"Thanks for the first-aid kit." Eun-mi took the box from the blonde girl with a small smile and began wiping the excess blood from her hand. She look over that the three who had just approached her, and the small dragons that seemed happy to be with them. "Seems like you guys are having better luck with the dragons than I am. Although mine probably hates me because I dropped him." She looked over at the man with red hair, and to her surprise the dragon she had hatched was hiding behind his leg. "Oh you're back. Look I'm sorry I dropped you. I was an accident." The small dragon glared at her for a second before giving a loud shriek. It circled her a few times before eventually sitting down a few feet away. Eun-mi tried to hold out her hand as a nonthreatening gesture but the dragon just growled at her. Defeated at trying to gain it's trust, she simply sighed and said, "You're not going to like me anytime soon, are you Grumpy?" I gave another growl and looked directly, at her. "Darthun. Not Grumpy." The dragon's voice was soft and gravelly. The look on confusion on Eun-mi's face made the dragon growl and repeat itself once more. "Darthun." There was a brief pause before the dragon's words clicked in her mind. "O-oh! That's you're name..." It simply nodded. "Well Darthun, I'm Eun-mi. I'm sorry I dropped you earlier." Darthun gave a low growl and then seemed to relax somewhat. It looked like the apology worked. Surprised at this new revelation, Eun-mi quickly turned to the others and whispered, "Hi, sorry, I came in late. I'm Eun-mi. Can I ask who you guys are?"

(I'm on mobile for this post so I'm not gonna be able to separate Nate and Allan's sections easily, sorry!)

Nate grins when Allan arrives with the other dragon behind him, I knew his love for creatures would come in handy. Just never expected it to be with dragons he thinks before he realizes Eun-mi was talking to him. Maybe not directly but he'll take it. "My name is Nate, nice to meet you. And don't worry about being late, my brother and I are also a bit late to the party. But hey, at least we all showed up, right?"
Xalanth gently bites at Nate's ankle which makes him chuckle a little, "oh yeah! And this is Xalanth."

Allan looked a bit offended when Nate never introduced him. He stares a few seconds at his brother before quietly speaking, his voice soft and relatively feminine. "And...my name's Allan, or Al. Whichever you prefer. I'm Nate's twin brother, in case you were wondering." Al had put slight emphasis on the word "brother" without even realizing it at first. But once he did he goes extea quiet and hugs Soreth who lets out a small squeak in protest. "O..Oh, a-and this is Soreth."

Emma

@Aurliena Nova @derseknight

"Ah, it's fine," Emma said, taking back the first aid kit once Eun-mi had treated the injury. "I'm Emma, and this is Maia." She gestured towards the dragon, who crawled over to Eun-mi and started gently rubbing her head around the girl's ankles like a cat. Emma chuckled again. "Looks like she thinks she's a kitten." She smiled at the group of humans and dragons. "Nice to meet all of you."

Looking at the spiky blue dragon hiding behind the man who'd introduced himself as Allan, she kept her distance so as not to scare the creature further, but her smile widened. "Awww. So cute! Like an alligator! Uh..." She reminded herself that, apart from some of the people she'd studied with, not everyone shared her idea of what was cute. "Oh, come on, baby alligators... the eyes, the stubby legs, anyone else see it?" She gave a slightly awkward laugh. "Anyway," she said, glancing from Eun-mi to the dragon, "Are both of you ok now?"

Eun-mi looked at each new person and their respective dragon as they introduced themselves and nodded in return. A tingling feeling by her leg caused her to look down and see a small green dragon curling around her legs like a cat. The cute gesture caused a small giggle to escape from Eun-mi's mouth. A low growl caused her to turn her head in worry. Darthun approached the girl and began mimicking Maia's actions. However his rough spines scratched against Eun-mi's legs, and he wasn't very gentle about rubbing against her either. Within a few seconds she fell over again, and Darthun took this opportunity to climb onto her chest and sit curled up, staring at her with a bemused expression. "Pet." he commanded. Eun-mi gasped for breath and she attempted to shove the dragon off. "Ack! Why are you so heavy?!" she said with wheeze. Darthun reluctantly moved and sat down next to her, nuzzling her hand for attention. "Yeah cute," she said after hearing Emma's comment. "I love his appearance but his weight is gonna kill me. At least you're not trying to bite me again, huh?" Darthun simply made a low rumble and closed his eyes. Looks like the dragon was accepting her after all.

Jo picked up her own baby dragon, minding the small mossy patches along his back and legs. He wiggled out of her grasp and perched herself on her right shoulder like a parrot. "Really? You think you're a bird now? You better by glad you are small enough for this, because I really doubt you'll be able to do this for long!" She giggled as Bane chirped softly and rubbed his chin against her ear. Jo slowly approached the others and couldn't help but laugh at the antics of the other baby dragons.

"Hi. I'm Jo," she said to the new comers and smiled at the dragon sitting beside Eun-mi. Bane rumbled once, deep in his chest, and shook himself out from head to tail. "Oh. This is Bane." She laughed quietly and touched his nose with her fingertip. "I think I'm still in shock from all of this. I can't believe we have baby dragons running around now."

Nate looks at the newcomer walking up to the group as Xalanth copies Bane and perches on Nate's shoulder, nudging his human to be pet. The light brown haired male absentmindedly pets the dragon's nose, creating small sparks of happiness, as he nods to Jo. "I'm Nate, and this is Xalanth." The storm dragon climbs over Nate's head to get to the other shoulder so he can sniff Bane in curiosity. His blue and black tail was held out strong to help himself balance.

~ ~ ~ ~

Allan watches Nate talk to the new person of the group before waving himself. When he waves, his mountain dragon tries to escape to get to a shiny object that he found on the ground. "Calm down Soreth," he whispers softly before the dragon manages to break free and crawls under a shelf. "Soreth!" Al sighs as the dragon collects the shiny object, it appears to be an earring that someone lost years ago, and stares at Al from under the shelf. He assumed if he looked away the dragon would stay in place so he looks over at Jo, "my name is Allan, and...and that's Soreth."

Graeden Yourshaw

"Cute wouldn't be the word I would use," Graeden replied to Maia standing up after finishing cleaning the rest of the egg from Apollyon ",I think beautiful or elegant would match far better even if just born." Apollyon gave what could only described as a purr of her approval for such a description. No words could describe her better in her mind.

"I guess you got an ego on you don't you," Graeden gave a laugh to the sound of the dragon patting her on the head ",Something that probably need to be worked upon." Apollyon gave a disapproving look to Graeden to which he gave a small chuckle. She definitely she thought herself a queen merely only minutes after hatching. He could only wonder how that personality would shift during growth.

"Ah but where are my own manners. With all the new faces come new introductions. I'm Graeden Yourshaw," he said giving a slight bow in exaggeration ",And the newly hatched dragon I'm paired with is the ever so humble Apollyon. Ouch!" He yelped as Apollyon took a nip at his ear for his teasing.

"This is going to becoming a common thing isn't it," he said shifting the conversation back with Apollyon. She gave a huff of hot air at him and looked away but in his mind he heard a pleased laughing sound to which he smiled."Definitely the start of a good partnership... Or would it be friendship? Bondship? Ah well we'll figure that out later."

- Vivii -

Vivii had watched some of the others hatch their dragons and interact quietly with them. An asian girl had dropped her dragon after it nipped her. She looked easily around and despite the dragons she set down the bird cage she had been carrying thus far and clenched the lock mechanism before opening the door. The black and red birds fluttered easily out of the open door of the cage, they gave a series of pretty sounding chirps that soothed Vivii's nerves. Once they had settled on her shoulders as they normally did she continued further into the room. The little birds had belonged to Vivii for several years, one of the last remaining things she had from her parents. She'd gotten them as small chicks, barely covered adult feathers and the birds knew nothing but being constantly around Vivii. They often flew freely even outside because they never strayed further than a few feet away from her. The little birds snuggled together against the right side of her neck just behind a curtain of messy blonde hair.

Moving along the rows of eggs, she was drawn much farther back into the rows than the others had gone. She was midway through the cavern before she turned into a row and wove back up to the far wall. Up against the wall was a spectacularly colored egg, brilliant pearl white with soft pastel undertones and what looked like real gold rimming the edges of the scales of the egg. When she reached the egg her finches cooed softly in her ear at the sight of it. It was enough encouragement for her to kneel next to the egg and reach out and touch it. She watched carefully as the egg began to rock under her touch and then crack. Soon there was a flurry of excitement as some of the human workers ran towards her, one offering her a towel and congratulating her. She was curious as to why they were congratulating her, all of them telling her how lucky she was.

It wasn't much longer before a creature, a baby dragon appeared that took her breath away. It was nearly five feet long and almost as tall. It was pearl white, just as the egg had been with blushes of the softest pastel colors when the light hit it much like mother of pearl. Its neck and body were adorned with the same golden substance and the little dragon looked curiously at her before her little birds caught its attention. It took several wobbly but quick steps towards her before she threw up her hand, "No, Laila." Vivii had no clue where the name came from but she knew this was the dragon's name. The dragon cocked its head but nodded, gently shaking out her double wings. The ground beneath her shuddered as Dr. Nidhogg made his way down the main aisle to address them, or so she presumed.

"It looks like you have been bonded with a very special little dragon Miss Corey. That is the first female Seraph to be hatched in over a century. You are very lucky." Vivii's cheeks colored with a bright flush as the large dragon addressed her, his eyes were kind despite the fact he was fierce looking. He looked at the rest of the group, seeing everyone with their dragons. "Since it seems everyone has found their dragons I will show you all to where you will be staying for the duration of your time here. We have a set of apartments that have been cleaned up and readied since you're arrival. If you and your dragons would please follow me." He was gone as quickly as he had come and she hurried after him. Laila following some what easily behind her.

The large dragon had finally turned his's attention to the group and asked everyone to follow him. Eun-mi brushed herself off as she rose, taking note that everyone else seemed to already be comfortable around the dragon, even though she was quite intimidated by its large size. Darthun grunted and nudged her leg, urging her to follow the dragon. She had heard him mention something about apartments. The thought of moving from her current house to something a lot smaller wasn't appealing. "How am I supposed to work in an apartment? Last time I checked most places don't allow blowtorches..." She pouted, drawing herself into her own mind. Her brain buzzed with questions, and instinctively she reached into her pocket. Her fingers brushed against the ring she had made earlier, it's cool surface bringing a familiar sense of normalcy even through the chaos of today. A second later she pulled out a small notebook, and flipped through the pages. Each page was covered in notes and sketches. She briefly glanced at these until she found a clean page and began to scribble quickly on it. Darthun looked at her curiously as she worked. Eun-mi was absorbed in her work, and it brought a small amount of amusement to the young dragon whenever she would accidentally bump into a wall or another person. With a brief flap of his wings, he rose and attempted to land on her shoulder to see what she was doing. Instead, Eun-mi dropped like a brick. "Darthun, no! Ack!" The sketchbook toppled out of her hands as she crashed to the floor for the...third? time today. The page was now halfway covered in writing. Questions such as, 'Where is the dragon castle located?', 'How are dragons reality and not myth?', and 'Ask about art equipment being set up in apartment' were scratched haphazardly on the page. Darthun gave a shriek as Eun-mi shoved him off her and grabbed the book. She muttered a swear at her dragon and flipped back to her page to continue scribbling, oblivious to the world.

At the sound of a squeal and a crash, Ronnie turned her head in sync with the double-headed dragon at her side. Raising a brow, she scoffed as she straightened back into a standing position. She seriously couldn't believe they let people like her join the club. With a shake of her head, she ran a hand through her hair and turned her attention once more to dragon. She tilted her head and studied the creature's wing span. It definitely would not be a very good flier. But, that was minor. She had a freaking dragon. The girl gave a small laugh as she trailed both hands over the heads of her new pet. "This is totally unreal..."

Turning back once more to face the crowd, she rolled her eyes at the group of people who started to surround the injured woman. As she was watching, she could have sworn she saw her brother out of the corner of her eye. Ronnie looked over and shook her head. Of course he was he here. She couldn't do a single thing by herself. Well, it actually made a bit of sense the twins were both here. Same DNA and all that jazz. Made sense to have the same freaky dragon language ability.

She decided she was getting rather bored just standing and waiting for something to happen now. Looking towards her dragon, she smirked. "Come on, you two. Let's go meet the clan." Walking over to the group of people, her eyebrow quirked at the Asian woman. With a shake of her head, Ronnie folded her arms across her chest, well aware that Pyre and Jax stood just behind her, each head at her side. She looked at the others in the group, studying their dragons as well. She could tell there were some duplicates, but so far her pet surpassed them all.

That was, until the largest dragon in the room started to speak to one of the other girls. Ronnie tilted her head to the side and looked the girl over. She really wasn't that much to look at. And what was with the birds? Vile creatures. Soon they were instructed to follow the dragon to their new apartments. As they started to walk, she made sure to be within earshot of Vivii. She spoke to her dragon as she smirked towards the girl. "Easy now, boys. Wouldn't want to bump into the special little dragon."

---

As he continued to stare at his dragon, he failed to realize that his bum was still sitting in a puddle of water. The dragon made a clicking noise and nudged Vince with his nose, his eyes going to the water. Vince raised a brow and looked down before chuckling. "Well. Hope they have some luggage here for me." After a quick pat on his pet's head, he pulled himself to his feet and tried to assess the situation. His entire backside was soaked through.

Another chuckle escaped his throat. "At least it's only water. Could have been worse." At that time, he heard a squeal come from the back corner of the room. Raising a brow, he looked over in time to see a young woman holding her hand and several other people coming to help her. He sighed and looked back at his dragon. [color]"Let's go see what all the fuss is about, shall we?"[/color]

The duo made their way over just in time to hear that the woman's dragon had nipped her. It made sense, as the creature's were wild and newborns. First instinct for any baby would be to nip. But, the woman seemed to be in good hands with the group around her. Introductions were soon made and he looked every person over. He could tell they were from all different walks of life. The thought fascinated him.

Vince cleared his throat and looked over at another girl who had not joined their group. He watched as two finches circled her head before finding a resting place on her shoulder. Giving a small grin, he studied her. She definitely seemed interesting enough to him. He returned his focus to the group and nodded slightly. "I'm Vince. This is Lotan." Affectionately placing his head on the dragon's head, he grinned at the small purr of approval.

The crowd soon started to disperse as the dragon announced their room assignments. Clearing his throat, he nodded his head towards Lotan before following the pack out of the cave. He could hear the snarky tone from his sister and rolled his eyes. It was going to be just grand when her personality started to clash with everyone else.

When the larger dragon walked by and instructed everyone to follow him Nate looked around at all the other people one last time. It seemed he was going to have to get to know these people as they would be living in the same vicinity of him. Already he knew which ones he preferred over the others though, Eun-mi being one he preferred. She seemed cool and not too rude or sarcastic, that girl with the double headed dragon on the other hand...with her sarcastic remark towards the blonde whom he didn't know the name of yet either...well let's just say she was already not in his good books.

Xalanth seemed to sense that Nate didn't like the girl and his scaled skin started to spark again. "Calm down Xalanth, it's okay. Sometimes you have to tolerate people, even ones who you don't think have the best personalities." At his human's words and gentle touch the storm dragon calmed down but still gave the girl a glare.

~ ~ ~ ~

Allan watched as everyone followed the big dragon and stuck close to Nate as he too started to follow. There was more people for him to get used to now and he really did not like that. However, getting to know all the dragons would be cool. Despite the duplicates they all had their own personalities, just as humans did, even just as rats did, but he felt that (unlike humans) he could get along with the dragons. Speaking of rats, he notices that a blonde girl with a 4 winged dragon had pet birds with her which made him miss his children that he left with his friend. If he knew he could bring pets he would've brought his rats, he wouldn't even need a cage for them besides to eat, sleep, and use the washroom in! He had trained his rats to sit on his shoulders as he walked and was really proud of that. With a sigh he pets Soreth when she catches up (who idk if I said was a guy or not but she's gonna be a girl dragon). Allan supposed that a dragon was enough, it was definitely amazing to know they were real but he really just missed his pets right now.

Storm

Storm had a hand placed on his chin, lost in thought. It goes without saying that everything that has happened, up to this point, has been amazing and there were surely more surprises to come. Regardless, things seemed pretty strange. He juggled a few questions and ideas in the back of his mind and formulated a basic theory. Simply based off books and movies, things don't just happen to 'special people' without there being a catch, like something being wrong with the world. All that 'Every yin has its yang' mumbo jumbo.

Storm snapped back to reality, when Xyalor began tugging at his shirt. He flashed the crystal dragon a smile and rubbed the top of his head "I suppose the truth will come to light, soon enough. Till then I should just enjoy the ride, right?". He would then give a quick scan of the room. People were starting to gather by the Asian girl he passed at the door. It appears as if she had been injured, but after a quick assessment of the situation, Storm determined that she would be alright. She had enough people aiding her, it sat on the verge of babying her more than helping. "Helping a friend in need is fine, but she won't make it very far if she has to rely on others to come to her rescue all the time" he predicted, thinking about the theory he had cooked up in his head.

Storm soon realized that everybody was introducing themselves, while he remained a stranger. It would have to wait. He heard the large dragon speaking to one of the girls, distanced from the others. The dragon, first, mentioned her having bonded with a special dragon. His words made Storm laugh, though not out of spite. He, jokingly, nudged Xyalor "Looks like the teacher pinned his favorite student. We have some, friendly, competition on our hands... Let's show 'em what we're made of!". Storm throw a fist out in front of Xyalor, for a fist bump, but the gesture obviously did not register. Xyalor sat there with a blank expression. Storm chuckled and gently bumped the center of Xyalor's chest.

The large dragon then instructed the group to follow him to their rooms. Storm ran towards the others, with Xyalor at his side. "The brochure didn't say we'd have to run so much. Is this summer camp or the militaries basic training?" he joked

Following the large adult dragon out of the incubation chambers, Jo watched the others I retracting with their dragons and couldn't help but smile at hwr own. Bane let out a small chirp and jumped from his perch on Jo's shoulder, shook out his wings, and landed rather clumsily on ground in front of Jo's feet. "It seems as though you have a way to go, little one."

Bane have her a disapproving look and then turned to face the front and kept walking. He wasn't too much of a talker yet, given to more looks and gestures than words, but Jo was confident that he would come out of his shell eventually. Bane swayed back and forth slightly as he walked, trying to mimic the larger adult dragon leading them.

They were led to a series of apartments from the looks of them. Jo's heart sank as she realized that she didn't have a thing from home with her. Bane looked over his shoulder and grumbled deep in throat, sensing her unease. She reached down and softly a mossy patch on the back of his head between his two large horns.

As they walked, Jo took a few moments to watch the other baby dragons as they followed the doctor. She couldn't help but grin at their antics. Bane, on the other hand, did not find her lack of affection amusing and swung his tail around. The force caught her in the shins and caused her to stumble forward a step before regaining her balance. She narrowed her eyes at the forest dragon, who shrugged it off and scratched his chin with his rear foot. "Dragons. Drama king," she muttered and nudged her hatchling with her foot. Idly she wondered who she would be rooming with and if they would get along well.

Emma

@Aurliena Nova

Emma rushed after Dr Nidhogg and the others, Maia scampering along by her side. The baby dragon kept leaping into the air. Her wings weren't yet big enough to allow her to properly fly, but it turned out she could already glide short distances. The leaves that covered her body rustled as she moved, claws clicking against the stone floor.

This was all so much to take in. Dragons... Emma stared around at the many different types. One had two heads, one had sparking scales, and another had two sets of feathered wings... She'd have to reassess everything she thought she knew about animals.

As Eun-mi picked herself up again, Emma caught up with her and Darthun. "Doesn't know his own strength, does he?" Her comment came out sounding breathless. She'd certainly get a lot of exercise during her stay here, just from following Dr Nidhogg around.

At Emma's feet, Maia huffed at the lack of attention, smoke curling from her nostrils. Forest dragons could breathe fire? That wasn't something Emma had expected. Was that something most dragons could do, then? This was just one of the many questions she'd have for Dr Nidhogg in the morning.

Play, Maia whined, jumping up again. Now, instead of thinking she was a kitten, she seemed to think she was a puppy. Emma giggled, leaned down and tickled the dragon, who rolled onto her side with a contented chirp.

Both stood up, realising how far they'd fallen behind. Emma had to run even faster, messy wisps of hair flying all around her face. Maia bounded along next to her. Before long, a set of apartments came into view. Emma wondered how she'd sleep. She'd be like a child on Christmas Eve. What would the next day bring?

- Vivii -

Even freshly hatched Laila was quite graceful if a bit clumsy with her four wings and long legs. She would be exquisite when she grew up. Absolutely beautiful, of that Vivii was quite sure. What Vivii wasn't so sure about was surviving the sheer rudeness of one of the other girls. She seemed to be the only one here with a poor ass attitude. Having met several copies of the same girl, they were all identical on the inside after all, just the same ugly person with a different face on the outside, Vivii had found that often enough they paid for their own rudeness later on even if she personally was not there to see it. She acted as if she hadn't heard the girl as she continued on, glad for her time she had spent jogging and hiking these past several years to build up an endurance she was proud of.

The little birds that were tucked in the shelter of her blonde hair clung tightly to her shirt as she moved, despite having the smoothness of an experienced runner it was still a tough ride for them. At least they weren't bumping around in their cage though. Laila was galloping along behind her, surprisingly well for such a newly hatched being. Just after the girl who was waiting for her karma had moved on a guy who looked suspiciously like her appeared not to far from Vivii, he'd introduced himself as they'd jogged along after the good doctor. She smiled easily, showing her straight white teeth briefly before she reduced her smile to simply curve her plump lips. "Belle de vous rencontrer à la fois," It was a moment before Vivii realized that she had spoken in french. A bad habit when she was nervous, this wasn't exactly the type of lad who normally spoke to her after all. Though she was confident and knew that she was pretty it was her quietness and anxiety that kept most people at bay. They disliked having to reassure her, one reason she preferred her finches over actual people.

"Ah, pardon, I forget I'm not in ma patrie anymore. It's lovely to meet you both. Viviana, my friends call me Vivii though. Four-wings back there is Laila." Vivii spoke just loud enough that he might hear her though she doubted any of the others could hear her words. She was a private person, not wishing to exclude the others but not entirely wanting this large of a group of people to all be speaking to her or around her at once. She was certainly glad she had not been the small asian girl who had tripped over her own feet and dropped her things. The other girl seemed to have dealt just fine with the stumble though even if Vivii did feel bad for her. She'd still just been getting over the shock of hatching a dragon herself though. It wasn't simply something one did every day. "I'm just glad I've kept up my hiking lately, otherwise all this jogging would be difficult."

---

Niall moved easily through the halls, his long stride allowing him to keep up somewhat easily. Allaire was just behind him, galloping along happily, tail swishing and nearly knocking into the backs of his legs. He simply hoped the young dragon didn't trip him. Dr. Nidhogg was moving more quickly now and it wasn't long before Niall was nearly at a full jog trying to keep up with the massive beast. It was several good minutes of jogging, during which Niall was eternally grateful for his strict workout schedule that he maintained even when business was booming and his work schedule was packed with meetings and galas.

He sighed with relief when they arrived at the surface, pausing briefly to allow the large set of doors to open before heading out again. In his stride Niall removed his jacket carefully, the leather crowding his movements and making him hot. He tucked it under his arm carefully as he kept pace with the others. Thankfully it was only another couple minutes of swift jogging before they stopped in front of what quite honestly appeared to be a castle, the building seemed to be nearly ten stories tall. The doctor turned his massive head to look at them.

"This is the apartments where the students of this academy reside. You will be allowed freedom within this building the rest of the day along with the courtyard it contains to get to know your dragons. Tomorrow classes will begin and you will be learning some basic spells and power words in Gaea. Though the language comes naturally to you since you can speak to your dragons you will still need to learn some more difficult words and phrases to properly execute spells. You will find on the secondary door just inside the postings for who you will be rooming with and where your room will be. I hope you find the apartments to your liking. Your luggage among other things have already been placed inside. If you find that you simply cannot deal with your roommate come find me." The dragon then left them in a whirl of wind like a hurricane that Niall had to brace himself against, his thick hair moving about and covering his eyes.

Once the wind had died down from the massive dragon's wing flaps Niall headed for the doors, speaking the word he had heard the doctor say when going to the doors before and it creaked open. He grinned, beside himself that he had remembered the word correctly. Who knows what could have happened if the word had been wrong. He could only chuckle as he looked at the piece of paper on the second set of doors.



He nodded, he was with the dark headed girl who had spoken to him in the dining hall about his manner of dressing. He pushed through the doors into the rather grand entry way. Dragons seemed to be all about opulence and he was certainly grateful. It had been a long time since he had dealt with anything other than the highest quality things, he also hoped that they had a gym around here somewhere, he worked hard to keep his physique the way it was. Some of it was natural in that he was build in a manner that allowed him to get as big as he was but the rest was a complicated algorithm of eating correctly and working hard in the gym and outside it. It was his primary form of stress relief.

Thank the lord, Niall thought, chuckling again outwardly as he spotted an elevator. He punched the button and the doors opened promptly though he stood in silence holding the door open for the other to get one with him. It appeared they were all on the third floor.

When the large dragon began speaking, Darthun gave Eun-mi a light shove, breaking her from her concentration. For a second she was confused as to what her dragon could want, but when she realized they had reached the apartments she tried to stay alert. When the dragon mentioned their luggage had been placed in their rooms she raised an eyebrow. "I never packed any luggage before I left?" This thought confused her, and now she couldn't wait to get to her room. A brief glance at the list showed she would be staying in room 312 with someone named Gaeden. Her mind blanked. Which one was he again? She looked over at the gathered crowd and tried to remember. Was he the one who dressed nicely with the black and blue dragon? Or the tall one covered in many tattoos with the crystal-looking dragon? Neither of those answers felt right, but there were just so many unfamiliar faces. She simply shrugged and began to make her way towards a hallway near the back of the area. They were all going to their respective rooms so she'd learn her who her roommate was then. Though socializing was going to be important in a new place like this, it was definitely not at the top of Eun-mi's list right now.

As she was about to start walking down the hallway, Darthun gave a small shriek. Eun-mi turned back to see him motion towards an elevator where the others were starting to board. She reached back and pet the dragon's head, "I want to look around for a little bit first, ok? We'll go to the apartment later." The dragon gave a low gurgled purr and began to ascend the steps with her. The hallway was lined with large windows, and for the first time Eun-mi got a good look at the place where they would be staying. Outside she could see a large grassy field surrounding the castle. Smaller buildings and a lake rested in the field close to where they were, but after that it was just a large mass of grass that eventually grew tall and wild. At the very edge of the field she could see the beginnings of a forest, but it was hard to make out due to some fog. Another nudge from Darthun and the pair continued upwards.

At the end of the first floor hallway, Eun-mi couldn't believe how modern everything looked. Both sides of the hallway were covered in glass windows that showed pristine gym equipment within. Further down the hallway was a large swimming pool on the left, an empty basketball court on the right, and some signs marking where the locker rooms were. At the sight of the pool Darthun jumped up and began pounding on the glass with his front paws. "Swim! Swim!" he screeched. "Darthun! What's gotten into you! We can swim later!" It took all her strength but she managed to pull the dragon back from the glass. His scales were rough on her skin as she held him, but she began to pet him as an attempt to calm the dragon down. Eventually his screams turned into mere grumbles, and Eun-mi released her hold on Darthun. The two of them sat there for a few minute as she allowed the dragon to calm down. Her arms and legs were now covered in small scrapes and she hurt all over, but she was glad Darthun had calmed himself. "Darthun, do you really want to go swimming that badly?" The dragon looked at her and gave a small nod. With a sigh, Eun-mi got up and motioned for her dragon to follow her. The pair entered the women's locker room and after a quick look around they found the entrance to the pool. Darthun let out a mighty shriek as he ran across the concrete towards the water. With a burst of his wings he flew over the edge and dove into the pool. Eun-mi watched with curiosity as the dragon enthusiastically swam and splashed. In the water, he really did look like an alligator like Emma said. Suddenly Darthun opened his mouth and a stream of water shot into the air. Amused at this new trick he did it again and again. A burst of water shot straight at Eun-mi. It knocked her back a few feet and she landed against a wall with a loud, wet thunk. Within a second Darthun leaped out of the water and was at Eun-mi's side, shrieking in concern. "Hurt?!" She coughed a bit and touched his head gently, "Man you pack a punch!" Darthun spoke again, but this time gently, "Hurt?" He gave a loud whine, like a dog that knows it's done wrong. Eun-mi shook her head and he seemed to relax a little, then helped her up into a nearby deck chair. "You're really strong Darthun, please try to remember that." The dragon gave a nod and climbed onto the chair with her. It groaned slightly due to his weight, but he made himself comfortable curled up by Eun-mi's side. Looking over, she guessed that he was about the size of a medium-small sized dog, not including the tail. Like a corgi or something. She gave a small smile and began to pet him again. "You know, I've always wanted a pet." A low rumble came from Darthun's throat. "Darthun love pet."

Graeden Yourshaw

Following the larger dragon out from the egg cave had eventually led them to their place of residence. He once again was thankful for being in shape or else there possible would of been no way to keep up with the large dragon."I'm going to look forward having to do this with you," he sarcastically said to Apollyon. She glared at him to which he chuckled before looking over the arrangement for their dorm, hopefully Apollyon would play nice and share with another dragon in the same room.

"Well, there's still time in the day so why not explore the place," he said mostly to himself Apollyon gave a small shriek in annoyance as he left and she was forced to follow ",Oh plenty of time later to see the apartment but having a chance to look around is what I've been waiting for." He told her. They traveled the halls going room to room. Eventually they came across which must of been the library of the place they were in. "Ah perfect time to go seeing if we can find some unanswered questions," he said with enthusiasm to which Apollyon gave a slight growl whether of agreement or disapproval, Graeden couldn't tell. The many books ranged in sizes some even looking to large for any hope for a human to ever handle. Graeden gathered anything that seemed he could skim through quickly. Most were no doubt filled with the language that would tie him and Apollyon together which meant most of what he would be looking at would mean nothing but still he could try and piece what he could together in a means of some answer.

"Read?" he heard a voice nearly jumping out of his skin at it before looking at Apollyon.

"So you can speak? I was beginning to think you were mute," he joked to which she gave a resounding huff towards him ",Yes, or at least I'm going to try and then we can go to the apartment." Seemingly pleased with the answer Apollyon laid herself down next to Graeden in an attempt to try and help with the language deciphering.

Emma

Spells? Power words? Emma's mind was still reeling. Dragons existed. Magic existed. She'd thought she knew how the world worked, and yet it turned out she knew so, so little. She peered at the sheet of paper on the door, but couldn't see her name. "Dr Nidhogg?" she called, but there was no sign of him.

Emma started running again, searching the castle hallways, Maia bouncing along behind. No sign of Dr Nidhogg, but Emma gazed around at the intricate carvings on the walls and the decorations of precious metal. She'd never seen such a splendid place. This certainly wasn't anything like the hall of residence she'd spent her first year of university in, with the peeling paint, the yells of drunk people, and the fire alarm going off at ridiculous o'clock at night on a regular basis. Not that luxury was something she needed - she spent much of her time camping, after all - but it was a plus.

Maia craned her head towards the window, jumping up and down. Play. Play outside. Emma looked out, taking in the view. A field of tall grass and flowers surrounded the castle, rippling in the breeze. It wasn't just the beauty that held her attention - something seemed to be calling to her, almost like Maia had done while still inside her egg.

It suddenly felt as if the walls, however opulent, were trapping her. "Alright! Let's take a look around," Emma replied. The dorm rooms were now the furthest thing from her mind. There was so much else to do. She grinned as she looked at the dragon. "I'll race you!" Once more, she dashed down the corridor. Maia easily caught up. Although a newborn, her movements were already quick. Remembering the required word to open the doors, Emma burst through them and stopped, catching her breath from all that running.

"I think that was a draw," she panted, turning to the dragon at her side. Maia immediately slid like a snake into a patch of overgrown foliage, disappearing from view. "Maia?" Emma waded through the grass, pushing back leaves. "Where'd you go?"

In a blur, the dragon leapt out. With a yelp of surprise, Emma staggered back, nearly falling over. Bursting out laughing, she leaned down and rubbed Maia on the head. Her eyes widened at the sight of the hatchling in the late afternoon sun. The buds all over her back and tail had started to open into flowers of red, pink and purple. "Oh, Maia, that's beautiful!" She dug out her phone and took a snapshot of the dragon.

Brushing against some nearby wildflowers, Maia uttered a few strange words. The plants immediately shifted and bloomed, growing to several times their former height. Grow. Make grow, the young dragon said. She faced Emma and chirped. Emma make grow.

After staring in wonder for a few moments, Emma repeated Maia's words... or what she thought were the same words. She gasped as the grass and flowers shot up at an alarming speed all around her. She'd just done that. She'd cast a spell. An actual spell.

Her elation soured into panic as the grass kept growing out of control, rapidly starting to resemble a jungle's vegetation. She must have said the words wrong... How did she make it stop? "Oh crap... Somebody help!" she yelled as tangled foliage surrounded both her and Maia. "Dr Nidhogg? Dr Nidhogg!"

Allan somehow had managed to keep up with the dragon in front of them, considering he hasn't done much exercise besides weekly walks to the store with Nate. He didn't have the best sense of direction so he'd always stick close to his brother, which is why when he saw the list of who he'd be roomed with he froze.
There must be a mistake, Allan thought to himself as he stares at the first set of names. Of course there isn't. Of course I won't be partnered with Nate, why would I possibly think that? Maybe his room is at least close to mine...? With slight hope growing inside him he looks at the rest of the list and feels a knot growing in his throat when he sees the distance in the numbers between his and his brother's rooms.

Soreth seemed to notice the change in emotions in Allan and looks up at him with a tilt if her rust brown head. "Al, Soreth, explore?"
When Allan hears Soreth talk he quickly writes down the room number for future reference before nodding. "Al, Soreth, explore," he repeats with a smile.
A squeal of delight escapes Soreth before the dragon scurries off, Allan close behind. I guess it won't hurt to meet my roommate later, the red head thinks to himself as he looks around, trying to remember his way back so he doesn't get lost.

---

Nate was easily able to keep up with the dragon but wanted to keep further back in the group so he could try to remember the looks of all the people he'll be getting to know. While he did this Xalanth was looking at all the dragons from his perch on Nate's shoulder. The two stuck behind when they reached the post saying the rooms each of them would be in, allowing Allan to see first. He has to get used to me not being beside him to comfort him all the time, Nate thought as he sees his brother tense up. The brown haired boy was about to go up to Al and help when he sees his brother's mountain dragon move, leading Allan away from what troubled him. That dragon of his will help make me not being around easier for him.

After Al left with his dragon, Nate went up to the post himself. Vincent...who was that again? Nate didn't remember being introduced by any Vincents so it must've been one of the people who he saw later on as they were walking. "I guess there's only one way to find out, huh Xalanth?" He asks his storm dragon who gave him a confused look. With a chuckle Nate pets his dragon and starts walking, "we go to our room and whoever enters it while we're there is our roommate!"
At being told what was happening Xalanth chirped in understanding as he and his owner head over to their apartment.

After catching her breath, Eun-mi went back into the locker room to search for a towel. A large shelf of them sat by the showers, and she gladly began to dry herself off. Darthun had gone back to swimming a few minutes after she gave the all clear, and from her position in the locker room it was easy to hear him splashing and making a mess in there. She threw the used towel into a nearby hamper and grabbed a new one, draping that one over her head and shoulders for warmth. She was cold, hungry, and her body ached terribly after todays events. Who knew taking care of dragon could be this hard? "Darthun?" she called out towards the pool, "I'm going to explore a little more and then head to our room. You can play here for a while longer but then after that come find me." She heard a gurgled yelp and then another splash. "I guess that meant yes?" She gave a shrug and then began to make her way back to the lobby, trying to ignore the large scratch marks on the glass outside the pool as she walked past.

Back in the hallway, she passed the rows of windows again. Not much had changed with the view except for the new addition of dozens of giant flowers and plants now covering a potion of the field. Eun-mi was barely able to make out the silhouette of a figure running around out where those plants were. She watched from her spot carefully, trying to figure out which new colleague she was seeing. "Let's see... Right now there's nature going crazy. I think that might be some king of magic like that large dragon was talking about. So maybe some kind of nature magic? Or what if it's a dragon? Hm...Emma had a dragon that looked really green and naturey, maybe it's her? Hmmm...." She stood there for a few minutes in contemplation. This place was so interesting. Magic and dragons...she never thought it was even possible. But now look where they all were! She turned away from the window and kept walking. There was plenty of time to figure everything out, but right now she wanted food and a break. When she made it to the lobby she quickly turned to the stairs and began climbing. There were still people huddled in the lobby blocking the elevator, and she didn't want to wait. The climb took a few minutes, but she finally reached her floor. Both sides of the hallway were lined with doors. Next to them on he walls were small brass plates bearing the number and names of the occupants. She walked steadily towards her room, silently reading the numbers as they counted down to hers.

Room 312
Gaeden Yourshaw
Eun-mi Seong

She grabbed the handle before pausing after remembering she didn't have a key. A frown appeared on her face but she tried anyway, and to her surprise it easily opened. "Hello?" Eun-mi's voice echoed as she entered the apartment. It looked like her roommate hadn't arrived yet. There was a long comfy sofa and chair next to the entrance and a few paintings of nature on the wall. The first impression made it feel like she was back in college, only in a much nicer place. Walking down the hallway she stopped in front of two doors. The same type of small brass nameplate from the front was placed on top of both doors as well, and Eun-mi opened the one listed for her on the left.
"Oh come on!"
She hadn't packed anything when she came here, so whoever was tasked to bring her stuff took the liberty to not do it in an organized manner. Clothes, art supplies, and various dish ware were dumped on both her bed as well as the desk on the far end of the room. Small piles of more clothes sat heaped on the floor. By the window was a pile of hangers. Just hangers. Eun-mi couldn't figure out why. What made it even more curious was the fact that these colors were all bright yellow and red when hers were all white. These weren't her hangers. Why were they with her stuff?
Irritated, Eun-mi trudged through the piles and began picking up a random assortment of objects to try to make sense of the mess. This would take hours to clean. She gave a sigh and shoved a portion of the bed-clothes into a pile of floor-clothes and collapsed. She let out a groan and just lay there for a while. Maybe Darthun or her roommate would come back soon so she wouldn't have to deal with this mess yet. She hoped that would happen. This was not something appealing to do right now.