Walking back had proven to be rather pleasant for Amaris, the pair exchanging a few words before continuing the rest of the way in silence. It was far from an awkward silence though, as Amaris had feared it would become; a comfortable pause that allowed the new partnership to grow familiar with the other’s presence. She thought back on Minfillia’s words prior to their departure from the event, mulling them over before she came to the conclusion that they were satisfactory. All Amaris wanted was for Minfillia to be able to choose her own place in a dynamic she had little choice in to begin with, after all, it wasn’t as if Amaris’ treatment of her would differ any regardless of her decision.

Following the path toward the dorms, Amaris kept an eye on the throngs of people travelling around them. She wouldn’t have been surprised if someone, at some point, was willing to attempt a scene, but for the most part it seemed as if everyone was on their best behavior for the evening. Hopefully, that would last. The last thing she wanted to deal with was childish squabbling at school, politically fueled or otherwise. After a while, however, the crowds began thinning as the bulk of student were pushed one way and Amaris was directed in another. Before arriving at the school, she had been ‘assured’ her living quarters would be separate from the rest of the student body. No doubt the complaints of an earlier elite lead to such measures, but she wasn’t about to complain. The distance meant privacy, and that was something of a treasure to Amaris these days.

Approaching the stand alone cul-de-sac, the vampire eyed the mailboxes lining the street one by one, assessing her new neighbors. The house sigil for each family was prominently displayed to assure that no one would mistake it for a common structure. Peeking at the colors, Amaris found herself immediately relieved that her immediate neighbor would not be Count Varis. Unlike the common dorms the nobles were given a lot more space to work with for their accommodations, so it wasn’t as if she would have been in close proximity to the guy, but it was much preferred to have at least another house between hers and his. Her brief moment of relief was short lived, however, as Amaris came to the realization that she had yet to see who the Eve representative was this year. There were a couple of faces that came to mind as possibilities, but there was one in particular that stood out as being the most likely to attend.

It can wait until tomorrow. She thought to herself, approaching the mailbox and producing yet another envelope and a pair of keys to the dorm. Amaris pocketed one of the keys and handed the second one over to her partner before returning her focus to the envelope. As they made their way toward the house, Amaris opened the envelope to reveal two different pages within. The first was a simple welcome and reminder for what time orientation would be the following evening, as well as a subtle warning about the time that was to be spent without the mages. Amaris was fairly practiced and had eaten recently enough that she could allow Minfillia a little more time to adjust before having the ‘discussion’, but she knew realistically that there were others who needed to feed more frequently or on more strict schedules. The note was more for them than anyone else…

Tucking the first page behind the second, Amaris scanned what could only be the class schedule for her and her partner. As classes wouldn’t begin immediately, Amaris put off looking at her own schedule so as to remain unbiased in her interactions during the orientation. Neatly folding the paper back up, she left the notes on the table so that they could be accessed by either occupant at their leisure. Raising her eyes, Amaris noted that Minfillia had already begun dressing down for the morning. The flowers had been removed from her hair and the braids loosened to release the locks they bound, the mage approaching the table to view the schedule Amaris had placed down.

While Minfillia looked over the pages, Amaris set to letting her eyes wander the living space. Not a thing appeared out of place, the quality of the craftsmanship and the thought put into the needs of the occupants were clear in the presentation of the house. A home away from home as some would call it, Amaris could see herself living quite comfortably in such a cozy environment. Hearing a rustle back at the table, Amaris turned to see Minfillia replacing the pages on the table where they had been left.

“If there is nothing else, I wish to retire.” The mage gave a short wave and a soft smile, an expression that was met with an understanding gaze and a dismissive nod from the vampire. Even Amaris had to admit the night’s events had left her rather worn down. Socializing was probably among her least favorite activities, but sometimes there was just no avoiding it. Especially now that she was attending school, the connections made were going to be crucial for the family and for her partner. If a little extra effort was needed to ensure those successes, then Amaris would just have to deal with it.

Now that she was alone, Amaris relaxed her posture with a heavy sigh. Making her way back to her own bedroom, the vampire was pleased to find all of her belongings left exactly where she wanted them. She set to unpacking knowing that she might not have as much free time moving forward. The majority of her belongings came in the form of books and miscellaneous study tools with the remainder filling her closet and vanity to the brim. Handling with care, Amaris set up an easel off to the side in her personal quarters. The frame appeared to have quite a few years on it, though its care assured its stability and longevity since its acquisition. It stood in stark contrast to the brand new brushes and paints she had lined up before it, the new supplies bought specifically for her move to Noila Academy. Blank canvases would have been a hassle to transport so Amaris made a note to acquire some at first opportunity, an undoubtedly easy task knowing the Noila standard.

Trivial things away, Amaris turned her attention back to a particularly odd case. It was more like a trunk than anything else, sturdy sides with handles on either side and a lock on the front to keep the nosey out. What made it stand out was the holes drilled into the walls in several places, just large enough to poke a single finger through but not much else. A smile lit Amaris’ features as she unlocked the box and opened it revealing a glass tank within. Lifting the tank from the trunk with ease, Amaris set it carefully on an iron stand that she had specifically requested for delivery when making her arrangements. As it was set in place, a black and white scaled snake slithered from what could only be described as a miniature palace provided for his leisure. Reaching her arm into the tank, Amaris allowed the creature to wrap up around her arm in greeting.

“Did you miss me, Getsuga? It’s alright now, no more travelling in the trunk for a while. This is going to be our new home for some time… what do you think?” Amaris giggled a little as the snake faced her and wiggled his tongue at her. Placing him back in the tank, Amaris was sure to leave the top open in case he wanted to explore the room a bit. She would keep the door to her room closed to as to keep the snake from surprising her partner and any guests, but for the most part he would be allowed free range as he was at home.

As she placed the creature back into his case, the vampire’s eyes lingered on the thick box that served as the tank’s base. Running her free hand under the structure, her fingers brushed against several irregular notches in the smooth surface before she withdrew her hand and stepped back from the structure.

“You get settled in sweetness, I’m heading to bed.” She said with a smile, retreating to the bed. Changing out of the evening’s clothes, she tossed the shirt and pants into a hamper before hanging the jacket and corset vest neatly in the closet. Finally, Amaris reached up to pull the pins holding her hair in place away, the long dark strands of hair falling freely to brush against her bare skin. A small shiver of relief ran through her body as she massaged out the ache that had begun to form in her scalp, the tension built up from the evening slowly seeping away. Shutting off the lights, Amaris crawled into the luxurious bed with a content sigh before drifting quickly off to sleep.

Amaris allowed herself to wake naturally, having little concern she would be late despite having not set an alarm before falling asleep. When it came to time, Amaris found she had fairly sharp instincts… though whether she listened to them all the time was an entirely different discussion. On this evening, however, Amaris awoke on time feeling refreshed and prepared to see what the academy had to offer.

Stifling a yawn, Amaris sat up in the bed and pushed herself to the edge so that she could stretch the stiffness from her joints. Calmly rising from the bed, Amaris padded over to a bag she had lying next to the closet door and pulled out a cellphone from one of the many pockets. Usually she had little need for such a device, but she figured it would be better to have it than to not. She switched on the device and began fiddling with some of the settings, making sure passcodes were set in place and that the volume was set to vibrate.

After a few minutes of basic tinkering, Amaris placed the phone down on her bedside table and set to picking out an outfit for the day. It took the vampire nearly ten minutes to decide on an outfit to wear, struggling between showing off her fashion or dressing casually for comfort’s sake. Reaching into the closet, she withdrew two pieces she thought would look well together and set them aside while she set to getting ready.

Having attended the welcome party with her hair bound up, she thought it would be a nice change to wear it down for orientation. Taking a fine-toothed comb to her hair, Amaris worked out any of the tangles that formed while she slept before working to setting the style for the day. Scrunching some product into the dark mass with her hands, Amaris teased her hair into a methodically tasselled look.

While she waited for the hair to set, the vampire took to massaging a small amount of moisturizer into the skin of her face. The cold weather autumn brought was much desired over the oppressive heat that invaded during summer time, but the dry skin that followed such crisp delight was less so. Just the thought alone was enough to annoy the young woman, hence the effort she put into the moisturizer so early in the season.

With face and hair set to perfection, Amaris turned back to the clothing she laid out on the edge of the bed. She slipped into nude colored undergarments to avoid any tone clashing with the white shirt she had chosen for the day, pulling the tight, three-quarter sleeve over her head and down into place. Amaris carefully untucked her hair from the garment first before straightening out the fabric which hugged her form down to her hips. The skirt she chose was a hi low cut made from several layers of sheer black fabric, the hems forming a neat ruffled look from every direction. It was designed to sit a little higher on her waist with the shirt tucked in, that mixed the natural bounce of material made the skirt the focal point of the outfit over anything else.

From her large selection of shoes, Amaris pulled forth a pair of three inch heels that would set her height at an even six foot. They laced up the front to offset the opaqueness the black, framing the front of her foot up to her ankle where the strings ties in a neat little bow. She was sure to keep her accessories simple, deciding that she would wear just the house crest instead of ornate jewelry. Once she was satisfied with her look, Amaris walked back over to her nightstand and picked her phone up, tucking it into a black clutch purse for safe keeping.

After tossing a mouse into the tank for Getsuga, Amaris snagged her dorm key and made her exit, closing her bedroom door behind her. As she approached the common living space she could see that Minfillia had already started eating and was focusing on something in front of her on the table. Not wanting to startle the mage, Amaris cleared her throat as she entered the room, a light smile brightening her features.

“Good evening, I hope you slept well?” She asked, walking around the table to snag a pen and a notepad. Watching Minfillia munch away at the bowl of fruit in front of her, Amaris was reminded that the pair would still have to address the vampire’s own feeding habits at some point. Now didn’t seem like the time, however, so she set to neatly jotting down the number to her personal cellphone before placing it within reach of the mage.

“I’d like you to have my phone number just in case you need to get into contact with me for any reason. Though, I have to admit… I don’t use phones like these very often so if you could keep shorthand for text messages to a minimum I would really appreciate it.” Amaris felt bad having to lie a little, but it was far less embarrassing to say she was unfamiliar with the technology than it was to say she never had the need to learn text speak. After all, she didn’t exactly have a list of friends to talk to; the opportunity to learn was just never present outside of the occasional mention in a book or movie.

There was still plenty of time before new students had to report for orientation, but a few unanswered questions left from the night before nagged at her. If she were to head out soon, it would give her opportunity to gather useful information regarding her new classmates. Knowing a few of the faces already, the more information held the better.

“I think I’m going to head out early this morning, get a nice walk in before orientation begins. If it’s not too much trouble, I would like to check in with you around lunch though. There are a couple things I would like to go over with you, but that can wait until later.” She said, replacing the pen and paper exactly where she found it. Heading toward the door, Amaris turned and waved over her shoulder with a bright smile.

“Enjoy your breakfast!” The brunette added before clicking her way merrily out the door. She took a deep breath as she stepped out into the crisp air, eyes closed as she took a moment to revel in the fall weather. A faint scent in the air caught the young woman’s attention, a vaguely familiar smell that drew Amaris toward the mailbox set at the edge of the dorm property.

Reaching inside the box, Amaris withdrew an envelope that had not been present the night before. The paper had been sealed with the sigil of another noble house, though there was little need for Amaris to inspect it to know who had sent it. She assumed the letter had been delivered by Varis’ mage as there was a second, weaker, scent mixing with the first. Rolling her eyes, Amaris flipped the envelope over and cracked open the seal.



Somehow, the contents of the letter came as little surprise to Amaris, though she did kick herself internally for having not foreseen such a move. While apprehensive about the idea of spending an evening around the menace, Amaris knew that it was an offer she could not decline so brashly. Not to mention it would be a good chance to meet with the other nobles in attendance, and possibly learn a little more about the families she had little contact with.

I suppose that I have no choice then… but I could ask Minfillia if she would like to attend as well. There might be opportunity there for her to network with other mages so it wouldn’t be a complete loss. That was if Varis was extending the invitation to the mage partners of the nobles as well. She would have to remember to ask him when she spoke with him to confirm her own attendance.

Tucking the letter and her dorm key into the clutch, Amaris set a leisurely pace for herself as she walked down the path.

There were so many other questions plaguing Joryldin’s mind, none of which were good, but Dakota was on to him like white on rice. He had to give her something, and it had to be believable.

Somehow the fact that Joryldin was homeschooled didn’t come as much of a surprise to the young mage. A lack of established peers was apparent in the way that he danced around socialization, both in body language and in spoken word. While Dakota, personally, had never come close to such isolation, they had known a few classmates who went full semesters without speaking a word out loud. The last thing they wanted to do, however, was seem like they were pitying their new partner. Maintaining a relaxed posture and soft expression, Dakota aimed to lead with a joke.

“Hey, at least you had a chance at a productive study hall. Public schools are a bit overrated in my opinion anyway.” Dakota shrugged their shoulders and grinned.

“Enemies are easy. Just ignore them, unless they get physical… then you kick the ever loving sh…. Crap out of them. If you can’t, you make sure you’re friends with someone who can.” With a comical wink, Dakota busted out laughing and sloshed back their drink.

Joryldin covered his mouth, just barely stifling a laugh of his own, "I don’t know who you think you’re talking to that you have to watch your swearing. I know three languages: English, profanity, and sarcasm.” It felt good to laugh, he could swear he almost felt his heart beat.

“Hey, you never know who’s listening. Gotta keep it rated E for everyone mate.”

It was a queer feeling, having such a casual conversation with someone his age given the circumstances. For a brief moment, reality seemed to slip away. In his mind, Joryldin was in a normal dorm with another normal kid on an average orientation day. The sun was rising, and he was enjoying a chat with his partner over breakfast as they were getting ready. Seeing her chug whatever G-fuel abomination was in that thermos, he instinctively did the same with the drink he was hiding in his hand, the vial of blood. For once, he didn’t mind the sickening sweetness that slipped past his taste buds. Joryldin was so wrapped up in the moment that he couldn’t discern it from any other morning protein shake.

The fledgeling shook his head and smiled. Maybe in a perfect normal world she’d be right, but here they were at Nolia Academy. “That’s some pretty sound advice, but the last thing anybody here is going to do is start a fight in the open…Besides, there’s infinitely worse things they can do than throw a punch.” A few examples came to mind, and as his gaze drifted down to the empty vial in his hands, bright eyes snapped to a shade of crimson far darker than the blood it once contained.

If there’s one thing he had learned, it was that vampires get creative when it comes to their feuds. They can find what you care about most and make it disappear in a heartbeat. It worried him that she was just as firey and defiant in nature as he had been, but unaware of the danger. God forbid if she pissed off one of the noble kids and they learned about her family. A bunch of normal humans? Nobody would bat an eyelid if they disappeared.

The fledgeling couldn’t take his eyes off of the small glass in his hand. Covering his mouth, Joryldin turned his back to Dakota. How could he warn her without sounding like a total hypocrite? It really was the perfect torture.

“...What about friends?”

A frown quickly overtook Dakota’s face as Joryldin turned away, continuing to speak as if nothing were amiss. There was this sinking feeling that he was hiding something and it wasn’t sitting well with the mage.

“That’ll depend on what sort of friends you want to have.” They replied, their tone falling a little more flat than intended. Downing what little remained of their drink, Dakota moved to the sink and placed it next to the mug from the morning before.

“If you want real friends, and I mean people who are actually going to have your back when you need it most, you’re going to have to start trusting people. If you continue to keep to yourself the way that you do, hiding behind a hood and cowering away from those who offer that kind of relationship, you’re going to find yourself surrounded by the kinds of people that drove you there in the first place.” For a moment, Dakota thought that they might have been a little harsher than necessary in their advice, but the feeling quickly passed as old memories began to creep in. Reality had a tendency to be harsh so what use was it to sugar coat for him?

“Got it…” Joryldin took the hint and lowered his hood, though the second line of defense provided by his bangs stood vigilant to protect the mage from his unstable gaze. “I can trust you, right? We’re in this together?” He realized the pointlessness of the question as soon as it came out of his mouth. As if someone would tell you that they were untrustworthy!

“That’s going to be up to you decide. I can respect a certain amount of privacy, but I don’t do secrecy. When you’re ready to share, I’ll be ready to listen… and I’ll even make you a deal. For every bit you share you can ask one thing in return, sound fair?” Dakota sighed internally, maintaining a neutral expression so as not to give away the sudden cringe they felt. What ‘secrets’ did Dakota have that wouldn’t end up blurting out eventually anyways? Still, the mage thought it might be a good first step in developing some kind of trust between the pair, so they were more than willing to try.

Joryldin could hardly believe how normally she was treating him. In spite of what he was, Dakota sounded almost fed-up with his attempts to hide it. Again, the feeling of hypocrisy ran through his mind. He wanted to fight against his new nature, but strayed away from casual human interaction in an attempt to do so.

“Heh, secret sharing? … sounds like some sort of slumber party, that’s what. ”
He gave her a light jab on the shoulder, chuckling softly. God, it was such a relief to be able to laugh at something. “Thanks. An hey… if you need somebody to confide in, I’ll be here for you too!”

“Geez, I’d hate to go to your slumber parties. They sound boring.” Dakota jabbed back playfully, relieved to see some shift in Jorlydin’s demeanour… even if only slight. Glancing at the clock on their phone, Dakota turned to device around so the vampire could see it too.

“We’re going to be late if we don’t hurry… and as for the first day jitters? I’ll let you in on a little secret; even those of us used to public school fear day one.” The mage’s body shook with a genuine laugh, the kind that helped them shake of the nerves even they were beginning to feel.

“Let’s get moving then!” Joryldin grabbed his few belongings, shoved his phone shoved into his hoodie pocket, and discretely slipped the glass of blood into the kitchen sink to wash later. A thought struck him, and he stopped at the door.

“Hey Dakota?” Raising an eyebrow, Dakota stopped short and glanced up at the vampire standing between them and the door curiously.

“Yeah?”

“If we’re gonna be totally straight with each other, then feel free to call me Joey. It’ll mean a lot. He opened the door and bowed with a sarcastic smirk, “Ladies first.”

Slipping past him, Dakota couldn’t help but return the smirk. Patting Jorlydin’s head on their way by Dakota laughed and winked.

“My friends call me Kota and… I’m not a lady.” The mage took off into a light jog, the sound of their laughter trailing behind them as they ran. Joryldin wasn’t sure what she meant by that, but he pushed it to the back of his mind for later. He had made a friend, a human friend, something he never expected to have again; and he would do all he could to see her shine like the amazing star she was.

@Gisk @Leslie Hall <- You guys probably want to know this too ^_^