The debacle between Alexander and Acron unfolded a bit differently than Maxwell had anticipated. First and foremost, another slightly taller individual intervened, apologizing on Acron's behalf. Much of the surrounding crowd began to disperse at this point, a few soft groans scattered about made by those that wanted to see a fight.

Maxwell stood there, unsure if it was truly ending and he should begin relinquishing the stored magical energy for Overgrowth. I wonder if it's ok— His thoughts cut short by a dapper young lad with an unnecessary cane darted over to Acron. Although Maxwell couldn't hear him, t'was quite clear that he whispered something and scrambled back off to the would have been sidelines. I wonder why that boy is involved with that rat.

From there, the dust settled. Acron (with a small hand from Jagred) helped Alexander up, gave him a once over, and left on his way. Okay, just let the magic go... no need to cast... Maxwell released the necessary magic for Overgrowth, tiring him slightly and giving him a headache for good measure. "Perfect..." he muttered, the excess magic within him searching for a way to leave and return to a more natural state. I know better than to hold my spells if I'm not going to cast...

"Well, I guess it's time I get checked in." Maxwell barely noticed the thought leave his lips as he turned, making his way over to the stewards.

---

You follow the instructions heading northeast across campus and find yourself in a little out the way park area belonging to the B Dorms. Before you sits a large building, with jutting squares and big sliding windows that promise you a nice view across the green. Behind you a quaint pebbled drive snakes into the treeline, barely hiding the spiked fence and doublewide gate that led to the VIP dorms. In the distance you can see the looming architecture of some sort of castle or manor house.

In front of you, small groups of students gather around in quiet discussion. Some are hanging out on the patio, others you can see are cooking within their dorms, the delicious smells wafting down towards you.

You recognise one girl who walks past you - she looks eerily similar to the peppy Intermediate girl at initiation. The only difference is her hair is bright pink and her clothes are more refined. She's carrying a clipboard, and seems to be calling all new B Block students. Unlike the other girl, she appears to be a Novice.

"If all new In Training Students for the B Block could please come with me, I'll show them around their dorm rooms. I believe we have some newbies in Building B3? " she turned towards you then, looking up with a big smile.

"well, gentlemen, I guess I'll show you two around." She leads you around the back into an even quieter area. "This is your private outdoor space. Getting in and out of your dorm is simple - just wave your In Training identification in front of the door and it'll open to you."

It turned out B3 was quite expansive, a whole building block for just the three dorm members. The first floor was an open plan L-shape, flipped 90 degrees counter clockwise. Here was all the living spaces - a kitchen, tucked into the end of the L, the living room and dining area. It was a simple, clean design - hard wood floors and slick clean countertops and darker tables. The kitchen itself was a generous size, tucked around the corner but not invisible from the doorway. Two island counters denoted the end of the kitchen space, with a few high, circular stools that could be swizzled around when they were sat on.

The far end of the room was wall-to-wall glass, with large sliding doors leading out to the B3 Patio area and the communal green. In front of the doors and next to the kitchen sat the dining table, complete with chairs but mostly empty. The space leading up to the main kitchen/dining area had a few comfy chairs dotted around, made of some sort of nice leather substance. They were squishy and cozy, quickly adjusting to the body temperature of anyone who sat in them.

To the left of the main door was a curved wooden staircase, leading upwards. The girl gestured the pair up and made her way to the second floor. "Second floor is your chill out space. Zephyr, you are on the left. Acron, opposite him on the right. When Miss Arcadia gets here, she will be down the end of the room." She nodded to the door far opposite.

This area was mostly empty, with a few beanbags strewn around. A couple of bookcases lined a few of the walls, with a desk in the far left corner. A square in the ceiling suggested attic space. There were a few books within the shelves, but once again the room was mostly unlived in and empty.

The girl wandered into the room and turned to face them.

"Each room has it's own on suite. You'll find they are quite spacious for you. You may cook food in this building, though of course you may head over to the main campus for meals if you wish. This is now your living area, and you are free to adjust and decorate it. Be warned, there are occasional dorm and room checks, please remember that while this is now your home it is not guarenteed. Poor behaviour can result in dorm re-assignment."

Kaela still had a rather nervous look upon her face as thoughts spiraled out of control about everyone disliking her, or...even worse. HATE her. Then she saw Fizzy's charming face turn to a wide grin. "That sounds like a most excellent idea! I do believe everyone will simply love you, Kaela. That I can promise. Now, shall we?" Her mind eased as she heard his words. "Ohh... You really think so?!" She said with a happy sigh, quite relieved to hear his comforting words.

“See you around, Fitz.” Kaela turned to see the tall almost... angry looking? man who seemed to be pally with the white haired man. She still hadn't learned any names yet. He gave her a curt nod and she responded with the same, smiling happily as she did.

She then raised a brow in slight confusion at Fizzy as he... pretended? To have not noticed him? He was pretty damn tall, kinda hard to miss really. She saw a smirk spread across his face and then he turned to wink at her. She blinked in a confused response before she couldn't believe her eyes at what he did next! He threw a potion at the man! Of course she had no idea what kind but with the smirk on Fizzy's face it certainly wasn't a pleasant one. She stood there gawking at Fizzy with her mouth open catching flies. She had never seen anything like it before.

@Mae@RedDusk

[Tags: @mae ]

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@Brasslazer

Fizzy tossed the potion and watched with satisfaction as it smashed against his target. A crowd of brown and grey burst forth from the shattered remains of the bottle, writhing and wriggling in a living grey mass. A couple of centipedes the size of fists dropped to the floor and scuttled this way and that.

Jagred felt glass broke against his back. He half-turned, anger twisting his words into an incoherent snarl. Then he felt the writhing mass moved on his back, tugging his cloak down. Instinctively, he reached behind him, only to have something scaly and soft latched on to it. Letting out a less than dignified yelp, he hurled the creature away. Somewhere in that direction, he heard someone screamed. However, he couldn’t bring himself to care too much.

Initially, most of his efforts in dislodging the creatures from his back with his backpack prove to be futile, since there were too many of them. Frustrated, he dropped his back pack then undid his cloak in one swift motion. The worn cloak fell to the ground, centipedes escaped from it, much to his surprise and disgust. However, just then, he felt the touch of tiny, pointy feet on his neck, so with no further ado, Jagred proceeded to throw the shirt he was wearing over his head and hurled it to the ground at well. Then he felt something moving against his scalp. Holding back the frustrated howl, his gloved hands reached up and dislodged the bug, only to find several more clinging to his hair and waistband. It took a couple minutes of aimlessly flailing around while half-naked to get rid of all the centipedes.

With that done, he slowly turned to the culprit, his eyes narrowing dangerously while he tried to calm his rapid breathing.

He wanted to see what Fitz had to say for himself.

Meanwhile, Fizzy burst out laughing.

Jagred gritted his teeth, fury almost palpable in the clench of his hands. But he wouldn’t claim vengeance now, not here, not yet. There would be far better opportunities.

“We… urgh.”-Jagred reached down to flick a thrashing centipede off his back pack. As far as he concerned, the cloak and shirt had already been too infested with bugs. He would just leave them. - “We should leave.”- He said to Alexander, eager to escape the gawking crowd.

Fizzy chuckled away to himself, quite pleased with his handiwork. He shuffled backwards as a centipede scuttled over his polished shoe, and he shook it off unelegantly. Eventually he just took a few steps back from the whole area, watching the chaos slowly spread as students noticed the commotion.



"I do believe it's time to get processed?" he said in a hurry, not wanting people to notice his little prank and link it back to him. He turned to Kaela to see the shocked look on her face as she stared at him, open-mouthed. It seemed she wasn't impressed by his mischief-making? Fizzy suddenly felt quite sheepish in her presence. Of course this was the behaviour of a lowly club, not befitting of a higher class at all.

"We have a history..." he tried to offer as an explaination, but the words died in his throat. There really was no excuse.

"I'm- I'm sorry. Perhaps it was uncalled for. I'll... I'll escort you through initiation and to your dorm, miss." he said, dejected. Pranking was something that was just a part of who Fitzgerald was. It made him realise that, if he wanted to gain the sort of renown a Spade had, there were certain things he'd have to give up. And that was just something that Fizzy couldn't face.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. he thought to himself as he shuffled through initiation, deep in thought. [/center] The Steward rifled through his bags, giving him his paperwork and stamping his hand with the In Training mark.



He scanned through his dorm slip, sighing as he realised he'd been put in the C Dorms. He was a high class Club, this was rediculous....
He went to speak with Kaela, but couldn't meet her eyes, instead looking off towards the dorms. "And where might you be, miss? I imagine one of the better dorms."

Kaela stood shocked as she watched the tall man essentially strip in the streets to get the critters off of him. She had never seen anything like it before. Was this 'pranking' something everyone did? If so she wasn't too keen on it. She wanted to offer help to the man but felt she'd just make things worse. Fizzy was gleefully laughing. She couldn't seem to shake the shock though.

When Fizzy turned to look at her his entire aura seemed to change from a gleeful child to one that had been told off. Had she done something wrong? She smiled softly as he tried to explain his actions and she just shook her head. "No need to explain to me Fizzy, I have just never seen anything of the sort before... Don't you think it was a bit mean?" She asked softly as she followed him over to where the stewards were. She walked over to a the one that seemed to have not many people, looked like a guard. An angry, kinda scary looking guard at that.

Fizzy's interest piqued, surprised that he wasn't instantly being reprimanded. He expected her to hate him after that, after all, he'd never heard of such things happening in a Heart household. Still, her words caught him off guard, and he struggled to reply."Well, maybe he's a mean person. Besides, unexpected pranking is good! It brings them out of their every day drudgery, makes them wake up and smell the coffee-" but soon Fizzy was shuffled off with the queue he was in, casting one worried look at the guard who was processing Kaela. Still, he was staff, right? It was probably fine.

"Ah, another heart. Let's see here..." the man was remarkably efficient about rifling through your things. He nods in recognition, "Good. Another no-nonsense set of items. I'm glad to see students this year are taking their tutelage seriously. What's your name, girl? Come on! Speak up!" he reached for her papers to start checking through those.

Kaela smiled as she was complimented. At least to her a 'no nonsense' student was a compliment ...right? Then she jumped quite startled as he almost yelled at her for her name. "Kaela Of the Hands Of Healing!" She managed out rather quickly. And with out a stutter. She mentally high fived herself for that one. She didn't want to waste this mans time any longer! She quickly handed him her papers and hoped that everything would be over as soon as possible. This man kind of scared her a little.

"A Healer! Excellent, excellent." he grabbed her shoulders suddenly with a firm grip, leaning in so that she was peering up into his fierce eyes. "Everyone out on the field will be counting on you, girl. You look a little soft for battle, but that's not something you can afford. Your deck will live and die by your hand, and I'm going to make it my personal duty that you and all the other cushioned souls out there are battle-ready by the time your studying is complete." He suddenly let go, turning to catch the sun on his face as he crossed his arms behind his back and puffed out his chest in a deep breath.

These words stung Kaela to the bone. She knew she was far far far from 'battle ready'.... BUT! Thats why she is here! Shes here to gain confidence in herself and her skills as well as do the best she can for whomever needs her! She bit the bullet and nodded at the guard. "Yes sir, I know. That's why I am here. To change myself for the better!" She spoke with more confidence than she usually does.



"There is some dangerous stuff out there, Kaela. You'd do well to strengthen your mind as well as your body." He turned to stare at her for a long minute.

"NEXT!" he barked, shoving a selection of papers into her hands. It seemed he'd already placed the mark on her hand some point during the conversation.



Kaela simply nodded at his wise words, knowing she would have a particularly hard time doing things here but she was ready for the challenge. She then proceeded to jump, being startled by the mans sudden bark. She quickly hurried past him to meet Fizzy once again. "Oh...er I'm with these people in the VIP suit!" she spoke softly as she showed him her rather fancy looking piece of paper with a list of names.

Collab with: @Mae
Mentioned: @RedDusk, @SilverDawn, @Brasslazer

Elemette had received the slip of paper. She sheepishly unfolded it, failing to grab the edges multiple times before it fully opened. A few names were rather nicely scrawled upon the sheet. She read the names. Nobody she knew. Not that she would have really known anyone. It would have just been nice to have the Ass-Club all together. It would make things slightly less awkward, at least she thought.

She briefly remembered the girl saying that it was nice to meet her. It was a pretty big confidence booster for Elemette, even for something as small as that. With a new sense of vigor, she pushed on to the dorms, in the direction that the masked steward had pointed out. Or at least she thought.

As the modern-day Columbus (whoever that was), Elemette had managed to head in a rather general direction. Because of this, she took minor turn after minor turn; all of them left. She managed to do an entire loop around using alleys. Really, it was comical how difficult and improbable it was to get lost in such an area. She was back where she started, but being slightly off-set from the starting position (and the plaza still filled to the brim with people, which didn't help).

She managed to find another person holding out their paper to a rather dapper boy. They surely would have known which way to go. She timidly approached the duo.

"Erhm," she said, "is there any way you two could, er, possibly lead me to the dorms, if you don't have much else to do, of course..."

---

@Kimi@Mae

After the chaos of the potion, something came over Alexander. He didn't know what it was, but there was something about Jagred that seemed familiar. And so far, the man had been nothing but polite to him. In the case that they're dorm assignments somehow weren't a mistake, he'd rather have it be with someone who found him agreeable. It was far easier to control others when you did it by suggesting it to them as a friend, even if you hated them with every fiber of your being. While some leaders choice to rule with an iron fist, he preferred a glass of wine and some empty words. Less resistance that way.

Besides, he couldn't stand undeserved rudeness as the man who had thrown the potion had shown.

"Hold on for a second, Jagred" Alexander said, reaching into his bag. There where already some eyes on him, he'd prefer not to show all his powers immediately. With a surge of unstable magical energy through his arm, he felt a smooth spherical object form in his hand. Taking it out and inspecting it, he found a mysterious, unknown potion of a tawny hue, held in a fragile looking glass bottle. He was honestly hoping for something simple, like a rock. Passing by Jagred, he placed the potion in his hand and quickly whispered instructions. "I know we don't know each other very much yet, but I can't stand such childish and rude pranks like that going unpunished. I'll be honest, I haven't the slightest what this potion does, but if you want to throw it at that perpetrator for reasons of honor or vengeance, that's your choice. I hope you the best in luck in your endeavor." he said, before beginning to quickly walk towards the dorm.

He turned back for a second. "Oh, and one more thing. Once you throw that, I suggest you take a speedy departure. Who knows what may happen?"

@RedDusk

The dorm was very impressive, Zephyr had figured he'd have to give up a lot of the space he was used to at home but that was clearly not that case. And if this was only the B block then what were the VIP dorms like? Was each room an entire house? He'd have to find a way to get over there and see what it was like. The girl finished the tour and left Zephyr and Acron alone in their new home. "Okay, before anything else, she looked eerily similar to the girl processing people in the main area, right? Or am I just losing it?." Taking another look around Zephyr definitely knew he'd have to do some decorating in his room, everything looked so empty, books would be a must. Between him and Cady this place was going to turn in to a small library he was sure.

"Anyways," Zephyr reach his hand back in to his room and gently dropped his things in there before addressing Acron once more, "I'm Zephyr, you met me earlier but went whirling off before I could properly introduce myself. Figured you should know my name before we fought if you were serious about that duel." Zephyr chuckled and stuck out his hand for Acron to shake. Thinking about it, their little private area out front would probably be a pretty good place for a duel. Of course they'd have to set up walls or something so no stray spells destroyed the house. But with a bit of work Zephyr was sure they could set up a small arena to duel, he'd be interested in seeing how Acron fought, it'd be a great experience, even if he lost.

@Brasslazer

Jagred blinked as he inspected the vial of liquid his new roommate gave him. What was the deal with the people of Spire and free possibly illicit substances? They gave it out like flyers here. The thought of claiming his vengeance there and then certainly had its appeal, but Jagred digressed. He could think of better opportunities that would certainly come up later. After all, revenge was better served cold. Not to mention that he noticed some of the men in uniforms had begun popping among the crowd. No way he would be caught dead with something idiotic on his first day at school. He was not Acron.
Besides, Jagred was many things, but cruel and stupid was not one of them. He would not chug a random potion at Fitz, no matter how he felt about the midget. He would much rather have that top-hat wearing prick pouring it all over himself.
However, he knew better than to look a gift horse in the mouth. This potion could come handy later down the road. – “That’s just how Fitz is. He does all of his thinking sideways. Must be from the weight of the hat.”-He forced a smile, kept on moving with brisk steps- “I appreciate the thought, but I think there are better time for pranks. We should make haste for the dorm. It is getting chilly.”

@tathgon You approached the cloacked official who takes ahold of your bags and begins rummaging through. They check over your paperwork without incident and sifts through your things. It seems over in a flash, as they wave their hand over yours and the telltale symbol of the In Training students appears on your skin with a warm pleasant tingle.

---

@Brasslazer@RedDusk and also @SilverDawn@Kimi. Through the magic of forum timetravel it'll apply to all of you while me, @SilverDawn and @kimi work on our post :D



Perhaps you should of been surprised by the elegant metal fence hidden in the treeline, or the well dressed man in coattails who opened the gate for you. Behind you the quiet bustle of the B dorm fades away as an elegant carriage drawn by strange inkly-black horses with ethereal flowing manes comes to collect you.

Seeing the length of the winding drive that dissapears over a slope you expect the journey to be a long one, but barely a couple minutes pass and the door is opened for you by another manservant. The ride itself felt near instantaeneous, without the slightest jostle to give away that you were even moving. As it was, you stand before the castle you'll be staying in for the year. A series of gargoyles perch among the eaves, watching you intently with empty stone eyes.



There are few students here, but many a servant attending to the grounds or holding open the doors. It isn't a student who comes to greet you but a maid, dressed in elegant blacks and whites. She offers a dainty courtsey as a couple of gentlemen come over with some large, daunting golems and offer to take your bags for you.



"Welcome to Castle Homegrad, also known as the "VIP Dorm" to other students. We hope you find your stay here pleasant. If you would be so kind as to follow me, masters and mistresses, I would be most grateful." an elegant gesture of her hand and she leads you through the courtyard and into the castle itself. It is far larger on the inside then you gave it credit for.

The entrancehall was built to make an impression, and did just that. The sweeping staircase led up deeper into the castle, decorared by the glittering lights that even now were lit. There was no doubt every slab of marble, curve of wood and piece of polish metal was hand-crafted and designed. However, it seemed they had attempted to make things a little more comfortable - squirreled away by the windows were small collections of old, elegant but comfy armchairs with a couple of small bookcases surrounding them. A huge clock was built high into the wall above the staircase, keeping perfect time.



"Castle Homegrad is a generally peaceful place. We have the finest chefs here to cook you the most exquisite food - you may eat in your own quarters or our lavish dining rooms. There are a number of drawing rooms and places of entertainment throughout the castle that we hope you will find to your tastes."

The maid began to climb the staircase with the newcomers, a strange expression crossing her face for the smallest of moments as she hesitated before she spoke.

"You will find Castle Homegrad quite unusual. The rooms and hallways... they have a way of appearing and dissapearing. For this reason, you may pick any room as your quarters that takes your fancy. There are many bells you may ring across the castle if you need to call a servant or if you get lost."

"And please... don't bother with the rumours you hear from other students about the castle, masters and mistresses. There really is no weight to them."

---

Anise was impressed by the turnout of new students, much more than she expected that's for sure, but she didn't mind the crowd although admittedly it was annoying to push through clumps of bodies. A light breeze kicked up which was more than able to cut through her relatively light clothing, that being a white tunic and pants with a study pair of boots to match. There wasn't anything else she wanted to do really while looking around, sure she could mingle with a few of the other students, maybe even try to find a familiar face, just she didn't see a point in wasting the time. So in light of all that she decided to head straight to the entrance proper, of course Anise was definitely feeling nervous, especially when she was finally standing at the gate itself, but she was still very well in control.

She came forward to a brown haired girl, hair tied up in a pair of pigtails. Anise quickly figured out that pigtail girl was probably a steward, the clipboard was a fairly obvious giveaway. She dropped her single, lightly packed bag onto the ground, then knelt down to retrieve her papers from it.

The upbeat girl was nosedeep in her clipboard when Anise approached. It seemed she'd just checked off something on her list when she realised she had company, her long brown pigtails bouncing as she looked up at you with bright, saucer-like eyes.

"Well hey there! Here to be initiated, huh? By the way, I LOVE what you're wearing, very combat-chic." she enthused, putting her clipboard down as she reached for your bags and papers.

"What's your name, sweetie?

"Anise Purcell of The Soldier's Arm." Anise responded, holding out her papers to the steward, while also trying to silently brush off that comment about her clothes.

"Nice to meetcha, Anise. I'm sure you'll fit in well here." she took the papers and scanned through them, humming an upbeat little ditty all the while. Finding whatever it was she was looking for, she switched to rummaging through the girl's luggage.

"Looking forward to your first term?" she asked, glancing up as she worked. "Got quite a few cuties coming through this year. You'll have your work cut out for you fending them off." the steward giggled with a wink, dropping a gaze as she rifled through the rations and passed the compass in search of any sort of contraband.

Anise slightly averted her gaze finding the girl's questions and honestly just her general attitude to be slightly off putting. "I suppose, I am ready to continue my training, and I know this is the perfect place for that... and um, I think I'll be fine there."

She absolutely knew what the steward what getting at, and well chasing after some guy was at the very, very bottom of her priorities. Anise continued watching the brown haired girl shift through the bag's belongings, however she expected it wouldn't take very long at all given how little there was even packed in the first place.

"Awwh shucks, you don't have anything fun in here." the girl said, handing the bag back as she listened to what Anise had to say."Well yeah, this is the best place for your training, but it's got lots of other stuff going on as well."

She leaned in and took the girl's hand, waving her own across the back of it. The mark of the In Training students appeared there, more vivid then a tattoo but without the pain.



"There you go, you are an official member of the Spire! Woo! That little baby will be your quickest form of identification around the Prime District, as well as your ticket in and out of your dorm room... if it's a decent one. Anyway! Look at me running my mouth. I'll let you get back to settling in."

For a brief moment she drew in and whispered in a voice only Anise could hear, "Speaking of settling in, I popped something into your bag to take the edge of your first day. Loosen up a little! These are the BEST years of your life. When you're not, like, getting wounded on a mission or something. Anyway, the point is, enjoy it!" Before Anise had the chance to return the mysterious item the girl had given her, she had swept up her clipboard and was already attending to the next student in the queue.



Anise didn't like the sound of that, there was something definitely off with the steward, but... maybe it was just her imagination, no she actually really didn't trust pigtails. Well at least she was cleared to go in, and first things first she should find her way to the dorms. That would be a good idea.

"Oh...er I'm with these people in the VIP suit!"

Fizzy's eyes widened at that. Well, he shouldn't have been so surprised. She was a Heart, of course she got the V.I.P Suite. Still, part of him had hoped... maybe they could of roomed together. At least be in nearby buildings. But C Dorm?! Sure he was a Club, but a high ranking one, this was simply rediculous.

"May I see?" he asked, reaching for her slip. There were quite a few names on the list and -



He hadn't realised he'd grab a hold of her in fright by this point, as if the power of his hugs could protect her from the harsh realities of living with Jagred. His eyes stared off into the distance, the slip still in her hands, a look of mortal fear haunting his deep blue eyes.

"Erhm, is there any way you two could, er, possibly lead me to the dorms, if you don't have much else to do, of course..."

The quiet voice of another young girl broke his fevered daydream, and he looked over at the other Heart who had approached. Clearly a Heart, for her way of speaking and style of clothes was very close to Kaela's. Ah yes, hearts were such a lovely group of people - so innocent and untouched by the horrible things in the world...

...things like diamonds, that they should most definitely stay untouched by, particularly if their name is Jagred.

It was only then in the presence of company he realised he was gripping onto Kaela, and quickly relinquished her, but his mind was still racing. He needed to come up with a plan. For that, he'd probably need the help of a certain delightful fiend known as Acron.

"My dear, most certainly," he said, dipping his hat to the girl who had approached. "I am Fitzgerald of the Spinning Cogs, and this lovely damsel is Kaela of the Healing Hands. It would be my honour and pleasure to help you with your task, if you would be so kind as to tell me where you are going? We can all travel to the dorms together". Excellent. No one would suspect his recon mission if he was accompanying hearts...

It's a loooong walk to D Dorms, round the back of all the campus buildings to the far western corner. The closer you approach the more maze-like everything seems to get - you find yourself squeezing in and out of dirty alleyways, the smell of raw fish and other, less pleasant things filling your nostrils. You try not to think of the broken class, disgarded used trinket syringes and suspicious items and insects crawling underfoot as you make your way there. You're sure you're not taking the most efficient route, but no doubt you'll learn your way around soon enough.

Eventually it opens up into a flat grey area, and you realise that the buildings you've been squeezing between may actually be an extension of D dorm itself. You stare up at the four-story block in front of you, a little unsure if this could actually be a part of the Prime District at all. It looks so.. squalid.



There are people of all ages everywhere, and you realise some of them may not even be students. Still, among the throngs of individuals you do spot a few who look like they could be advanced, intermediates or novice students - and a couple of newbies in-training, just like you.


There's a hub-bub of conversation all around you, and you realise everyone is surprisingly friendly. You catch the whisps of pleasant conversation and laughter on the breeze, and everyone seems quite relaxed and at home here. The smell of hot food wafts over to you as someone further in the block starts bringing some sort of stew out. A group of people gather round, helping themselves and chatting away to each other. A small collection of individuals plays cards, a few kids nearby playing some sort of ballgame. No one tells them off or to stop. The atmosphere here is... surprisingly relaxed, and there's a sense of comaraderie around you weren't expecting on first look. As you peer closer, you realise the area immediately surrounding the dorm is pretty darn clean.

A chesnut haired short boy in glasses approaches you, wearing simple raggedy brown clothes. His socks go up to just below his knees and his shorts look worn in and a little grimey. He sticks out a hand that's buried somewhere under the long sleeves of his dark green knit sweater, which flops before you, a boyish grin on his face.

"You guys are newbies too, right?" he asked, pushing up the broken ridge of his spectacles. "No one gave us the lowdown, but we think we just learnt our way around, if you need some help."

He motions over his shoulder and you see a gang of lads a little younger then your age loitering by the nearest wall. They wave and seem friendly enough.

---

At first Jarvan found the relative squalor he was going though somewhat off-putting, but he shrugged pragmatically. He was a club after all and a low one at that. He would take whatever came in way and come through it with a smile. With this in mind he made his way through the cramped alley casually, taking care to avoid stepping in anything nasty. It was longer than he expected but he eventually arrived at what seemed to be his new dorm. Looking around to acquaint himself with his surroundings Jarvan found the place to be surpassingly comforting. It reminded him of an open market, save for the fact that there were only people about his age. There were still a few too many people for him to be entirely comfortable but it was better than before, there wasn't the same panicky energy. Before he was able to come to a decision regarding what to do next a boy that barely came up to his midchest with oversized clothes and glasses that seemed more cosmetic than functional.

Jarvan shook the hand that sprouted from the mass of clothing, the boy continued to offer Jarvan and the girr--, girl next to him. She was reasonably dressed in plain clothing with alluring pale blue hair tied into a practical ponytail and eyes an intriguing shade of red. Not much shorter than he was and obviously someone used to work. His own smudged blacksmith apron felt crude, though his plain white shirt and dull brown pants weren't too far off from her own. She was faintly familiar, but not enough for Jarvan to remember from where or how. He then realized he'd been looking at her trying to figure it out for several seconds longer than normal people looked at each other and had ignored the short kid. Right, the tour. Jarvan ignored the fact that his face turned the color of a dull ember briefly, and faced the short kid again. "Ah, you'd be correct, just arrived in case it wasn't obvious enough." A short two syllable laugh. "I could certainly use a hand in figuring this place out. Though perhaps introduction are in order first. I'm Jarvan Gearshield of the Fierce Forge and an eight of clubs." Jarvan gave a short bow to both the girl and the kid, straightening up and waiting expectantly for their responses.

Anise wasn't surprised by the state of the dorms, the Suit caste system has never been fair for those lower on the rankings. She couldn't help but think the very reason why D-Dorms were so far from the main campus was because no one wanted to see the squalor, actually no, she knew that was exactly the reason. All the same it wasn't like the dirty surroundings particularly bothered her, it wasn't like she was used to higher class living. Now what she really didn't expect was the friendly atmosphere, it was really welcoming really a very warm place and it was nice. Next through her attention was drawn to a boy, who just offered to show them around. Funny... they didn't even send a staff member to guide them, never before has she felt so wanted.

It was then Anise realized there was someone else next to her, a brawny looking guy. From his clothing she got the idea he might be a blacksmith, or maybe the son of one. For the most part he seemed fairly unremarkable, other than his somewhat impressive stature. While looking him over Anise got the feeling that she's met him before, but she couldn't quite recall from where. Suddenly he pulled his gaze from her looking slightly blustered which received a raised eyebrow from Anise, what was he worked up over?

Jarvan was his name, and upon hearing it Anise finally remembered who he was, although really her interaction with him has been very limited so not surprising she completely forgotten him until now. "Anise from Soldier's Arm." She extended a hand to Jarvan, obviously expecting him to shake it. Whether or not he took it, she then nodded to the boy. "Also yes please that would be helpful."

"David of the Spirit Soothers, 7th of Diamonds. We're about to lose our place, though." He fidgetted backwards and forwards for a minute, clearly worried - both about his home and the fact both of you were Clubs. "You're not going to tell me to drop to the floor and lick it, are you? Clubs in C Block do stuff like that..."

A lanky boy with dark hair shoved in a cap that cast shadows over his weary eyes staggered over, his gait lopsided and his posture appalling. "Don't mind Eggs here, he's a bit jumpy." he said, slapping a hand on David's shoulder causing him to jump. " I'm Dusty, this is Krawl, Dex and Pea. Not many people use their full titles round 'ere. Anyway, we'll show you 'round." The boys nodded their heads in acknowledgement at their names. Krawl looked pretty average by all regards, though his clean suit and slicked back hair suggested the highest rank of all of you there. He was carrying a briefcase and leaning against the wall with a hand in his pocket. Dex was a scrawny lad, definitely the youngest, and Pea was on the chubby side with a perfectly round face.

Dusty wrapped an arm lazy round Egg's shoulder, motioning with his head. "We'll show you round."

Turned out D12 was on the forth floor, up a terribly narrow staircase that barely had enough room to let two stick insects pass side by side. Jarvan being a bulkier lad from all that had work had to stand at a bit of an angle just to make it up to his room, as did Pea, but for different reasons. They came to a long landing, thankfully wide enough to allow a little more leeway, several groups of people lounging around outside their rooms. And there were alot of rooms.

"Looks like they didn't give you your keys." Noticed Dusty, "You'll have to go to the administration block to get 'em, and your locker codes too. There's a mousey little guy named Mervin who's a right laugh to wind up. I hear their getting a new guy in today though, hopefully a little better at his job."

Dex sniggered at this, clearly with lots of experience of the subject, flashing a gaze to Pea who looked a little sheepish. Krawl looked unimpressed, but his dull expression didn't change all that much, so it was hard to tell.

Dusty went up to your door - the handle of which was hanging off slightly - and banged a couple times above the lock and then once beneath. Miraculously, it sprung open.

"This place is a bit of a dump sometimes, to be honest." said Eggs aka David apologetically. "We could do with someone coming in to peek at all the locks, but the Spire'll never spring for a locksmith to come over. We'd hope for anyone now."

"Yeah so. Watch it, you can open your door like that if you get locked out. And make friends with your neighbours. No one'll mess with you if you're one of the crew, you know? Otherwise just keep an eye out for some of the C Block kids sneaking over. We've got a friendly rivalry going on." He grinned at that, and you notice - apart from a cracked tooth- the others were very thin and pointy.

You squeeze through the door into your room. Two bunkbeds, opposite each other, with a walkway between them that might be big enough for two people at a push. Immediately by the door was a row of four lockers, the third of which smashed in. A window sat on the opposite side of the room to the door, barred but allowing some light through. Above the single light in the room buzzed and occasionally flickered, perhaps it was some sort of oddity on it's last legs.

"Home sweet home! You're lucky, got a whole bunk free. Definitely good idea to make use of the extra space." Eggs commented in the hope of cheering you up, giving Anise a light slap around the back before he remembered that might be inappropriate, considering she was both higher rank and a girl. He brought his hand up to his mouth and pretended to cough, as if this somehow helped the situation. Dex snickered.

"If you push your bunk against the window and let someone have the bottom bunk, you still get the sunshine there and then a slightly bigger communal area for your use. commented Krawl matter of factly.

"What they don't tell you," said Dusty, approaching a bed. He pushed it down, but it didn't seem to move at all. Hard and lumpy. He sat on it and it didn't so much as creak. "Is the showers and toilets are in a block outside the dorms. So you lot have to walk down four floors if you want to take a piss at night. scuse me, madam." he nodded to the lady present.

"Toilets are seperate, but the washrooms are co-ed - they have little cubicles to wash in, but it still gets hella busy. So you might want to plan your day to miss the rush. oh and there's no facilities to cook your own food here - you'll have to walk alll the way to the cafeteria. Doesn't stop some people trying to cook here. And other things." Every boy in the room grinned at this. Perhaps D Dorm had more to it going on then meets the eye...

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Ah, she didn't think he was weird. Or too weird anyway. That was a relief. Feeling more relaxed now he shook her offered hand casually, making sure to match her strength: before turning his attention back to the boy, who had identified himself as David. Jarvan gave him a reassuring smile when he expressed his concern, "No need to worry about that, I don't really pull suite on the few people I can." Another lad and the rest of the gang that had been behind David were introduced and Anise and himself were lead through the remarkably cramped building. Dusty opened the door with a rather silly trick that Jarvan made a note to remember; even if he found the fact that anybody could enter their room that way rather odd. That and the fact that it was co-ed, along with the washrooms, it seemed like whoever made this up was simply too lazy to separate them.

Jarvan looked around his new home somewhat uneasily. Things were a bit... cramped, especially with seven people in the room. Which was less of a living space and more of a room that happened to have beds in it. Further information confirmed this as there was nothing at the dorms save the rooms themselves. Ah well, it could be worse after all. Jarvan nodded, more to himself than anyone else. "Well thanks for showing us around. I'll be sure to remember it. Anything else we should know before we start settling in?" Jarvan asked. After dropping his stuff off he'd need to make sure he knew where everything was personally, so he'd have to visit the cafeteria, the showers, get his key and locker code from the administration office, maybe see if he could fix his door up, possibly rearrange the room. .

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