Halcyon Halls

When: Night
Where: Streets of the city
Who: Cassius and open

Cassius had contemplated more then once leaving the island. Break was something needed for more then just the students, Cassius could use one himself. But he knew that in leaving the island there were risks. He knew that running away from his problems was not going to solve them…not that staying truly was solving them either. He was stuck in the middle of two extremes. Two lives that did not blend well together. To say that he had ignored them both this entire time would be a lie….but there was no denying that Cassius had been seeking time by himself. Away from the school, students, the world as much as he possibly could. It was no real ease, no real break, but it was the best he could manage right now.

Would it be best to bring them all together, to try to talk it out? Maybe…but Cassius was uncertain how that would really go and in a way he was too frustrated by all of it to even seek that situation out. Not yet. Perhaps that made him selfish, if it did then it did. Cassius never had sought to deny such a statement or belief. He was not one to call himself a good man or even fair. He was who he was, both bad and good and everything else that seemed to lie between.

For right now he was a man that wanted little to do with anyone.

Cassius had taken up residence in his home outside of the city ever since break had begun. There he had called out more magic users, seeing to the wards and means of protection the home had. It was a double edged sword for him however, as the weight of such confines did eat at him at times. A near claustrophobic tug at the mind that more then once, drove him out of the house. But when he could stand it, when he could calm himself down enough to be alright within it, it did its job well to keep out all outside influences. Not quiet a silence no, but it dulled everything else down to a barely audible buzz.

Tonight, it was turning out, was not a night that he could stand the feel of the wards. He sat to his room, book in hand, and yet read the same line over and over again. A line that he could scarcely even remember as the book sharply closed and was tossed unceremoniously to the table behind him with a dull thud. For a man that had once traveled and constantly enjoyed being on the move this…stagnant nature that he’d decided for himself did not always sit well.

He couldn’t deny that there was much about his life before that he missed. It seemed like an entirely different world in a way; with so little care, so little responsibility. Such stark contrast to now in so many ways. There was no denying that there was much about this life that he loved as well. Likely they both knew that, knowing and understanding were two vastly different things however.

With a heavy sigh Cassius pushed himself to his feet. He didn’t know where he was going except that it would be outside of the house. Shoes were pulled on, the look different then that of his typical suit attire. Nothing more then jeans and a dark button up top. After grabbing his keys, wallet and phone Cassius was out of the house; taking his car into the city.

He could have just driven for hours…burning the night with such aimless movements. But in some effort to instead burn away energy he parked and began to walk. Passing familiar bars, restaurants, even familiar people. But he didn’t stop to speak with any or even go inside. He just let his shoes continue to beat against the pavement. One step after the other…

When: Night
Where: House away from city/school
Who: Cassius and Val

In the dark Cassius sat, a headache pulsing at the back of his skull making it feel as though it would crack in effort to release the pressure. Here to this house far from the city and the school he had been since before the sunrise. Finding his way there as the werecreatures were brought closer and closer to the school as their time to shift back neared. As needed he had gone out with other teachers that night. He had seen to the students, ensuring that none were harmed while they were not fully themselves. Fights were stilled, aggression curbed. But always it wore on him. Emotions ran rampant the week of the full moon. Students so consumed by those primal urges that they lost control and lashed out. Even those well trained in keeping such emotions at bay could not help but be pushed by the onslaught of it all.

Cassius struggled; and because of it he did as he often did when he felt as though his own control was sacrificed. He shut himself away, cutting himself off from the feel of those emotions until he felt as though he stood upon stable ground again.

Control. It was now the center of his life. It ruled all he did, all he spoke, all he even thought. It had consumed him in a way that left him often wondering if there was anything else. There were times when he felt caged, as though the walls put around his mind were instead around him. Locking him in a room with no windows or doors; no way out…no escape. He had felt this way before, when he let chaos reign and gave up all fight against it.

For Cassius the middle ground was not so easily kept. Back and forth he had teetered through the years and still, even with his years, a balance wasn’t kept.

But now was different then all the times before. After the demons something had changed…that control slipped more and more and when it did he got that taste for how things had been. Like a shock through the senses making him feel alive again. Was he forever changed? He did not even know, or even fully recall what had been done. He knew only that the passing of time had not cured all this strain as he had thought it would.

( Being here had not solved the damage done. )

Who: Open to all
Where: The East Pool and connected commons room
When: Saturday Evening into Night
What: Spring Fling

Leaving the Main Hall, one can turn left or right, either way, their path is through yet more sand. To the left they will find themselves shortly in the pool room decorated similarly to the main hall. Lawn chairs, tiki torches, palm trees, and again a room lit less by florescent, more by flame and “starlight”.

This particular pool is of course, the perfect choice for this type of party. The shallow end being only inches deep and the deepening so gradual as to give the appearance of a beach leading out to sea. Sand was packed all around and completely molded into the shallowest parts, so heavily that the bits being washed away only leave even more sand beneath. Clean up, they already know, is going to be hell.

Life guards will be on duty tonight to accommodate those less aquatically-inclined, but please do be aware of the water depth, the lack of lighting, and most especially, the amount of alcohol in that drink they called a Sex on The Beach.

When you're looking to relax away from the hustle and bustle of the party, you might want to curl up on a couch in the common room. Laid back and relaxing as always, the room has now been transformed into an island cabana, but a cabana with a large screen TV playing beach movies all night long.

When: Later Night
Where: The City
Who: Cassius and Val

The week was long and the full moon had all but made it that much more difficult to tolerate. Always student’s emotions were heightened then, a pounding force against the mind that did not want to be blocked out. It was a near burn against the flesh, all the energy, emotions, thoughts… But while such a time would seem to mean he’d be away from the school more he was actually there far more. With that full moon came fears, worries, and a desire to speak to ones guide about everything that was going to come to pass. Not just a guide no…a counselor.

Cassius lingered, seeing to various meetings between his classes. It kept him busy and yet still the week seemed to drag. On and on, hours ticking by like days. The full moon, at least, had gone quickly. Cassius was one of the many teachers and staff that were out that night to ensure everything went well. Not all that worked at the school were capable of the task. Cassius had age enough to out power even a raged werecreature and if he somehow could not, he had speed upon them. But it was more his ability to affect the mind that came into play then. Able to calm, to reach within and bring back that sense of self to ease a student from that aggression.

It was a strain yes, but Cassius never once let it show.

With the end of the week Cassius was quick, however, to seek retreat from the school. He lingered only long enough to spend some time with Selene before she left for a meeting and Cassius himself left for the city. She knew where to find him should her weekend hold clear hours. But even the weekends for them tended to be busy, sometimes far more so then the rest of the week even.

The night air was crisp and cool, a feeling that nearly refreshed Cassius as he left the bustling halls of Halcyon behind him. Through the courtyard he walked, stopping to speak with a few guards before finding way to his car. Status reports…Cassius was sent them daily but still he preferred to speak with the guards personally whenever he could. Often it was for just the simple desire to get a feel of them. Though it was never so easy to find the enemy disguised as friend. And all knew there was such about the island.

Far too many holding that trait in Cassius’s opinion.

His path was simple, straight from the school to the house he owned that was past the outskirts of the city. Dark, secluded, it was not all together the safest place on the island but it was safer then it might appear from an outsider’s perspective. Which was what Cassius wanted.

There some work was seen to, idle means to pass the time. But it was not long before hunger began to edge upon his senses. He could deny it or simply see to one of the bloodbags in the kitchen but he did not do choose to do either. Instead Cassius grabbed his suit jacket and left the house hours after he had first arrived.

With the strain of the week he needed something more then a simple bag. He needed something with more strength. Most staff members in the school, and on the island, knew the few places to go when they craved blood from a live, willing, body. It was to one such bar that Cassius headed.