Afternoon, mid-Spring-semesterish

[Shihab]

Shihab wandered the grounds, hands shoved deep in his pockets, humming under his breath. From time to time, he'd break into song, in varying languages and a rough pidgin. Before too long, he found himself faced with a section of the Grounds he hadn't seen before. Curiously, he pushed the gate open and stepped onto the courts-- he hadn't played tennis before, and only knew that it was played with bouncing green balls and rackets, and skimpy white clothes seemed to be involved somehow.

At any rate, no one seemed to be around today. He picked up a dry stick from under a bush, outside, and sat down with his back to one of the net posts. With a cursory glance around, he pulled one of the lighters he always carried around-- no sense wasting magic on aimlessness-- and lit the end of it. Utterly engrossed in listening to the popping noises of it, he probably wouldn't notice if a horde of girls fangirl-rushed him, at this point.

[William Jason Fredericks]

A strange meteorological phenomenon began to take place. Localized clouds began to form over the tennis courts (and over only the tennis courts). Seconds later the clouds broke, dumping a cold, freezing rain onto the courts (and only the courts).

Groundsman Fredericks stood outside the courts (and outside the strange localized storm), his eyes narrowed as he watched Shihab.

[Shihab]

The fire immediately went out, and Shihab yelped, dropping the steaming branch. He leapt up, staring about, eyes wide, and shook the hair out of his eyes. Swearing in Arabic, he rubbed his arms, freezing in the sudden cold-- it'd been an unseasonably warm day (which is to say, forty degrees instead of the thirty they'd been having), and wearing a T-shirt suddenly seemed dangerously foolhardy.

Suddenly, he did a double-take at the sky, realized something, and loped over to the edge of the court, not having seen the groundskeeper yet. A suspicious look on his face, he stuck his arm through the fence, feeling the air on the other side.

[William Jason Fredericks]

The air on the other side of the fence was unchanged, almost as if a wall of air contained the storm within the tennis courts themselves. The strange storm ended as suddenly as it had begun, leaving only the sleet on the concrete as evidence of its existence.

[Shihab]

Shihab's face twisted, for just an instant, into a ferocious snarl, and he grabbed the chain link fence with both hands... and then threw back his head and laughed, long and hard and loud, the sound echoing off the concrete. Whirling, he slipped and slid his way back to where he'd dropped the branch-- this time he saw Fredericks, and shot him a wicked grin.

Without speaking, he picked up the branch, making sure to keep the old man in his peripheral vision, and lit the end again-- this time, of course, it took longer, and the fire was much weaker. Shihab had to throw a bit of power into the branch to get it to catch at all, but catch it did. He held it there, defiance in every aspect of his stance and face, the flame about even with his neck, about two feet or so away.

[William Jason Fredericks]

The clouds started to gather over the courts once again and roiled as if about to burst forth at any second. The wind picked up, a constant breeze from the direction of the ocean; it swirled about the courts, kicking up the dusting of snow on the ground and making it dance in serpentine patterns.

[Shihab]

Laughing delightedly, Shihab looked over at Fredericks for a second, the amusement clear in his voice.

"I was sure you'd just blow it onto my shirt or something. How long are we going to do this?"

[William Jason Fredericks]

"I have all the time in the world."

[Shihab]

Grinning manically, Shihab raised the branch aloft in answer, his eyes dancing.

"Alright, then! Just checking."

[Susan Daunt]

Suddenly, behind Fredicks, there is the sound of booted feet sliding to a halt, someone planting their feet and tossing their backpack to one side. "In the name of the Illuminati Enforcement Council as per the guidelines of the Avalon Convention regarding Magical Conflict," declared Susan Daunt from memory, eyes focused and body in a loose fighting stance, "I here-by request an explaination for this disruption of the Peace on Pain of NonLeathal Force under Article 24 of that Convention."

Susan's features set seriously, fists clenched, hoping against hope her bluff of technically-not-yet-official-authority wouldn't be called but not willing to leave her friend alone against whoever this unsavory character was.

[William Jason Fredericks]

Fredericks wheezed under his breath.

_{"Illuminati Enforcement Council...panty weghts...thumb up their arse...Dullahan outbreak 1243."}

Fredericks turned to face Susan. "The Avalon Council was a bunch of dottering blowhards who didn't know their arse from a portal to the Abyss. _{I should know, I was there.} I suggest you go ask.....Professor Freeman" he says the name with a slight chuckle "about it. In the mean time, you can bugger off."

[Shihab]

Shihab's mouth literally dropped open, the fire flickering on his improvised torch. Privately, he at least partway agreed with the old man-- a group of people who seemed to have arbitrarily decided that they were now In Charge Of Magic didn't appeal to him, much. But she was his friend, and coming to his defense...

"Er... Susan, what are you doing?"

[Susan Daunt]

Susan's features darkened at the insult to the Powers That Be who ensured good order in the magical world as she knew it but kept it out of her voice. Mostly.

"No," she growled, "You'll stop threatening my friend with... with whatever that effect is and show me you have a reason to be in this school, or else I'll make you do it."

[Shihab]

Shihab dropped the stick abruptly. "Susan, he's-- he definitely works here, I've seen him around, and I am pretty sure this is a bad idea," he said, bounding forward, having forgotten entirely about the layer of ice on the concrete... and the snow on top of it.

With a startled shout, his feet slid out from under him, and he landed rather painfully on his back. His first reaction, as usual, was a very short-of-breath laugh, wheezing and gasping, as he pushed himself back up.

"Bad... like I... said... bad id-- idea."

[William Jason Fredericks]

Fredericks seemed to ignore Shihab as he stared at Susan although as Shihab got back up it started to rain again over the tennis courts.

Fredericks suddenly began to laugh. It was a bitter, mocking sound.

"Make me? Make me do what....girl? From what I 'ear these Nor'easters do strange things to the weather."

[Susan Daunt]

Oh. *That* pressed a few of the Daunt scion's buttons, but there were rules after all. No matter how obviously insulting someone was being. And if Shihab was right...

"Do you work here? And if so, what has Shihab done to deserve your hostility?" she demanded back, not stepping back one inch, not daring to, as this... old man abused his power against a weaker opponent. That was a code 15 offense right there if the conflict was involuntary outside of a Master-Apprentice relationship.

[William Jason Fredericks]

((A summary of a chat RP done earlier, with some hopefully acceptable cleanup done by myself. And yes I know the tense is off but the chat was done in present tense and I'm too lazy to edit it))

Shihab holds up branch, pouring more power into it to make it a veritable flare "The weather here is/excellent/! I /love/ it!" He would sound more convincing, except his teeth just started chattering "And if this is the worst the Nor'easters have, I /laugh/ in their /faces/, because it is frankly pathetic!"

The rain turns to snow and begins to fall at a rate above and beyone what naturally occurs. Fredericks says to Susan "Of course I work here, do you think I would hang around with a bunch of arrogant brats for fun?"

Shihab: "Susan, this is anything /but/ hostile!" Realizing he's running out of magic, he still manages to grow an admittedly thin coat of fur. "This is just playing around, for me-- I mean, I'm sure he's not using his full power, either! Because that would mean this is the best you've got! Right?" He is shouting louder, now, as he's losing sight of them through the snow.

Susan is losing some of her edge, looking annoyed with Shihab now. "It is? He isn't?"

Fredericks laughs. "You have no idea. Now if you'd prefer your friend to not be an ice scuplture, perhaps you can convice 'im that playing with fire is a bad idea" Meanwhile the snow continues to pile up.

Susan's annoyance fully transfers to Shihab now as she relaxes and bows slightly. "Would you please stop so that I can talk to him?"

Tumult wanders into the middle of the group, completely distracted by the snowstorm.

Fredericks mutters _{"Does no one...indoors...bloody winter."} Speaking to Suan: "I don't know...'e seems to be enjoying the snow."

Susan: "Please. Sir." Her tone is respectful if guarded, and she's ignoring the robot girl from her survival class.

Fredericks harumphs. _{"more like it..."} The snow stops falling although what has already fallen remains piled up, over 2 feet of snow in the short time it was falling.

Shihab scoops up a handful of snow with his non-occupied, and very much numbed, hand, and puts the fire out. "It's so nice to be asked in words, instead of gales" He grins wickedly at the both of them.

Fredericks: "Words are easily forgotten"

Susan: "Words in the thr right mind are never forgotten, Sir." She frowns at Shihab. "Are you okay?"

"Ah, but snow lasts forever" grins Shihab. "Oh, wait..." He gives Susan a wide-eyed innocent smile. "Of course! I'm always okay. Probably neither of us are in the right mind, though-- or you. Good grief, what were you thinking?"

Fredericks: "Likely not thinking at all..._{brats rarely...things through...hasty.}"

Susan: "Helping a friend in aparent need, Shihab, no matter the odds." Her tone is soft and serious. "With all due respect. Sir."

"I don't need nor care for your respect" retorts Fredericks. "But I don't abide people being reckless on my school grounds."

Shihab to Susan: "I suppose I owe you a thanks for that, then." He grins a bit. "I'll remember that next time I decide to jump into a blizzard of trouble." He steps out of the snow-pile, kicks and brushes most of it off and shoulders the door open, arms folded tightly and hands under his armpits. "Oh, hello!" he says to Tumult.

Fredericks turns to Shihab, "I've made myself clear?"

Shibah looks steadily at him "Personally, I didn't think a single branch on fire, in the center of a concrete space enclosed by chain-link fence, was particularly reckless. Sir. But, whether you want respect or not, I suspect disregarding your rules will not end well." He shrugs. "Yes, your point is clear."

Susan narrows her eyes at Fredicks before focusing on Shihab, indicating his fur. "Shapeshifter, huh?"

_{"Reckless...get to...500th birthday...can decide what's reckless"} Fredericks shuffles off without another word.

Shihab shrugs, detaching it from his skin with a will of effort; it should all blow away fairly quickly. "Eh, I've got some talent in that area. Comes in handy for the odd pseudo-emergency." He grins widely, and shakes head after Fredericks. "Five-hundred? He don't half look it though, eh? Could be bloody well a thousand, with that attitude."

Tumult: "Small fire, concrete space large enough to launch a rocket from... I agree, Shihab. Although....snow"

Shihab grins excitedly at Tumult. "I know! Maybe we can make something cool with it-- no pun intended." He raises a mischievous eyebrow. "Think if I light the net on fire, he'll give us an honest blizzard?"

Susan shakes off her business frown and manages to chuckle softly. "Not a good idea so soon if at all. We break it, we buy it."

Shihab: "Heh. I was joking, really." He rubs his arms briskly, trying to shake some feeling into them. "I'd rather not be any more frozen at the moment."

Susan: "Cafeteria, then? They have hot chocolate between meals, I think..." she offered warmly up at her classmate.

Shihab nods energetically. "Oh, definitely." He looks to Tumult, "You coming? I'd love to build something here, as soon as my fingers start working again..."

Tumult: "Sure."