Nathan pulled the end of his hat over his eyes, holding it in that position nervously as he dared not look at the stage. He was excited sure, but there was a lingering feeling that made him feel uneasy, telling him he'd be paired with someone he knew nothing about. Amongst the group of second years that would be paired, Nathan hardly knew any of them save a few, and even then, they weren't strong relationships. But at least they were a starting point, right? He couldn't bare to look at the stage, that sinking feeling causing him to hide his eyes and close them as he awaited his sentence. The thoughts did not relent though, and instead, only intensified due to his actions. What if he got paired with someone who was noisy or aggressive? Someone obnoxious and overly arrogant? It made him sick just thinking about it...

So when he heard the names "Nancy Jones and Nathanial Zane Elswood" called to the stage, he flicked the end of his hat up back to its original position on his head in surprise. Nancy... Why did that name sound familiar? As he made his way to the podium and got on stage, seeing his partner initially made him tense up until he realized who she was. Yes, she was definitely familiar, and despite her outward appearance, he knew that it was just her style. Besides, his own style at the moment reflected nothing of his true personality, and yet he felt they must have stood out in terms of partnerships. But that was beside the point, he recognized her. From last year, she occasionally gave him sweets despite his polite refusals, but secretly appreciated the slight diversion from his studies for goodies.

So when she smiled at him and offered her hand for a handshake, he gladly returned them now that he knew it was at least someone he could recognize slightly. "It's Nathaniel, but you may call me Nathan or my middle name Zane. I think you occasionally gave me sweets last year, correct?" He asked, seeing as he felt as if she didn't know him and was curious as to if he'd gotten his memory mixed up. He supposed that it was alright if she didn't know who he was, seeing as he seldom spoke with anyone the year before.

Fwoosh! The crowd started moving quickly before she could realize and she got swept away with it, getting separated from Beatrice and Richard. She pushed through the people bumping into her from all angles and she got kind of annoyed. She finally got pushed out of the crowd at the front of the giant doors. She glanced around and slowly stepped in. What she saw next took her breathe away and left her speechless.

The Sun room was huge, magnificent, and one of the most beautiful places she had ever seen. Chills went down her spine as she got goosebumps. She looked around more and her eyes were widened. She slowly walked through the multi colored lights as she seemingly changed color. She slowed down and looked around as the world seemed to slow down around her. She thought she heard faint whispers and that the lights themselves were speaking to her, as if trying to deliver a message from the heavens, as if they were telling her that she was the one. She got lost in the beauty of the lights alone, her senses overwhelmed and flooded her, she was completely inundated by the dazzling majesty of it all. She felt somewhat complete for a moment. She slowly walked out of the light and took a seat.

She sat down and looked around in awe, the names were being called but that was of no matter to her. She was completely enchanted. Her phone buzzed a few times but she just silenced it as she was drawn into the dazzling architecture, no that was the wrong word for it. It was the work of ancient mages and familiars working together, it was not just some building, it was a symbol, it was something greater than it let on. This was the work of gods and men. She saw the zodiac symbols and she was even more amazed. For the first time in a long time she was actually speechless.



She was so zoned out that when she heard her name it caught her off guard. She quickly stood up and gathered her bearings and carried her stuff up to the stage, setting it down before it. She fixed her hair and felt butterflies in her stomach, her hand shook a bit. "Get it together Talia" she whispered to herself before getting on the stage. She then looked directly at the chest of a tall man.

She looked up suddenly and looked into his eyes being caught off guard by his size. She got lost in them for a moment and then looked back at just his face. This was him, the man she was going to be spending the rest of the year with. For better or for worse, they were stuck with each other. She saw it as a new opportunity, a new adventure to share with someone.

She smiled at him and outstretched her arm. "Pleasure to meet you Leo.."

He looked stern, serious, and always down to business. Hopefully he would see her as a responsible human being, hopefully he would respect her. She just hoped that he would accept her greeting of friendliness, and hopefully, they would learn to get along with and work with each other as the year went by.

---

Liliac followed Leon, though she quickly fell behind as her legs were shorter than him and she had more trouble pushing the dolly containing her luggage. To her annoyance, the boy left her behind as he hurried on after realizing that the ceremony was about to start.

Well, it's not like she really cared that much about it. She was used to do everything by herself in this academy after all. She could push her luggages just fine last year. No reason why she would need help this year.

It took her quite a while to reach the hall. She noticed how there were already a lot of students there. Certainly they had arrived here earlier than her. It was like that too the last year. She arrived right at the last minute before the headmaster began his speech, thanks to her problem with her luggage. Thankfully, this year, she arrived in time it seemed.

She looked around, trying to find a good spot where she could see what's in front of her. Thanks to her short height, in comparison to the other students at the very least, even when she stood on her toes, her sight would still be blocked by the taller students in front of her.

She hated this. Once again, it made her feel self-conscious about her build. She remembered when she was younger where her parents would take her to a festival in which there were crowds blocking the view. Her father would lift her up and carry her on top of his shoulder. As a little girl, she was perfectly fine with it, but now, when she was already a young lady, it would just be an embarrassment.

They also blocked her of the view of the Sun Hall, which was a terrible shame as she loved staring at the magnificient room. The aesthetics simply oozed the grandness of magic. Whoever designed must have a great taste in architecture for sure. And the choice to add ambient buzz and pulse, along with the slight change of temperature in random and a little wind coming out of nowhere was brilliant as well. They simply added to the mystery of the room.

And so when the headmaster started his speech, she couldn't see him on the podium at all. But his charasteristic voice and speech were enough to tell her that it was indeed him who spoke. He told them to legend of the Magi. Of course, she was well-versed in this legend as well. She didn't know whether it was true or not, but if it was, then she had a secret wish to become a Magi herself. She imagined being able to cast powerful spells after powerful spells, without needing a familiar for the source of her power. Imagine the freedom she would have from that power!

Then, the ceremony finally started. Once again, she had no idea what the people getting called looked like. Not that she cared. She wasn't the kind of person who would go out of her way to remember the faces and names of people, especially those that had nothing to do with her. She only waited until she got her turn. She only hoped it wouldn't take so long as she just wanted to get this over with.

She heard Leo being called before her. It seemed he got a girl as his partner, judging from the name. Well, she wished the best for him. Judging from his personality, he would be best with a calm girl just like him, she thought.

"Liliac de Blanc and Marth Carter!"

Finally, it was her turn at last!

So that was the name of her partner, huh? It sounded like a boy's name for sure. Hmph, she just hoped he was more of the quiet kind rather than the flirtatious, teasing kind, like most of the boys in her classes last year. What a rowdy, annoying bunch. She remembered how they would call her cute and doll-like behind her back, like she was the class mascot or something. Some of them even dared to ask her out just for a dare with their friends, which she coolly refused.

She quickly headed out towards the podium, by going out from the line she was in first. However, somehow she ended up right in the middle of the crowd, so she had trouble escaping from all the taller people around her. Meanwhile, the headmaster kept calling her name over and over again, adding to her embarrassment. No doubt her familiar already reached the podium before her.

When she finally got out of the crowd, she hurried towards the podium, half-running. Indeed, her familiar was already there before her. Now she certainly looked like some clumsy girl, which was certainly not the first impression she wanted to give to him.

She looked at him, noting his looks and features. First of all, he was quite taller than her. Not as tall as Leo, but still pretty tall nonetheless. She had hoped she would at least get a familiar as tall as her, but she knew it was quite a distant possiblity as another person with her height was quite rare indeed. His face was calm and collected, and a litte aloof as well. It seemed she wasn't the joker type, which sat well with her.

"Greetings." She curtsied towards him. "My name is Liliac de Blanc. I hope we can work together well." She stared at him, waiting for his response.

@pkken

Korrigan 'Korrey' Umbraisis

Korrey chuckled, glad that his partner enjoyed Vulcan's dumb little happy dance. As he listened to Felicity belt off her list of facts about herself, he had to let put low whistle. "You remind me of my friend Shivs, talks a mile a minute I tell ya, but she's also the type who'd rather burn a dress than wear. Hates floofy, girly clothing, but I'd bet even she'd be impressed to hear you made that yourself. I thought it was something from one of those big brand designer names that get bandied about hear and there. It looks real good on you too!" Tapping the bottom of Vulcan's container as he turned his attention back to the volunteers around him, he went back to quietly listening to Felicty's voice, though he found himself unable to keep to quiet when he heard about this friend of her's, Nancy. "Restruant kid, eh? Well, you'll have to introduce me sometime so that I can get some home-made grub or somethin'. Body this big needs a lot of fuel to keep it going, so you know I've got quite the appetite."

Korrey mentally took note of Felicities magic type, but didn't mention his ability quite yet. He wanted to delay the eventual reveal of his particular. . . oddity as long as he possibly could, afraid he was going to freak her out with it. Once the two of them reached their dorms, Korrey let out another whistle as he looked around the room, taking in everything there was to see about it and noting all of the features the volunteers mentioned as he set Vulcan down on one of the desks, when he was suddenly handed a paper. Korrey's eyes lit up at the mention of a Monster Hunting Class, nearly getting ready to leap with joy, only to immediately reel it in when he heard he had to have his party join it as well. Glancing at the girl from behind his sunglasses, he got the feeling that she wasn't as much an enthusiast as he was when it came to being an adventurer, especially if her passion was to be a fashion designer. Should he even make a mention of his desire to go, or should he just keep quiet about the whole thing.

Korrey didn't know what to do, and thus ended up staring at his paper, his pencil making slow circles over the monster-hunter class but never touching the paper.

@Invader Len

The boy spoke quickly and uninterestedly, Marth widened his eyes as the boy quickly picked up his belongings, not even giving the white haired Marth a chance to offer assistance. I guess everyone is really tense he thought to himself. He watched as the boy walked off quickly and dissipated into a crowd. Marth shrugged off the encounter regaining control over his luggage and resuming his commute.

Marth understood full and well how important the Sacramentum was but he didn't understand why everyone was so tense and nervous. Sure they were being bonded with someone they may or may not know but it would only be for a year. His only concern was to whom he would be contracted with and whether they would invade his personal space and would work with him. Last year was hell living with 5 other boys and sharing a bathroom with them. Marth shook his head in the horror and bad memories.



Marth reached the Sun hall and took a deep breath, this was probably one of his favorite places in the academy. As he walked through the door he felt a ripple through his body, slowing his walk came to a complete stop. You could feel the power the room held like it was sacred grounds being watched over by a diety. The architecture was breathtaking and the design overall was one of a kind. Marth moved forward being fairly close to the front of the crowd getting a good view of the headmaster, taking his features into full thought just like when he had seen him his first year. When he spoke his voice was loud enough to cover the whole hall.

Soon enough the speech was over and people soon began being paired, the person that caught his attention was someone who he had seen earlier, Leo de Coeur. He is from a noble family with great power, he most likely had seen him at some meeting or diner of the sort, Marth made note to make a proper introduction with him in the future.

"Lilac De Blanc and Marth Carter!"

Marth heard his name and let out a little smirk, he was happy to get the sacramentum done with and relieve his curiosity of who his partner in crime will be. He made his way to the front dropping his bags by the front of the steps and walking up. Marth reached the vacant priests, nodding his head and greeting them, he then waited for his partner to arrive. After about 30 seconds the headmaster called out his partners name again and again but she was nowhere to be found.

Perhaps his partner didn't show up on the first day or missed the train, but no she just had trouble getting to the front podium, she came up the steps half running. Marth looked at her with calm and collected eyes, he remembered that she was with Leo earlier. He took into account how small and frail she was looked, hopefully she made up for it in another category.

"Greetings, my name is Lilac de Blanc, I hope we can work together well"

At least she was willing to cooperate with Marth, he smirked as he greeted her back. "If we cooperate we will have a fruitful year, I am Marth Carter. It is a pleasure to meet you Lilac de Blanc" Marth didn't ask for much, only someone willing to work with him and pull their weight. He then turned to the Druid, "I am ready to begin"

@Hammerman@MechonRaptor@TheHangedMan

Nancy was relieved when Nathan not only held his hand out to her but also told her that she gave him goodies last year. Good, that meant that Nathan thought she was at least somewhat nice. Nancy could work with this. "Yeah man, that was me! Which I guess means we must of have some classes together last year. Thought I recognized ya!" Nancy told him with an even bigger smile than before. Then the druids motioned them to come closer, the Sacramentum was going to start.

Nancy held her hand out, letting it be put on the pedestal and kept still and silent as the druids chanted and dripped the water onto their hands. It was a strange feeling having the seal put on. Not a bad one of course just weird. Like a buzzing underneath the skin...no that wasn't it. It was kind of like...having something warm, but not too hot, being placed on the back of her cold hand. Yeah, that was what the feeling was like. It didn't last too long, though, because as soon as they finished chanting and Nancy moved her hand away, it slowly started to fade to soft brown.

"Woah man..." Nancy said in awe as she traced what she could see of the seal before it turned brown, only to be seen as its vibrant red again when Nancy next practiced magic. She once again smiled at Nathan, glad this was going so well so far. "Well dude, I guess we should be getting to our rooms now." She told him as she quickly ran over to where she left her things and wheeled them over to Nathan and the volunteers to be lead to their rooms.

@MechonRaptor

He shook her hand with a surprising firmness to it, which somewhat caught her off guard. He must be a serious person, stern and uptight. Getting along with him might be a problem, but Talia would do her best. After all, how bad could it be living with this young, yet tall, gentleman?

The ceremony was quicker than she thought it would be, ever since she had heard about it she imagined some big-wig ceremony and decorations and music and lights and dancing and a whole hoopla of theatrics, but no, it was cut and dry. She put her hand out timidly as they poured the water, it being somewhat cool. She winced a bit as the seal formed, it having a tingling sort of sensation. 'This is new' she thought. As soon as it was over she looked up at Leo.

"And with this, we are Mage and Familiar," he announced innocuously, "I look forward to our time together." She replied a bit timidly and eagerly with a hint of unsteadiness to her voice, "Y-Yeah... It's gonna be fun." She smiled slightly and tilted her head a tad. 'He means well, that's a good starter. He is kind of stone cold though, no emoti-' this thought was quickly cut off as they were soon ushered off the stage and to the volunteers who helped with some of their bags. Talia remained relatively silent and just tagged behind her newfound bonded partner, lost in thought.

He started talking to her again as they were walking and she quickly tuned back in. "So Talia, tell me a little bit about yourself," started Leo. "Hobbies? Habits? Easily exploitable fears that I can take advantage of to establish dominance? Personally I like to read in my spare time." This caught her off guard for but a second. 'Oh and so it begins' she thought with a sly grin. "Well Mister de Coeur" she said with a jovial tone, "I am indeed very interested in video games, I like to play them if i have the free time. I'm also not a half-bad swimmer, I like to spend time with friends also....let's see... Easily exploitable fears..? hmm that's a tough one let me think. I do have a slight case of Autophobia, so that may help," she sort of giggled after that little segment, although it was serious she was just trying to lighten the mood.

@TheHangedMan

Sam was off to the side in the Sun Room, he didn't really enjoy being around such a large group, being caught in the middle of it was the last thing he wanted. So instead he kept himself isolated and admired the room while half listening for his name to be called. The Headmaster's speech was fine, Sam had let out a few polite chuckles. The Sun Room was much more interesting than the speech though. Sam wasn't easily impressed, he didn't care enough about anything to be really impressed, but the Sun Room made him feel something. It was a feeling he couldn't really explain, but it was definitely a good feeling. He wished he could spend all him time in here, unfortunately the Sun Room was only opened for special events, but Sam did make it a point to pass by whenever he had a chance.

As more groups were called up Samuel started to get a bad feeling in his gut. He felt this before, nervousness, anxiety, but why was he feeling it now? Usually this feeling was reserved for when he knew he didn't do an assignment and would have to come up with an excuse. There wasn't a reason for him to feel like this now, he had done nothing wrong. He looked the same as he had a moment ago to anyone looking but his mind was racing with terrible thoughts. What if he had done something wrong but forgot about it and was about to be kicked out? What if his partner hated him and they couldn't get along? What if he was really awkward in front of everyone? That last one was most likely and terrified him most because of it. He didn't have any more time to dwell on it though because suddenly he heard, "...and Samuel Deniel!"

Sam pushed his anxieties out of his mind and walked his way up to the front of the room. He thanked the gods he didn't fall on his face in front of everyone. He was up there before his partner was, and wondered idly who it would be. He wasn't very social, but he could usually put a name to a face, at least for the students in his year. If only he was paying attention instead of thinking of stupid things that would probably never happen he would know who his partner was. But that was in the past, and he didn't hear so there was nothing he could do. He was sure his partner would be there any second now, so he wouldn't be left wondering much longer.

@Republic

---

The two druids then started the ceremony. As they ordered, Lilac held her hand above a pedestal, with her hand over her familiar's. Then, the druids began chanting some words she did not understand. She figured it must be some sort of ancient tongue, something that already existed, unchanged, since the first sacramentum was performed. And then, as they finished, she felt a tingling sensation on the back of her hand, as the seal of sacramentum formed on her skin.

She looked at it closely. She wasn't the kind of person who was fond of tattoos, but she had to admit that the seal was quite well-designed in the aesthetic department.

With this, she was now officially a mage.

"Well then," she looked at his familiar, still with that impassionate and cool gaze of hers, "I suppose we now go to our dormitory room now."

Like the others, two volunteers offered to carry their bags and luggages to their room, which Lilac was certainly thankful for. She could finally be free of that annoying physical task her body wasn't suited for.

As they walked, at first Lilac stayed silent. But then, she decided to use the opportunity to lay out some ground rules with her partner.

"As you well know, our two rooms will be side by side with a sliding wall separating them. We will share the bathroom. So, since I am a girl and you are a boy, I have to insist that you do not open the wall before knocking first. Same with the bathroom. Of course, I will do the same as well."

She said this with her stern voice, but she couldn't help to blush a little from the topic she was discussing. She was always shy about this matter. Back in the first year, she had to share the showers with other girls. And even though they were all of the same gender, she was still shy of showing her skin in front of them. It didn't help that they thought she was really cute and they loved to touch her soft and gentle skin while they were showering. For Lilac who never had any close contact with others, it was a nightmare of embarrassment.

So now with only one other person to share her room with, she hoped that she could finally get back to the leisure bathing time she was fond of when she was still living in her parents' house.

@pkken

Regis Dimitrios

Regis lightly rubbed his eyes as Monty regaled him with his hobbies. He listened closely, but there was one thing that Regis had found strange for a while now. Colours. Very light colours that were not blindingly obvious, but still noticeable. It was as if he stared at a bright light for too long, and the afterimage of a blotch lied etched in his vision. Except it was around other people, and only other people. With considerable concern, he wondered if his eyes were going bad. He rubbed his eyes again, glancing back at Monty. It still remained.

It seemed to grow in intensity as his new partner began to delve a bit deeper into his interests. It was difficult to make out distinctly, Regis might describe the colour as orange-ish, yet it transformed into more of a reddish-orange as he became increasingly 'excited' (in Monty's own words) in his description. Regis tried not to be distracted from what he was saying, although the colours did prove to be somewhat disconcerting, he made sure to review what his partner was saying. He likes cooking, gardening, motorcycles, comic books, some crime show called Statutes and Organization. Grew up in Maefeld. Has a twin sister called Felicity and a friend called Nancy. Regis nodded along to all of this as Monty finished.

Wait! Now his colour turned red!

... Wait, no, that was just the boy's cheeks. Adorable.

"Sorry, you probably didn't need a rant. I just get really excited sometimes. So, what are you interested in Regis? Any hobbies?"

"Hm?" For some reason he hadn't been expecting any questions in return, so this threw him a bit off guard. Probably focusing too much on these bizarre colours that he was only just becoming more and more aware of. "Oh, uh. Well..."

"Here you go," Regis jumped a bit as a voice beside him called out. Regis twisted his neck to the side, and saw the man from before holding out a water bottle to him. He too had a colour. Straining his eyes, Regis managed to make a light brown-ish substance surrounding him. Regis was not sure why, but it felt bizarrely... friendly? No matter. Regis grabbed the water with a bit more force than necessary, quickly opening it up and downing it like a man lost in the desert who just stumbled upon an oasis. Consuming all the water in impressive speed, he shoved the bottle back to the man.

"Phew, about damn ti... uh..." Regis began, but trailed off. The man's colour was no longer 'friendly'. It turned into quite a distinctive sharp red, that seemed to flare the very second he managed a couple words out. A far easily distinguishable colour than before. "I mean. Thank you! I meant thanks. Yep. Thanks."

"No... problem?" The man blinked. The redness seemed to dull, morphing into a bizarre blend of colours that he could only describe as 'pure confusion'.

"Right. Yep. Anyway, hobbies." He looked back to Monty. "Reading, mostly! My parents basically bought an entire library for some reason -- we could easily afford that, you see -- so I spent a lot of time there. Some interest in fashion. Taught myself to sew. Taught myself a lot of things. Knot-tying, cartography, calligraphy, tracking, woodcarving, photography, lock picking, hairstyling, yo-yos, chess, and... some other things. Never know when you'll find yourself stranded on an uninhabited island! Everyone needs survival skills! Been a while since I've done some of those, though. Used to have a lot of time to myself." An inordinately large amount of time.

They finally made it to their room, and was explained to them by the volunteers. It was decent enough. Much better than the absolute hell of the previous year, at least. An elective sheet was also handed to them, and Regis found he was lost on what to choose.

"Do you want one?" Monty held out pencil. Regis already had a pen in his blazer pocket, but he took it anyway.

"Cheers. So, uh, what electives are you going for? Not that I need help deciding, I'm very decisive. The most decisivist." That was not a word. "I am just... curious! Yes, curious."

Vyvyan Ngiwan

The Doolittle Raid from behind had come out of left field—though a few moments consideration about the flow of traffic (i.e. largely in the same direction) quickly resulted in a sigh—though its harm was minimal. In fact, seeing the clumsy girl resume charging ahead reminded Vyvyan to go a tad quicker and reach the Sun Room punctually, which he was going to credit to the accident, as some sort of silent forgiveness.

The hall certainly felt like an architecture student's dream. Stained windows, filtering the sun's rays into all shades and colours, were always rather entrancing, as was the show of dust particles in the light. Seeing the stairs around the podium did give Vyvyan half a heart attack, though, til he remembered (and personally witnessed) that a ramp had been prepared.

Mr Loyola's entrance speech was a first. The massive man's humrous nature had become clear to the transfer student after some months in the academy, however, and it did not surprise Vyvyan at all to hear jokes being cracked. Quietly, he watched, restraining himself from overtly laughing along.

The Ceremony went exactly as his seniors had described... Underwhelming, compared to the depictions of visibly swirling streams of magic, or red string entwining the pair's fates. With all the students, the sacrāmentum had to be done en masse. It was honestly reminiscent of the average awards ceremony—tedious or nerve-wracking until you get up on stage for the anticlimatic receiving of the prize, a moment that lasts no more than a minute.

Or marriage, though some would prefer not to draw such analogies, despite the reality of the phenomenon. Especially due to the reality of the phenomenon. Legal marriages are stacks of paperwork, ceremonial marriages elaborate and involving much thrown rice. Traditional bonding celebrations comprised banquets and all sorts of things, though only his clothes had anything to do with those. The distance between home and St Fortuna's was simply too great for a physical event, but Vyvyan knew his family would send their well wishes in due time.

A number of mage-famliar pairs had gone up before long, the introduction of two more Druids expediting the process, and Vyvyan could swear that he was getting feverish. One hand on his forehead, he murmured, trying to sooth himself, "O great mystery and wonderful sacrāmentum..."

"Ngiwan Ziajk Liep, Vyvyan Imperial and Samuel Deniel!"

Hey, the headmaster pronounced everything pretty well! Not easy at all. Just 'Vyvyan Ngiwan' would have worked just as well, but the records had his entire name plus comma, so... Not much he could do about it other than get a name change.

Being seated at the front, Vyvyan had expected to reach the stage first, only to see Samuel, a fellow black-haired boy, beat him to it while patiently waiting for the ramp to be set up. The Sun Room's age and lack of recent renovation meant it was nowhere near as accesible as the rest of the school, but that was thankfully not the norm.

Several seconds later, Vyvyan rolled onto the stage, stopping short enough of his mage partner and future roommate of the school year. Even without an A* in literature, the fact that Vyvyan's anxiety was mutual was apparent.

Vyvyan was grateful that his skirt-pants concealed his legs, now shaking visibly if not outright spasming, as he took a shot of air and greeted, "Ah, Samuel, good morning. I'm Vyvyan... Ngiwan."

Why was his name suddenly so difficult to say?! The headmaster hollered it just fine!

"I'm rather nervous, so, uhm... Let's...?" Without thinking or understanding what he himself was trying to communicate, Vyvyan extended his hands, cautiously. The best icebreakers would be done off-stage, right?

Marth looked at the mark on his right hand and observed the print on it closely, it was pretty cool and intriguing, he brushed his left hand across the top of the seal. Now he was bonded though he still felt pretty much the same, the only thing was almost like a slight tingle in his body.

"Well then, I suppose we now go to our dormitory room"

Marth nodded in agreement, almost forgetting the second thing he was looking forward to today, his dorm! He was pretty excited for this part because he wouldn't have to share a bedroom with anybody this year, no more weird smells and snoring. As the volunteers showed them the way he trailed behind Lilac. Most of the trip was silent between the 2 of them but soon enough it was broken as she turned to him and began laying ground rules for the dorm. The white haired boy was happy that she laid them out before he did, he nodded in acceptance with the rules. She tried to look serious but her face was a bright red showing a little embarrassment which in a way made Marth a little relaxed.

"Those rules sound great to me, unless it's important I most likely won't bother you all too much." it seems like Lilac enjoyed her privacy as much as Marth, at less they shared something in common.

Soon enough they arrived at their dorm, 235 with a gold plaque on the door, the volunteer opened the door and brung their belongings inside. The room was quite spacious and included everything you a student would need, Marth was quite pleased with the room that was provided, the volunteers began explaining the rules and whatnots of the dorms following being handed an elective selection sheet.

When he saw monster hunting his eyes immediately lit up for a second, until he read that your partner must attend as well, he looked over at Lilac who seemed like someone who wasn't too enthusiastic with monsters, maybe he could persuade her, or she secretly has a obsession with them? Doesn't hurt to ask!

"Lilac, would you possibly interested in taking the monster hunting class with me?" Marth said pointing at the class description though the name is pretty self explanatory."It says that both partners are required for this class though if you don't want to participate and have another elective in mind that is fine".

@Hammerman

Lilac was glad to hear her partner's positive response to her request. It seemed she and him shared the love for privacy. And she certainly preferred a quiet roommate over a bolsterous one.

Soon enough, they arrived at their room, numbered 235. It was quite spacious, and Lilac was pleased by how everything was. For how expensive the academy was, according to the masses, they clearly gave the students the high-class treatment they deserved.

She listened well to the explanation of the dorm rules given by the volunteer. She made sure to pay attention even though it was quite similar to the rules laid out to her back in the first year. Still the same curfew hour. She had to remember to not forget the time when she did her nightly visits to the library.

And then, she was handed the elective class sheet that she had to fill, to decide which two classes she wanted to attend. She looked at the list and her expression quickly turned into that of annoyance. There wasn't any particular class she felt like she wanted to attend. If she had the choice to not take any of them, she certainly would. She was only here to study magic after all. She didn't care about anything else.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Marth expressed his desire to join the monster hunting class. She frowned even more when she realized her partner wanted to attend the most physically demanding, tiring class out of the list. Did he think she look like the type that would like to run around, chasing after monsters?

Turning to look at him, she replied, "No." with a flat tone, as if the matter was unnegotiable. "As you can see, my body isn't exactly the strongest, and I'll just make a fool out of myself if I apply for that class. I'm not really fond of the other classes as well but at least they won't tire me as much. I probably will just take music and painting since they seem to be the most suitable for me."

@pkken

Samuel was so busy looking out on the crowd for his partner to come up he didn't notice the ramp being set up and Vyvyan rolling on the the stage. He recognized the boy, and immediately felt slightly guilty that the only thing he remembered was that Vyvyan was the one in a wheelchair. That and you could probably mistake him for a girl if you weren't looking too close. What did relieve Sam though was that Vyvyan seemed about as nervous as he was, but of course Sam refused to show it.

"Ya, Vyvyan, good morning to you too," clearly they were both awkward individuals, and Vyvyan seemed to want off this stage as soon as possible. "Ya, let's do this," Sam extended his hand and placed on top of Vyvyan's, and then the druids started the ceremony. One of the many things Sam had read about in his extensive free time (though some would call it voluntary isolation) was how this ceremony went, though it went a lot fast than he expected. The next thing he knew there was now a symbol on the back of his hand and they were being beckoned off stage by a couple of volunteers who would lead them to their new room and offered to help with luggage. "Thank you, um, be careful with my smaller bag, it has some fragile items."

Soon enough they were off, now he and Vyvyan could actually introduce themselves. "So, Vyvyan, nice to meet you, I guess we're partners now huh?" Sam was still feeling awkward, and he was currently running a loop in his head of Don't mention the chair, don't mention the chair, so he was hoping they got comfortable with each other soon. "Anything I should know about you since we'll be sharing a room? Do you snore? Sleep wa....talking?" Fuck!

@Republic

@onenote
After the handshake and Nancy continuing her own introduction, all Nathan felt compelled to do was smile and nod at what she said, though his enthusiasm was much more toned down than hers. He didn't have anything other to say to Nancy or ask seeing as his question was answered, and was glad that the druids motioned for them to come towards them so that the Sacramentum could be performed. It meant that the conversation could be cut short, in a way, and he was fine with that.

Having placed his hand on the pedestal after his soon to be bond partner, he watched curiously as the druids did their chants and dripped water on the duo's hands. It must have been the seal he was waiting for... Though he couldn't properly describe the feelings that came with it. If he had to describe it, it was like the feeling of a warm embrace vibrating on the back of his hand, and he was glad that it didn't last long. Nancy was the first to move her hand away after the chanting, while Nathan slowly moved his own hand off as he stared at it. The seal had faded to a brown coloration, and he took note of how the color would turn red on Nancy when she practiced her magic. Maybe that red color would only appear when using magic or abilities? It was a question he was sure he'd find the answer to once he had time.

But it wasn't just about him anymore, and he looked up at Nancy as she said it was best to get to their rooms, to which he nodded once more. Not wanting to waste time, he hastily went off to grab his luggage, getting to the volunteers slightly faster than his partner. This was it, the start of a new, exciting school year with someone he barely knew. But on the bright side, at least he knew OF them, and all things considered, Nancy could be worse... Far worse... Which was all the more reason to be glad that he felt she wasn't.

Talia walked with him to their room as she held up her hand and looked at the mark again, wanting to see it once again. The design was intricate and detailed, something appropriate for such a sacred thing it represented. The bond between mage and familiar, it still sent chills up her spine knowing that her and his soul were bonded now, intertwined and reliant on each other until the bond was to end. She put her hand down and listened to Leo as he gave his response to her earlier banter.

Well he was unfamiliar with video games totally, which kind of let down Talia, but then the thought of getting to teach someone about something completely new to them came to mind. She would get to introduce him to video games if he would allow it, that was going to be fun for sure. Even if he didn't enjoy it, it would still be an enjoyable experience for her.

She was a little caught off guard when he mentioned swimming in his private lake with his brothers and maids. So he came from a wealthy family, that was clear. She tried to imagine a large estate next to the woods with a giant lake. That must have been pretty great wealth, old wealth that is. The kind that is inherited from earlier ancestors or parents. It must have been pretty grand if even the maids were swimming. What was his last name? de Coeur?

She remembered why it seemed vaguely familiar to her, she had overheard it once from her parents when they were talking in the other room. The most she knew about them was that they were a highly respected family upon highly respected families, one of the most powerful, and one of the richest families she had ever heard of, if only just a tadbit.

Talia herself was in a way wealthy. Her parents owned a string of game shops that made a sizable profit, which in turn their family got. But her family's riches and extravagance never reached the extent that Leo's family did. Talia lived in a reasonably sized house, but it was no mansion. The biggest body of water was just a pool, it was no penthouse. The simple fact of the matter was that The Nitro family and the de Coeur family were completely different. Rather than living in extreme lavish wealth and showcasing it to other families of nobility, Talia's family lived more of a normal life, not spending excessive amounts of money.

"Don't worry about the video games, I'll teach you a few some day," she started to say, "But we'll have to go swimming some time, and a lake does sound better than a pool in all honesty." She hoped that this wouldn't make it awkward.

He then brought up her autophobia. "As for your fear, it's a shame that I can't use it," he said, "because as long as I'm your partner, I will never allow you to feel alone." It wasn't really the fear of being alone, rather the fear of abandonment. "Well you'd be surprised..." her words trailed off. "Anyway.." she started to say as the guide cut her off and they were brought to their room.

The guides explained general rules to them which most of made sense (except the one on prohibition). The topic of electives was then brought up as she was handed a sheet. She looked upon it and considered the options. Music sounded fun, and so did art. Then Leo spoke up and seemed to have read her mind. "Well Talia, it seems that joining the Monster Hunting class requires us to go as a pair. Personally, I'd like to go. What about you?" Monster hunting did sound the most fun to Talia and it could harbor quite a bit of experience. "Well Mister Leo, you don't have to worry about me holding you back. I'd love to take the monster class with you, it sounds like it could be a lot of fun." she smiled at him and then looked back at the electives. "I know I am going to take monster hunting, but I'm kind of unsure about my other electives. What do you plan on taking?"

@TheHangedMan

Tick.
Tock.
Tick.
Tock
Robert glanced down at his watch, the sound of the seconds slipping away through the annals of time echoing through his mind, being the one thing he had available to him to distract himself from the monumental moment about to come. The Sacramentum had been built up to him his entire life, instilled into him that this would be the ultimate way to increase his value. The maturity, bond, and experience that this was a symbol and portent of was not something to be taken lightly. He listened and watched as his classmates walked up, and met their soon to be other halves. He took a sidelong glance around, wondering who was destined to be his first partner.

Richard watched and waited as pair after pair was called, walking up the short steps to their respective podiums and undertaking their sacramentum. He felt a ball of anxiety knotting itself in his stomach, like he’d eaten a cannon ball. He was still nervous about meeting his Mage, and that nervousness was amplified by his own insecurity. He didn’t have his Ability yet. He didn’t know what it was. The only way he could find out was by taking a partner and hoping it manifested with the burden of extra energy off of him.

What if he disappointed his partner? That thought weighed heavily on his mind. He wasn’t particularly impressive, unless his swimming or musical talents were being taken into account. But he highly doubted any mage would consider an amphibious, powerless musician to be a useful familiar, unless his partner was into the obscure field of aquatic concerts. If his Ability turned out to be something totally useless… What was he going to do?

“Robert Allen and Richard Bateman.”

Robert immediately stood up, when he heard his name called, and snapped his head towards the other redheaded man who followed suit. “ R and R” Robert thought to himself. As he made his way up the to podium, he tried to size Richard up in his head. “ Well, he doesn’t look incompetent, actually quite the opposite.” There was something about Richard that made him look like he was ready to do whatever he had to do. Robert smiled, confident he’d be working with somebody who would be taking this seriously.

He tilted his head upward and to the left as he met Richard at the front, locking eyes with him for a moment before quietly saying, “ Nice to meet you Richard, I think we’re going to do great things together.” He gave a cordial smile, before turning his attention back towards the druids. It was crucial that his partner thought well of him, in Robert’s mind. His success was no longer just contingent on his own abilities, but also those of somebody else's, meaning they would need to have a working relationship.

Oh god. That was his name! Richard would feel his knees shaking as they moved, a stiff, robotic movement, pre-programmed into his brain, carrying him almost unwillingly towards the stage. He got a good look at his partner as he approached the stage too, both of them standing in front of the podium. He was shorter than Richard was, though he supposed that wasn’t unusual, 6’2” was a tall height for any 16 year old. Short blonde hair, green eyes, and glasses, though of a rounder frame than his own. ’If both of us lose our glasses at the same time, that will make for trouble.’ he thought to himself, trying to give a shaky smile that turned out more of an uncomfortable grimace.

“N-N-Nice t-to m-m-meet you t-t-oo.” Richard stammered out, his voice almost breaking as he spoke. Oh gods damn it, that stammer! He shouldn’t have said everything! He wiped his hand on his pant leg before holding it out, hoping to the heavens it wasn’t too sweaty. He knew his cheeks were full of color at his embarrassment, and he needed everything in him to hold himself together. He hated being on stage, he hated being in front of people like this! He didn’t dare glance at the audience, if he made eye contact with someone he might just faint on the spot. So he kept his gaze lowered, looking at their hands as the Druids had them clasp together for the ceremony. Every syllable they uttered felt like an eternity, he was getting hot and dizzy on the stage. When would it be over? Would this torture ever end?

It did, though it felt none too soon, and Richard quickly stole his hand back and speed-walked off the stage as soon as the ceremony was complete. He hadn’t realized he had held his breath during the ritual, and now a rush of cool air was sorely needed. He only realized afterwards how awkward that made him look, and was awash with shame. Great, 2 seconds into this partnership, and he had unintentionally given his Mage the cold shoulder. Wonderful.

Robert raised an eyebrow as Richard stuttered his way through an introduction, lightly lowering his expectations. Granted, he may just have social anxiety, this didn’t mean him to be incompetent. He shook Richard’s quivering palm, and then turned to the Druids as they bonded them together. He felt the tingle on the back of his hand as the ceremony completed, the Druid’s chanting echoing through his head. And just like that, it was over, leaving Robert and Richard together. He turned back to face Richard, as his hand was quickly pulled away.

Before he knew it, his new partner has decided to take flight from the stage, leaving Robert quite literally standing at the alter. Feeling worried, and even a little embarrassed on his own part after being left there, Robert hurried after him outside. “Hey man, you ok?” He asked, concerned, making his way to Richard and laying a hand on his shoulder. Robert frowned. Something had to be wrong, he couldn’t have done anything to fuck things up yet.

---

Felicity was never very good at reading people, and it was even harder to read someone wearing sunglasses. Her novels said that eyes told more emotion than the rest of the face, and not being able to see them… Well, she could see her own, in the reflection of Korrey’s lenses. But that didn’t help her a whole lot in determining what he might be thinking. If only she had telepathy or some kind of psychic ability that Familiars had! That would help her immensely in figuring out what to say.

“Um…” She began, picking out her words carefully so she didn’t talk too much.
“What classes are you interested in taking? I really wanna take cooking, cause one of my friends might be in it, and it would be nice to learn how to cook. If you take cooking with me, I’ll take a class with you? Does that sound okay?” she asked, trying her best to not run him over with her words again. She should save her energy for Monty and Nancy, and not exhaust her new Familiar too much with conversation.