Firmament

Just wear obscuring clothes, like a hoodie and sweatpants, that way no one can recognize you.

Man, you're glad you thought to cover up before sneaking downstairs. These bright feathers would've been a dead giveaway, for sure. Now you don't have to worry about being seen skipping class!

The Roomie shouldn't mind that you're borrowing her poncho, either. Heck, she probably won't even notice it's gone.

no fancy schemes or crazy capers... your roommate catching you skipping is not really something to care about

Hmm. Now that you think about it...

Maybe it wouldn't be a big deal, if your roommate saw you skipping? She'd definitely be judging you silently. And you don't want her to think poorly of you. But at least she wouldn't give you a hard time about it, or tell your professors...

...Okay. Maybe take a step back. You already have a good excuse for not being there-- being late. If you simply walked out and said you woke up after the lecture already ended, the lengths people would have to go to in order to be accusatory are pretty extreme.

Dang, this is a really good point too.

You could just tell her that you're late, and that class is over. I mean, class is technically only halfway over yet. But it's just a little lie. She'd still judge you for oversleeping... but at least she wouldn't be suspicious.

just tell your roommate you need to take a mental health day. that's a thing you can do

Yeah, yeah...

You suppose you could just go up to her, and tell her the truth. That you had a hard time dealing with some unexpected social drama last night, and one of your classes is really stressing you out. She probably already knows something tired you out, since you went to sleep way earlier than usual.

You bet she wouldn't think too poorly of you, if you admitted you needed a day off to recharge.

>If you start a fire, you might burn your stuff. The whole dorm might smell like fire for a while. And, if you're unlucky and the fire gets too big before before its put out, maybe a person will get burned too. That's not worth the distraction, is it?

Man, this is an awfully good point too.

Too bad you didn't think of all that earlier...Show

Well... you could set off a fire alarm.

It would be really disruptive and you'd get in way more trouble if anyone figured out you did it... but it would get everyone out of the building and you'd be able to slip out in the confusion.

It would be especially irresponsible to set off a fire alarm in a building without a fire.

I mean, you could start a fire, but arson is worse than a false alarm pull. So setting a fire intentionally is totally not cool, even if it was a safe one.

But what if it was a safe fire that you started accidentally! Say... if you were to cook some food and accidentally set off a smoke alarm and panic and pull a fire alarm, that feels like a totally reasonable thing to happen. Does it?! Doesn't it?!!

Welp.

It's a bit late for second thoughts now.

An unfortunate Noodle Cup is already burning in the Dorm Kitchenette. It's crime? Having poorly written cooking instructions, probably.

That's what you'll say if you get caught leaving this room, anyway.

Speaking of, you think you hear people in the hall shouting, and a few pairs of footsteps heading down the stairs in a hurry? It's kinda hard to be sure that's what you're hearing, with this Fire Alarm blaring in your ears. Regardless, you're gonna want to get out of here fast. And ideally unseen.

In hindsight, this probably made the consequences of getting caught a lot worse? But hey, at least you won't have to tell your roommate you're skipping class!

>Get a move on, make sure to act innocent.

>Put out the fire! It's so small, and your stuff is worth more than your pride!

>There should be a fire extinguisher somewhere...
>(If it's in a pot just put the lid on and move off the stove)

>If it's just sitting on the stovetop and there's no extinguisher, you can smother it with the poncho! Move it off the hot element, fold up the poncho a bit, and then press it down over the fire

come on it's RIGHT NEXT to the sink! don't be stupid

(I am so irresponsible.)

Well, your options are to try to slip out with the crowd, or lay low until the hallway clears out. Since you're trying not to be seen, you probably want to lay low for a few minutes, then make your way out through the back entrance.

...there is a back entrance, right? If not then I guess you're better off taking your chances with the crowd.

>well shoot
>just kinda leave someone else to deal with it as you slip out like a sneaky birbperson

>Go out with a cup of panic and a tablespoon of rationality. Exit campus with a gallon of subtlety.

eat the fire

eat the fire

Eating is generally a bad idea. Cassie should research how to absorb nutrients through her skin the next time she gets the opportunity.

>Now is time to be of the runnings and the leavings!
>Vamoose, tappink reserves of inmost energinks is a now!

eat the fire

Eating is generally a bad idea. Cassie should research how to absorb nutrients through her skin the next time she gets the opportunity.

Actually, I would advise the contrary. Eating is actually a good idea. You don't have to use weak appendage to beat food to a pulp, and possibly waste a lot of enzymes for dissolving the food. Plus, food are less likely to be dropped when it's inside you when digesting it.

eat the fire

Eating is generally a bad idea. Cassie should research how to absorb nutrients through her skin the next time she gets the opportunity.

Actually, I would advise the contrary. Eating is actually a good idea. You don't have to use weak appendage to beat food to a pulp, and possibly waste a lot of enzymes for dissolving the food. Plus, food are less likely to be dropped when it's inside you when digesting it.

Yeah no, absorbing objects through osmosis is the superior way of gathering nutrients. Eating? Naaah.

>Skiping classes, Shitposting, setting fire alarms.. how terrible !what kind of bad influence could have turned you into such a troublemaker ?

>... Oh riiight...

>Time to escape like the ninja into the smoke

eat the fire

Eating is generally a bad idea. Cassie should research how to absorb nutrients through her skin the next time she gets the opportunity.

Actually, I would advise the contrary. Eating is actually a good idea. You don't have to use weak appendage to beat food to a pulp, and possibly waste a lot of enzymes for dissolving the food. Plus, food are less likely to be dropped when it's inside you when digesting it.

Yeah no, absorbing objects through osmosis is the superior way of gathering nutrients. Eating? Naaah.

Caw! No it is not. Do you where your food is coming from? If you were to eat from your skin, wouldn't that mean you're licking every surface you're touching? And also, it would be very easy for someone to force you to ingest toxic substances by simply shoving it not just on your face but anywhere on your body and you'll be poisoned; no need to open a hole shut by a pair of bones sealed by meat that's very strong and forcing the substance to be down the throat and esophagus where a chance of spitting them back is no longer possible.

eat the fire

Eating is generally a bad idea. Cassie should research how to absorb nutrients through her skin the next time she gets the opportunity.

Actually, I would advise the contrary. Eating is actually a good idea. You don't have to use weak appendage to beat food to a pulp, and possibly waste a lot of enzymes for dissolving the food. Plus, food are less likely to be dropped when it's inside you when digesting it.

Yeah no, absorbing objects through osmosis is the superior way of gathering nutrients. Eating? Naaah.

Caw! No it is not. Do you where your food is coming from? If you were to eat from your skin, wouldn't that mean you're licking every surface you're touching? And also, it would be very easy for someone to force you to ingest toxic substances by simply shoving it not just on your face but anywhere on your body and you'll be poisoned; no need to open a hole shut by a pair of bones sealed by meat that's very strong and forcing the substance to be down the throat and esophagus where a chance of spitting them back is no longer possible.

She should learn how to. Emhasis on learn: She doesn't need to be doing it all the time. When you learn to ride a bike, you don't have to ride the bike all the time. You can just stand still next to the bike instead.

yeesh it's like ome people haven't read the instruction manual of the bodies they pilot. You can't absorb an compicated protein , fatty acids or shugars withoutsome digestion just some raw minerals, gases and energy, souness she learn how to photosythesisse ferment or a some equivalent as well, the whole point of absorbing nutriment through skin is rather than eating is moot.

Now lets get ot more serious buisness. Like shirking classes, setting fire alarms and geting away ike a shadoooow. Weeee !

Ooh, fermenting sounds good. It'd be like having free beer.

Anyways, get back to fleeing the building, using the utmost stealthy sneakiness.

>Put out the fire! It's so small, and your stuff is worth more than your pride!

>If it's just sitting on the stovetop and there's no extinguisher, you can smother it with the poncho! Move it off the hot element, fold up the poncho a bit, and then press it down over the fire

And put scorch marks in your roomie's beloved Kitty Poncho? No thanks. She'd definitely start asking questions if she saw that.

>Skiping classes, shitposting, setting fire alarms... how terrible! What kind of bad influence could have turned you into such a troublemaker?

Bad influence? Naw, you're just having fun. And/or looking out for yourself.

...at least one of the two, certainly.

eat the fire

Well, you aren't sure when you last ate. And a hot meal does sound pretty nice right now. But you're not sure a hot pile of ash, charred noodles, and molten styrofoam really counts as a meal, per se? You'd probably be better off if...

Eating is generally a bad idea. Cassie should research how to absorb nutrients through her skin the next time she gets the opportunity.

Er... first of all, you are Cassie. You're not sure why you're thinking to yourself in the third person. Secondly, you have no idea how you expect to be able to absorb...

Other SuggestionsShow

Actually, I would advise the contrary. Eating is actually a good idea. You don't have to use weak appendage to beat food to a pulp, and possibly waste a lot of enzymes for dissolving the food. Plus, food are less likely to be dropped when it's inside you when digesting it.

Yeah no, absorbing objects through osmosis is the superior way of gathering nutrients. Eating? Naaah.

If you were to eat from your skin, wouldn't that mean you're licking every surface you're touching? And also, it would be very easy for someone to force you to ingest toxic substances by simply shoving it not just on your face but anywhere on your body and you'll be poisoned; no need to open a hole shut by a pair of bones sealed by meat that's very strong and forcing the substance to be down the throat and esophagus where a chance of spitting them back is no longer possible.

She should learn how to. Emhasis on learn: She doesn't need to be doing it all the time. When you learn to ride a bike, you don't have to ride the bike all the time. You can just stand still next to the bike instead.

Yeesh it's like some people haven't read the instruction manual of the bodies they pilot. You can't absorb any compicated protein, fatty acids or sugars without some digestion; just some raw minerals, gases and energy. Unless she learns how to photosythesize, ferment, or a some equivalent as well, the whole point of absorbing nutriment through skin rather than eating is moot.

Now lets get to more serious business. Like shirking classes, setting fire alarms and getting away like a shadoooow. Weeee!

Yeah, enough waiting around. Your dorm's kitchenette is starting to fill with noodle smoke!

>Get a move on, make sure to act innocent.

Well, your options are to try to slip out with the crowd, or lay low until the hallway clears out. Since you're trying not to be seen, you probably want to lay low for a few minutes, then make your way out through the back entrance.

...there is a back entrance, right?

You hurry out of the kitchenette, and into an empty hallway. The smoke and fumes come with you. From somewhere around the corner, you hear a panicked shout, and hurried footsteps. Sounds like a number of students are heading out the front entrance. Judging by the sound of heavy doors, others are using the Emergency Exits.

If you don't want to be implicated, your best bet is to avoid being seen by anyone. That means you can't take the front door. And the emergency exits are even a risk.

What to do...

>Go out with a cup of panic and a tablespoon of rationality. Exit campus with a gallon of subtlety.

Oh, to heck with it.

You sprint to the nearest open window, hop out, and flutter your way to the ground. Thankfully, this side of the dormitory is empty of students, or other onlookers. Looks like the coast is clear, to make your escape from campus undetected!

But... where to next?

The new Cafe, where net access is hopefully better than it is here, is on the outskirts of town. You could take the city tram straight there. Might mean waiting around a bit for a ride though. Alternatively, the Cafe is in walking distance, though it'd take a while to get there on foot. Of course, if you walk, you could stop somewhere else on the way. If you had somewhere in mind? Probably not class, though. Sure, your buddy wanted to see your notes for next quiz, but after all that effort...

In any case, you ought to figure out where you're going. Don't want anyone to see you!

So, is it normal for people in your area to be capable of flight?

Wait, did you remember to bring money with you? Could be a problem if you forgot, it's not like you can go back easily.

...Well, if you didn't, you could pick somebody's pocket, if they weren't paying attention... but no, that's a bad idea and what if they catch you.

someone needs to learn impulse control. also whatever your school teaches, learn that too... but after an adventure through the city that ultimately ends up with you arrested, learning a valuable life lesson about responsibility.

You live on the ground floor, right? If not, that landing's gonna be rough.

How about doing some window shopping on the way.

So, is it normal for people in your area to be capable of flight?

That's a weird thought. You're pretty sure it's normal to be able to fly.

At least, as normal as it is that some people can sing, you guess? Some people can, some people could but never learned how, and some people can't. They might need machines to fly with, or maybe do some Spirit Arts with their Pneuma, but...

...y'know. Some people can do it naturally, if they take the time to learn. For all the grief you deal with, trying to find clothes that fit your wings, though? Some days, you're not sure if it's worth it.

You live on the ground floor, right? If not, that landing's gonna be rough.

Nah. Sure, it's hard to do much more than flutter when you're bundled up like this. You've been through worse, though.

You think back to the time your Dad taught you how to glide off of some cliffs as a kid. A gust of wind caught you off balance. Dad was all "Cassie! Watch your camber!" Then you lost your grip on the air, and dropped like a rock. Of course it was on the coast, so there was water to break your fall... But, the point is, you've survived worse drops. And you know what you're doing!

Anyway, you're starting to get antsy standing outside the dorm building. And you're pretty sure you see smoke starting to come out the window you just leapt out of? You should really figure out a plan for how to get to where you're heading.

Nah, just start walking in a direction approximating a cafe. You don't really do plans.

Or, you suppose, you could just start walking.

If you remember correctly, the new Cafe is... north-ish? Somewhere in that direction. You hurry off that-a-way, until you can't hear the dorm's fire alarm anymore. Once you're in the clear, you let your pace slow down a bit.

Apart from a few people in the distance here and there, there's not too many folks around. Makes sense. There wouldn't be as many people walking around during peak class hours. The few people who are outside don't seem to pay you much mind, either.

Before long, you find yourself on the outskirts of campus. On the far side of the street, there's some shops, an old bookstore, some places you've ordered takeout. On your side, there's a small park, some shade trees, and the skyline from the downtown area. Sometimes it's nice to just take your time and wander. Take in the sights.

Wait, did you remember to bring money with you? Could be a problem if you forgot, it's not like you can go back easily.

...Well, if you didn't, you could pick somebody's pocket, if they weren't paying attention... but no, that's a bad idea and what if they catch you.

Huh. You brought money with you, but you probably shouldn't spend it if you don't have to. And there are a lot of people in this park. They probably have money they wouldn't miss, right?

In fact, you see someone napping in the shade of a tree, with a bag next to them. An easy mark. If you wanted to, you're sure you could just go over nonchalantly, sit down, wait a bit. Then once any suspicion died down, you could look in the bag for a wallet, or some other...

someone needs to learn impulse control.

A small chirp comes from your pocket, interrupting that train of thought. Might be for the best. Sounds like the kind your ComPad makes, when you get a message from someone. Guess you managed to get a connection from one of the shops for a second?

Odds are, it's probably your Study Buddy messaging you some more. You pull out your ComPad to check.

3 new messages from DAD (LiamFlynn)Show

DAD Wrote: (12 minutes ago)
> hello cassie I hope you are having a GOOD day.

---

DAD Wrote: (9 minutes ago)
> also I wanted to ask if you were feeling well?
> no big reason
> just wondering how your doing today kiddo
> are you in class right now?
> I sure hope not!

---

DAD Wrote: (5 minutes ago)
> because reading your phone in class would be pretty irresponsible
>

---

Reply to DAD?
>

Oh, it's your Dad. You were just thinking about him earlier. Weird.

He doesn't message you very often. Wonder why he's dropping a line? Maybe you should call him back? It might be nice to talk, while you walk to the Cafe. But if you do, he might ask about class. Or worse... about what you're doing right now. And what was he worried about you being well for? You've been feeling fine. Normal. Haven't you?

So... do you really want to call him? Or would you rather do something else? And, what would you even talk to him about if you did?

> Nor...mal.
> Want be nor-mal?
> When no-tice...
> THE MANY US
> Rea-lize im-pos-sible.
> Sad. So sad. Sor-ry... friend.