[ OLIVER JACKSON-COHEN, THIRTY-FOUR, CIS MALE ]. who is that on campus? oh, it’s just the new professor [ ELIJAH ATKINS ]. [ HE/HIM ] is/are originally from [ NEW YORK CITY ] and they’re teaching the [ ORIGINAL SPELL CASTING ] classes around here. apparently they’re also a/an [ MAGICIAN ]. they remind me of [ New York’s Rush Hour, Vibrant Print Shirts, Black Cats and Abraço Espresso ]
Elijah grew up privileged on the upper east side of New York City, both of his parents were doctors and had their own private practices. He was very aware of said privilege from a young age and rebelled against it, getting himself into trouble for small things at first like ‘forgetting’ to pay for the baseball cards but as he got older, he pushed things even further to the point where he began to con and scam people using his magic.
Once, twice.... oh about five times he got caught and locked up in jail until his father said enough was enough, do something with you life because next time, he isn’t going to bail him out.
Elijah knew that he had to change his lifestyle because there was no way he was going to prison over something petty so he began to attempt to reform himself by moving out of New York City, much to his mother’s dismay but it needed to be done.
After some years of travelling and reflection, he landed on Lennox and decided to put the skills he learned into use and become a Professor at the academy.
He still gets itchy fingers some times.
Some facts:
Has a black cat that he’s often seen with.
He hasn’t been home in a long time and got cut off somewhere down the line on his journey. He’s no longer a trust fund baby.
Life’s too short for boring clothes, his closet is full of fun, vibrant prints.
Wanted connections:
Friends, fellow Professor friends, enemies, exes, casual flings, anything really throw yourself at him.
“Did you ever get to taste the blue cotton candy?” Elijah asked when he paused in the hall between classes, he had spotted Nur walking towards him so stopped for a chat, the whole attack had some people on the edge so he was trying not to talk about it, you never knew who was having trouble.
Elijah was helping to clear things up from the fair around campus, he had come across a number of gross looking things but had quickly picked it all up and disposed of it. He came across Kellan while clearing up and nodded slightly. “This is what I get for volunteering to check for trash.” He held up the trash bag in one hand.
“Thank you,” he said taking the bottle from the other before nodding his head as he leaned his back against the railing. “It was, I used to love those things, but as soon as I went over the first hill my body told me no,” he said with a chuckle as he opened the bottle and started drinking. “Thanks again, anything I can do for you?”
-
Elijah laughed. “That’s generally what hitting over 30 does to you. You’re a braver man than me to go on that. I’d rather sit it out and go on something more gentle.” He dropped his arm once Gabriel had the water. “No, no, it’s cool.” Eli shook his head. “You should try the games instead, much more chilled out.”
“Go! Get out of here!” Sebastian yelled at a couple of students, who were standing near by-no doubt terrified. He couldn’t blame them. Once he realized he couldn’t change, he had felt something he hadn’t felt in a long time—fear. He wasn’t helpless, but he was certainly hindered. He was torn on what to do, fight or help people flee? With his powers seemingly limited-fighting seemed like a less viable option. But he doubted that the attacking strigoi would give him much choice.
“Atkins!” He ran over to the other professor, taking a moment to insure that they weren’t injured. “I can’t-I can’t transform. But there are some students stuck on one of the rides. Can you use magic?”
-
Elijah had attempted to do magic on several occasions before now, he wasn’t sure if it was the fact that he wasn’t a hundred percent skills with battle magic, or something had happened. Either way, he was helping the kids get away and back onto campus when he ran into Sebastian.
“Nope.” He shook his head. “Not even one little bit.” Elijah even tried a spell, it looked like it was about to happen but then puttered out. “Someone or something has depowered us.”
Nur smiled and leaned forward to get a better look. “Okay, so from where I’m standing… I see pink, blue… Green?” She asked with a light laugh. “I don’t know what kind of flavour green would be. Green apple, maybe?” Nur asked. She flashed him a smile and shook her head. “I would probably avoid that one, if I were you.” Nur told him.
-
“The green one?” Elijah leaned to get a better look to see if it had a flavour. “Shouldn’t we be more concerned about the blue one? Because when I was a kid, anything blue made you act crazy. All those e numbers.”
Elijah had just been walking around the fair, soaking in the atmosphere, everyone seemed in good spirits therefore Elijah felt like he could relax and went to buy some cotton candy, hanging back behind a woman. He smiled a little when he saw her turn around and minded his own business for a moment. “Do you think they have different flavours?” he asked. @nurxkutlar
He didn’t think he was the type to get sick after going on a ride one time, but here he was trying his best to keep himself calm. With a few breaths he could hear someone approaching him, “Could you get me a water please?” He asked politely as he closed his eyes and leaned his head against the railing. “I’m too old for this it seems.”
-
Elijah had been hanging back, watching people enjoy the fair until he decided to go ahead and get into it. When he spotted Gabriel, who didn’t look too good, he wandered over to ask if he was okay. “Here.” Eli pulled out a bottle of water and held it out to him. “What was the ride?”
Maverick pushed himself off the door frame he’d remained at for majority of their conversation and wandered deeper into the room. He took a seat in one of the chairs usually reserved for students and relaxed. “Well then, what’s next? If you don’t mind, I’d love to stay and watch.” Maverick grinned as he spoke. “A part of me wishes I had popcorn too.”
-
“What next? Well, I’ll see who’s next.” Elijah looked at his papers and picked the next one up to try that spell out. It worked for a total of two seconds, then pattered out. “They’re missing one thing.” he mumbled to himself and wrote that down on the paper. “I’m not going to tell them what it is, they’ll have to figure that out for themselves.” he explained.
Talon nodded enthusiastically, “You just name the time and place and I’ll be there. Would love to be showed the basics.” The male was thankful that the other had offered because he was about ready to make the request himself. “No judgement from me.” Talon spoke honestly, he’d done enough to be embarrassed about so he would never judge another. “Ahh yes.. well that’s the negative side of psychic magic. Could definitely be far more dangerous than good.”
-
“Alright, I’ll let you know when I’m free and we’ll figure it out.” Elijah was happy at how enthusiastic Talon seemed about it. “As I said, I’m now reformed and been sticking to just teaching here for a couple of years. I’m starting to find it rewarding now.”
“Original spell casting…” Talon mused softly, “Now that’s a class I would have taken had I been a student here myself.” It was true. Apart from his own specialty of mind control, Talon had struggled to master many other magical abilities. “Oh…” Talon chuckled softly, mostly to himself. Understanding the struggles one could have with psychic abilities. “This does sound like a story I’d like to hear, long or not.”
-
“Never too late to learn new things.” Elijah told him. “Happy to show you the basics whenever you like.” He offered the raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? Because you might look at me differently after.” Eli smirked a bit. “Okay, so I may have used a bit of psychic magic back when I was a con man, I’m reformed now, just putting that out there, but yeah, it made peoples minds weaker so I exploited that.”
“You would think a bunch of supernatural students would come up with something far more creative than love spells.” Maverick shuddered at the cliche thought, it annoyed him a little. “I’m sure a friendship spell would be a lot easier..” Maverick guessed, an eyebrow shooting up in a curious movement. “What a bunch of boring students, I’d really hoped you say someone tried to do something drastic and dangers. That’s when I’d get the popcorn.”
-
“Oh trust me, some of them do come up with amazing spells. I’m not knocking that, if I can perform it the first time, it’s an automatic pass.” Elijah explained his thought process a bit. He then laughed. “I’ve had my share of students blowing things up if that helps? I try to make my classroom a controlled environment so that doesn’t happen but there’s always one.”
“Did I need an appointment?” Maverick retorted quickly, his arms folding across his chest as he lent against the door frame continue to watch the other curiously. The question was obviously rhetorical so he continued, “I was actually just passing and found the demonstration of such ridiculous spell ideas quick amusing. Will students never learn.” He mused, mostly to himself.
-
Elijah looked up to see Maverick standing there. “I tell them at the start of every semester, a spell cannot make someone fall in love with you. There’s always one. Love comes in many guises, I know, but most of these are for romantic love.” He showed him the paper with said spell on it then put it back down. “Whatever happened to platonic love.”
Lorelai entered the other’s office once there had been room for her to sit. “Thank God, I wouldn’t even know where to start.” She admitted with a chuckle, sitting beside the other. “They can make spells for that? Hm, might come in handy if one of them ever succeeds.”
-
“You can craft a spell for most things.” Elijah explained. “But you need to have the right discipline to master it. Does that make sense? You don’t need to be a master Magician or anything, you just need to make it work for you.” He gestured to the spells in front of him. “So far only like two percent have worked.”
“Yeah? I’ve watched Eliot do his work sometimes. It’s fascinating. Until he gets annoyed with me.” The dragon sighed, taking another sip from her recently refreshed glass before looking up at him once again. “You’d be surprised.” She laughed, remembering some of the pairings she had witnessed over her years. “A lot of pairings start out that way, with a free spirit who doesn’t want to be tied down. We all value our independence. Many have to learn the same lesson, the guardians aren’t there to burden you, or make you feel stifled. If you have the right one, at least.”
-
Elijah chuckled. “Give him time.” He reassured her and leaned against the bar, watching her. “Humour me, my parents and sister always spoke highly of theirs but I always thought it was a bunch of crap.” He nodded when Selene explained. “I get that, they’re not here to burden us, they’re here to help guide us. I’m not a hundred percent sure I need something like that though, I got so used to being alone over the years.”