angry about it later, he could always write up a surprise quiz. Those were always entertaining. He’d seen several students go white as a sheet when he’d said it was worth a third of their grade for the semester and it was on material they hadn’t even covered yet. It hadn’t actually been worth more than extra credit, but at the time, he was making a point and needed to appear firm.

The only students he actually managed to be strict with were the football players. Most teachers were lax with them, figuring they had enough on their plate with a sport, let alone a class, or, God forbid, homework. He felt the exact opposite. If they couldn’t manage to even play a decent game then they deserved no special treatment and if anything, he was harder on them. Though he had to deal with them sometimes four hours a day between classes and practice, so he’d earned the right.

He inspected the book he’d had with him for any signs of damage. It survived the assault. He sighed in relief. That was one less thing off his mind. He was jarred from his thoughts by the sound of someone talking to him. “I’ll live.” It was a standard answer, but it wasn’t exactly something he needed to elaborate on. He tucked the book under his arm and looked over at her.

He didn’t recognize her. She didn’t look like a student, but she also didn’t look like a teacher either. Sort of somewhere in between. He wasn’t going to try and figure that out on his own. He had to admit, she was quite attractive, though a school hallway wasn’t an ideal place for a cheesy pick-up line. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before. Are you new?” He’d completely forgotten his manners, he realized, and offered her the hand that was free from the book. “Dakota Shay: Mythology. Is your name as pretty as you are?” Well, so much for being discreet.

tagged: Rowena/open
outfit: here.
words: 456
notes: sorry it’s short...

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[rowena]

When Rowena returned to Mystic Falls she couldn’t help but wonder if some of the town would remember her. Of course Carol Lockwood would no doubt have taken care of that through the Historical Society. She doubted that any of the kids or teens would know who she was but the older people would. And as ridiculous as it was she just hoped that she would be accepted. Even though she was a famous opera singer Rowena still had low self esteem. After all she had not been in Mystic Falls for close to 6 years. It may not have appeared to have been that long but it was to her. She even wondered if any of her friends were even still around. So many questions were running through her head right now. And it hadn’t helped that she had one of her dreams last night either. The reason the dreams were so bad was because she had a headache for hours afterwards and it usually affected her the rest of the day. But of course she had to hide it now because she had a teaching obligation to fulfill.

That was how Rowena was in that she would push things to the back of her mind and continue on. Most of the time people that were around her didn’t know that she was dealing with a lot of things in her life. She just wasn’t one of those people who liked to drag people into her problems. On the other hand she was always willing to listen to others with theirs. She had that kind of reputation when she was in a show and sometimes did get overloaded with other people’s dramas and had to take a break. Any psychologist would have told her that she needed to discuss her problems but she just didn’t want to burden herself on anyone. And now she felt like she was responsible for the poor man who had been pushed through the door. She should have just waited until the hallway was completely clear. It wasn’t as if the music teacher wouldn’t understand and she was actually an hour early anyway. Oh well it was too late now and the damage had been done. But at least her violin case had not been knocked to the ground or that would have been disastrous in itself.

“Ok,” Rowena replied back a little taken by surprise at the man’s remark. “Well, I guess that’s a good thing then.”

When he finally turned and looked at her she could see that he was obviously not a student. Not that she thought he was old by any means. He certainly wasn’t someone that she recognized from Mystic Falls either. It would be too good to be true if he was the music teacher but as she looked at the book in his hand she highly doubted it. Still maybe he could help her find the room that she was supposed to be in? And she couldn’t deny that he was quite handsome either. There was something about his eyes that drew her in and she couldn’t turn away.

“Hmm?” she asked before blinking her eyes. “Oh…new….yes….yes I am.” Looking at his extended hand she then shook it gently. “It’s nice to meet you Mr. Shay. Mythology huh? That is a subject that has always fascinated me.” She blushed slightly at his compliment. “Rowena Cuthbert….classically trained vocalist and…former student here who is apparently lost.”

[Dakota Shay]

I can’t believe I’m doing this. Teaching high school? It’s absurd! Koda thought to himself. Considering that he wasn't the one learning here, he was pretty nervous. This was the first teaching job he'd ever held. Unless you counted student internships that were mandatory for graduation. Oh well, he'd gotten himself into this mess and he was the only one who could be held accountable. Small price to pay for keeping secrets. Some days he wished he was back doing what he thought he did best. Big cities tended to foster big dreams and New Orleans was a magical place to begin with. They had Mardi Gras, jazz, voodoo, riverboats, all designed to keep the illusion of mystery. If he'd been born anywhere else, he might have turned out differently.

Music was everywhere. You heard it when you went down the street, in cafe's, bars, clubs, didn't matter where you went, it was a;ways there. No surprise he'd become interested at a young age. No matter how rebellious he acted in general, it was the one thing he had focused discipline at. He'd spend hours in his room learning new songs on the guitar. The lessons had been a birthday present from his grandmother. When he'd first learned about chords and such, the first thing he did was run and try to explain it to his friends. Those friends would later become his band-mates.

He missed them. Not so much the parties and the groupies and the money, though all of those things were a bonus. It was the people. He hadn't contacted them since he'd moved to this town. For one, he didn't want Tamera to find him and for another they wouldn't get his new life at all. Funny when you reach a point where you realize exactly what your friends are like. It was best to leave them be for now. His attention was brought back to the present when she responded to him. "And you as well." When she shook his hand, it established a psychic link momentarily and it allowed him the strangest glimpse. He took his hand back quickly but casually. Are you kidding me? He decided not to bring it up as it wasn't threatening, but it was vivid. It seemed like he was extra psychic lately. First Isaiah, now a complete stranger. It was a weird week.

"Tales of heroism, betrayal and passion, fairy tales, magical stories, tales of gods and monsters and beasts and stories of witchcraft and sorcery, mystical images and ideals, how to live a lifetime under any circumstances.Gotta know where you came from to know where you're headed." His interest was piqued even more when she mentioned she was a vocalist. He knew what that meant, opera and musical theater. He had respect for those people, but it was one venue he wouldn't try himself. "Classically trained vocalist, huh? Then what brings you all the way to Mystic High, miss Cuthbert?" It was a fair enough question. He didn't think the students quite had the attention span for Don Giovanni, but who knows, they might surprise him. "I got lost here myself the first day on the job. So, what are you looking for?"

tagged: Rowena/open
outfit: here.
words: 558
notes: finally...

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