Conner stared at the uniform laid out on his bed like it was the enemy. The cream blazer, red tie, and sweater vest practically screamed serious and boring. It was like something his parents would have made him wear.

With a sigh, he flopped back onto his mattress, staring at the ceiling. “This is… bullshit!” he exclaimed, draping the tie over his face. It felt like a leash. “Who thought this was a good idea? ‘Oh, let’s take away their freedom and their style.’”

After a moment of exaggerated mourning, he sat up, running a hand through his hair. If he had to wear this uniform, he was going to do it his way.

Fifteen minutes later, Conner stood in front of the mirror, admiring his handiwork.

The blazer was slung over one shoulder—because there was no way he was wearing that unless forced. The white dress shirt was untucked, its sleeves rolled up to just below the elbow, and the top buttons undone intentionally. He couldn’t really do much about the stupid sweater vest… The tie was tied loosely, more decorative than functional. He’d opted for brown loafers, with blue socks with dolphins on them, and of course, his signature blue swim trunks underneath his black dress pants.

“Perfect,” he declared, grinning at his reflection. “Formal, but make it fun.”

Even though he had adjusted the uniform a little bit, Conner couldn’t help but feel like he was playing dress-up. The halls of the Merryweather Institute were a far cry from the salty air and sandy beaches of home, and even though he was free from his parents, the weight of everything still felt heavier than he let on.

Shoving the nervous thoughts aside, he grabbed a pair of shades from his nightstand and perched them on his head, and made finger guns at his reflection.

---

Smoke trailed from the end of Marko’s cigarette and up into the open air. He leaned numbly against the exterior of the dorms, some ways away from the door. He knew these were bad for him. He always knew that. Yet, each inhale of that cheap poison into his lungs seemed to warm a part of him that would otherwise remain frigid. He sighed and watched listlessly as the smoke poured from his mouth, curling up and away. He really should quit at some point. Gram and gramps would be happy. A cold breeze blew past that made Marko shrug his shoulders forward, pulling the heavy coat he wore further around his body.

It's barely any warmer here than back home...

His right arm was unbothered by that fact.

He looked down at the foreign clothing he wore then. The uniform was… fine. More of a palette swap to the kind of things he wore on a daily basis anyways. Not as warm as his normal attire either though. All being said, he wasn’t even going to try and wear the blazer. Getting dressed in the morning was enough of a pain. Hopefully the faculty would be understanding.

A bitter smile worked its way onto Marko’s face as he took another drag. Asking people to be understanding of him was starting to become a running theme. Realistically, one that would continue. Even so. For now just get through the opening ceremony, was all Marko could muster in the self-motivation department. He must have told himself "don't squander this opportunity" about a thousand times while staring at himself in the bathroom mirror earlier this morning, for all the good it did. Now? Here? The reality was hitting him harder than he would have preferred. No more do-overs. He didn't think he had it in himself to make it through this mess in one piece.

Still. Have to try.

As other students began to mill out of the dorm building's various entrances, Marko hung back against the wall, a bit overwhelmed. Should he say hi to someone? And then what? For now, he resolved to hang back and finish his cigarette. Maybe someone would make it easy for him and come say hello. Or maybe they'd all make it even easier than that and ignore him entirely. It's not that he was some sort of dedicated loner, but how was he meant to act? None of his "friends" in the past had been particularly good people. His head was starting to buzz, and not in the good kind of way. He felt the pressure behind his eyes. He took another drag and began to count to count to twenty in his head as he exhaled. Just stay calm, He thought. Unless you want your scars to come in a matching set, calm the fuck down. So he did.

Marko was calm.

---

It was....a most peculiar matter. To be a primalist. In so many places it seemed people were welcoming and kind enough to them, or at least treated them like anyone else. In others, especially with regards to a certain senator, it seemed like the train of distrust and dissatisfaction with their existence continued to chime along as it had for the past three hundred some odd years she wagered. One one hand, they were just people and it had long showed. On the other, even she had to admit that being able to conjure swaths of fire or to shake the earth was dangerous and could potentially kill someone even if by 'accident' if not being properly noticed, controlled, and trained on the user's part. It wasn't a simple black and white matter to her, at least in her own mind, but the fact that she had been tossed this as her element was a curveball unlike any other she'd had before.

Fire? She could at least do cooking without need for a stove, if she had the supplies at least. Water was useful for not having to run up the school's water bills, frankly, and Earth or even more specialized Metal would at least be useful in making ad-hoc tools for cooking or working on potential class project or such for all she knew. Most things seemed to have a good and versatile use, even some of the more specific stuff, but.....fungus of all things, really[/b]?! Really? Yes, really. She was stuck with something that felt so very unbecoming of someone like herselfto enough of an extent, even if she'd been putting in the time to read about different types of fungus and such in trying to, desperately more or less, get a grasp on what in the world she'd be able to do using this element.

And, as it turned out, those uses seemed to be a bit better than she'd initially though. Fire-resistant char layers protected some species when exposed to flame, and naturally things like the 'white mushrooms' people got in grocery stores as well as edible portabellas or oyster mushrooms were among the edible kinds (and there was even one edible kind she'd seen a video or two called 'chicken of the woods', apparently?). Yeast could be stimulated to make bread without having to buy tiny packs of the stuff either to reconstitute or such. Some were also toxic and harmful, should the need frankly ever arise (persish the thought), or produced psychadelic substances like psilocybin in the case of certain species. Etc, etc.

It wasn't enough to make her feel fully happy about the matter, but at least it wasn't worse! She could have gotten far worse, like 'poop' or 'oil' or 'bacteria' or frankly even a highly volatile chemical or something inane or outright even more dangerous like that.

Yet beyond this, and since she'd arrived and learned where she'd be rooming...well...

"Elena. I'm heading out. Don't forget the opening ceremony is today; they're expecting us all to attend it, so make sure you're not late."

As Sarah opened the door to make her way out, however, she'd find the silver-haired Elena standing there just outside in the dorm hallway before her. The fashionably-dressed girl was seemingly rummaging through the bag she'd normally carry on her back, as if looking for something. Or...making sure something was there?

Elena paused as Sarah came out, her head half-turning toward her for a moment of somewhat 'awkward' silence on her part.

How was one supposed to feel about rooming with the daughter of a politican who'd sound like someone that would rather make an internment camp for their 'kind' than tolerate seeing on on the street? Had people not learned after two world wars, and the incident 300 years ago when a primalist had gone the way of 'total violence' after people had tried to kill him and others like him in witch-hunts (well, primalsit witch hunts and not the other kinds she supposed). Beyond that, she couldn't fathom or truly process the thought of being the child of that sort of person and be a primalist as well. It sounded 'maddening' at the very least, so she'd designed to at least try not to say anything to her roommate.

Well, depending on how her roommate acted and was like at any rate. She hadn't even so much as interacted with her properly as of yet, not even in a proper introduction of all things. It felt strange, just as much as the situation of being a Jager roomed with someone from a certain senator's family felt given the utter irony in that, at that. If she was someone with her head just as far up her own arsehole as her father was, then, oh she'd have words and then some for her. If she was reasonable enough, then, certainly they could at least get along as roommates or such. No way to know for sure, really, until she talked more to the girl or saw her 'in action' or something of the sort...even if they did certainly have differing fashion senses as far as she could tell.

"A-Ah! Yes, Sarah, I had been hoping to, ah, get moving before this point in time. I was hoping to go for some brunch at the dorm cafeteria, perhaps, before looking into one or two things. All of the travel from the other day was...a tad exhausting.

But I seem to have miscplaced my travel bag of makeup. Just a small thing, in a pink-colored zipper pouch. Er...have you seen it fallen on the floor near the doorway of our room or such by chance?"

While she aimed to keep her tone of voice as clear and professional as she could, the awkwardness of asking somone of Sarah's seeming 'fashion choices' was not lost on her either. Nor was the awkwardness unable to be kept fully out of her tone of voice while asking. Such a trifling little thing, she hoped she hadn't lost it on the way out of the room. She'd tried to be stealthy about leaving as well, at that, hoping to give her roommate space or more to to avoid a potentially awkward first-contact scenario like...well...this.

Ugh. Today was just going to be starting on a brilliant note, wasn't it?

@Carlyle

Legs dangling off the edge of the brick wall, Paige gave no thought to the drastic drop of at least 100 feet down to the ground. Instead, she let the wind ruffle her hair as she sat serenely in the little alcove of the clock tower and watched the students and staff below. From this height they seemed closer to scattered ants, milling around on the lawn or quickly walking from one place to another.

The longer she watched, the more she could start to see them all heading for one building in particular. The big hall.

Sighing, she could already tell that if she were able to look up at the big ticking clock it would tell her she was supposed to be getting her ass down to the same place for the opening ceremony. Yet she found herself with no such motivation to get up just yet.

This was the only real place she was truly calm. The only place where she felt safe. Not safe from others, though let's be honest she had already wondered how putting dozens of students who can't control their powers together in the same place was a smart idea. No, up here, it was safer for others. Up here, she could be herself and no one was going to get hurt just because she couldn't rein in her own emotions.

It seemed like all she had really learned in the last couple of months of being at this 'institute' was to hold her breath and count to ten. All good that did when she felt like her whole world had been stripped from her.

The wind started to rush past her with more strength, playing at the loose tie that either was done up by someone who had no idea how to tie a tie or just didn't care enough to even try.

"Yeah yeah, I know," she said to who appeared to no one in particular.

Slowly standing up, she stretched out her arms behind her. The sleeves of her fancy school uniform were pulled up to around her elbows, and there was no jacket in sight but otherwise, she had conceded and worn the starchy dress pants and dark vest. Nothing short of a miracle was going to make her wear those dress shoes though and they and her jacket had been conveniently gotten 'lost'. Instead, she wore some boots with just a little extra heel that gave her just that bit of extra height.

She lazily began her descent down the stairs.

Mary didn't wake up for class at the usual time as other students. Contrary to popular belief, roosters didn't crow with the dawn- but whenever they damn well pleased. It just so happened most of them did so at dawn. She was up and about at 5 in the morning, though took care to be quiet rolling out of bed. Her new roommate was definitely not on Farm Time and she did her utmost to not wake him at that early hour. It also gave her a bit of privacy with the mixed gender dorm.

There was a small stink raised when the room assignment came down, but it was more to see if the school would give her a private room than anything else. No luck there though. Doesn't bother me too much if it doesn't bother Avery. Try harvesting in the summer heat and worrying about who's looking where instead of heat stroke, see how far that gets you.

She was up, showered, and getting herself ready for the day within twenty minutes. The blazer, skirt and blouse were all school provided. The dark black leggings weren't on the approved list of clothing items, but they weren't on the banned list either. So long as the school didn't fight her on it she would always be wearing a pair of those. At least until everything healed.

Mary took her time to tie her rust-colored hair into a proper braid after drying it out, but makeup was a no-go. She hadn't packed any and the school didn't give any out for free. After quietly shutting off the fan and stepping out in her uniform, she checked her watch- 6 am.

What the heck am I gonna do with myself until assembly?

The answer was fairly obvious after thinking it over. First thing was first- be a good roommate. Mary shuffled into a pair of quiet flats and stepped out of the dorm before scurrying down to the cafeteria. The sound of the kitchen staff getting started for the day, turning on stoves and reading off menus was the only thing she heard in the halls as she stepped into the otherwise empty dining hall on the first floor of the dorms.

"Linda," she called into the kitchen as the smell of potatoes hitting the stovetop started to permeate the air. Her nose was fixed on something else entirely though. "Can I steal two coffees to go?"

Her morning fixer, Ms. Linda, was a muscled line cook in her thirties. She ran her side of the kitchen like a drill sergeant- but the two had hit it off when Mary had asked about the web of tattoos and the detail work running up Linda's arms.

"Coffee is for teachers," Linda grumbled from her station by the kitchen entrance. "Kids can't have any. Stunts your growth."

"But I'm eighteen. And adults can have coffee. Says so right in the student handbook."

Linda arched an eyebrow at Mary, setting down her knife and dumping another pile of soon-to-be hash browns on the stovetop. "Then why're you asking for two? Got a coffee date lined up?"

Mary sighed and stepped over to the fruit station, gathering up a pair of oranges and popped them into her blazer pockets. "Just trying to be a good roommate is all."

Linda pointed to one of the industrial-sized coffee makers by the refrigerators. "You're allowed to have one. I'm going to turn around and focus on my potatoes for the next sixty seconds."

If I don't see anything, then I can't narc on you. Part of the reason Mary got along with Linda so well; her willingness to let small transgressions go. She picked her battles.

Mary grabbed two coffees- one black, one with sugar- and scurried out of the cafeteria fast as she could, the disposable cups warming her hands as she left a wafting scent of coffee in her wake.

She paused at the dorm room, listened for any sound of Avery, and when she didn't hear the shower running or an alarm buzzing, opened the door. 6:30, on the dot.

Mary didn't bother waking Avery, not right away. The coffee would do that eventually and if it didnt, his alarm should. She left one cup for him and an orange along with the sugar packets. She swapped out her pair of flats for her "nice" shoes- a pair of black sneakers. She almost forgot to grab her tie but managed to snag that also, tossing it into her bag. Mary left with her own morning cup and orange, heading down to campus.

While other students were starting to roll out of bed, Mary perched herself at the big fountain outside the assembly hall, gathered up her sketchbook and pencil, and started working on a new image. She'd noticed the bird's nest in the elm tree on her first tour of campus. And as the first signs and sounds of activity started to emerge from the mess of twigs and leaves, she set to work sketching the cardinal that perched briefly on its edge...

---

Contrary to his dormmate, Avery Lowell was usually a man who rolled out of bed at the last minute. Today, of course, was a special occasion, so he staggered half-awake into the shower about twenty minutes earlier than he would've otherwise to let hot water and anticipation jolt him into consciousness. It gave him ample time to get his uniform in order afterward, which turned out to be absolutely necessary; he'd probably gotten this dressed up fewer times in his life than he could count on both hands, and now he was expected to do it every day.

Avery didn't hate the idea; he even wore the uniform exactly as intended. It was kind of stuffy, sure, and he wasn't crazy about the color, but it was kinda snazzy once he got used to it. In the colder months, it would probably be a boon, even. Plus it kinda made him feel like he was a TV show character - not that he'd say it out loud. The only real issue was the matter of the stupid tie. He was on his third rewatch of an instructional video on how to tie it on his phone (okay, technically fifth, but he didn't have his glasses on the first two times so it didn't count) and it was still a bit lopsided. Nevertheless, he was running short on time and the misshapen knot was close enough that he was almost scared to mess with it further, lest it look even worse. Besides, he had better things to be focusing on, like his cool magic school. When was magic class, anyway? Surely they weren't sent here just for academics.

He was getting ahead of himself.

Staggering out of his room at last, Avery intended to make his way through the common area of the dorm and out the door, but he paused at the unattended fruit and cup combo left on the counter. His dormmate was nowhere to be seen, though she could've simply left it there with the intent to grab it as she left. He could check if she was still in her room, but- ugh, rooming with a woman was so awkward. Mary wasn't so bad - so far, at least - but Avery wasn't sure what the protocol was regarding privacy and whatnot. Was it because he had a unisex name? Did they throw him in with the girls on accident?

Was he overthinking this?

"Uh. Mary?" he called toward her room. No response. No noise, either. And, given there were things on the counter that weren't there the night before, she couldn't possibly still be asleep. Which meant she had left already. Which... meant the cup was for him? Unless she liked stale, cold coffee.

Avery hesitantly lifted the lid off the cup and gave a confused squint. That coffee was way too dark for his liking. He wanted some coffee with his cream, not the other way around. He was pretty sure this was still black, with far too few sugar packets of pity resting beside it. Maybe he should just pretend he didn't want to touch it because he wasn't sure if it was for him - it wouldn't even technically be a lie. Shame he'd have to leave the orange behind too in order to sell the bit, but he felt bad just dumping the coffee out or telling Mary he didn't appreciate her gesture in the slightest.

And now the coffee confusion threatened to make him late, he realized with a glance at his phone. Straightening his lopsided tie one last time, he promptly broke into something between a power walk and a jog that he could manage at a socially acceptable speed as he rushed out the door and toward campus proper.

---

---

One year - that's how long Emiliano planned to stay before returning to Europe. There were several rules he needed to adhere to during his visit, most of which he had no issues in following. When it came to restricting a primalist's freedom, Merryweather seemed no different from its European counterpart. Forced to stay until they learn to harness their power for the good of mankind, something along those lines. He understood it was for safety reasons, but what happens if someone is incapable of meeting those graduation requirements?

In Emiliano's case, there is a possibility that he will never learn how to control his salt magic. Far more often than not, he would find a few grams of salt in his pockets, wondering where the hell it came from this time. The ground? A nearby saltshaker? Or a person? Regardless of its origin, Emiliano would never use it for cooking, unless he knew it came directly from the pantry.

Beyond his magic's practical uses in cooking, there is really nothing else he desired from this 'power'. And yet, the salt desired him. Emiliano wanted no part in this twisted romance, if you can call it as such. At least now, he remains optimistic to progress in his studies. The methods used back in Europe did little to inspire him, but here, there are opportunities aligned with his personal goals.

Which begs the question: Would he be able to sneak off campus? Emiliano wants to attempt this at some point for the sake of sightseeing. Never had a chance to since he arrived in America, with jet lag and all. To remedy this, he spent the next couple of days to adjust and settle in before the semester officially started.

Emiliano began the morning brimming with confidence for the day ahead. No more waking up at odd hours or struggling to remain quiet for his roommate's sake. Clad in his school uniform and a pair of dark-colored cargo pants to go with it, he waited for the microwave to warm up his milk. The plan for today was already laid out in his head. Go to orientation, attend classes, try out whatever they had to offer at the cafeteria for lunch, and see if he can get his hands on a hot plate to upgrade their dorm's sorry excuse for a kitchen.

Easy peasy! Well, depending on what his roommate has to say on the matter.

“Allora, John?” He called out, wondering if his roommate had not yet seized an early head start today. “How would you feel about me smuggling in a hot plate?”

Emiliano never posed the question directly beforehand, but it was implied by how discontent he is with their current setup. Vocal, but not excessive to the point it would annoy someone, unless they were short-tempered.

---

@Ti

John was already jogging around the campus in the early hours. The morning run had become a routine, as he found the sedentary lifestyle here frustrating, leaving him unsettled and filled with pent-up energy. Sweat gently poured from his brow as he weaved between the buildings, always finding some unusually placed gulley or alley to traverse. That was another thing he had to grow used to, the fact that everything just seemed unusually cramped in these parts, with buildings in the town pushed together tightly like sheep at the feeder, as if, if they were built further apart, they’d be excluded from the area.

He was winding back toward the campus when he saw a figure ahead of him. Unmistakable red hair. It was Mary, who was the closest to him among the students, relative country bumpkins, both of them. Admittedly, he was still deciding whether he was sweet on her, or if it was just the fact that she reminded him of home. Not that he had any immediate interest in romance, given the upheaval of everything that had led him here. He raised his hand in a wave toward her. She appeared to glance back, but, given that her hands were full of a couple of cups of hot coffee, he could easily forgive her for not waving back. He recalled that she was in a dorm with a boy named Avery. It was good that they seemed to be getting along.

John walked into the cafeteria, already bearing witness to Linda’s disapproving scowl. “You can’t eat in here stinkin’ like that,” she gestured toward his running gear with her oversized ladle. He grinned widely and waved his hand. “Jes’ grabbin’ me some breakfast, ma’am. Won’t be underfoot long.” Linda shook her head as she turned away, and he went over to help himself to the buffet. He grabbed two hot plates and began to load them up with scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon, hash browns, and beans. He remembered Emil was European, though he tried to think about what Europeans tended to eat. They eat a lot of cheese, don’t they? He grabbed a few slices of processed cheese, or what seemed to pass for cheese in these parts, and put them on the edge of his plate. He took a jug of orange juice and carried the ensemble out of the dining area.

“Brought ya some breakfast, hope yer hungry.” It seemed to be good timing when Emil called out that he’d already brought over a plate for him, presenting him with the cholesterol-laden breakfast. At the suggestion of the hot plate, John said, “Ain’t no harm in havin’ one.”

John settled down and opened the window in his room as he heard the telltale scratches against it. Appearing through the opened window was a ginger Maine Coon, who licked its lips as it moved over to the saucer filled with breakfast bits from John’s own plate. John moved his hand to scratch the cat’s neck. “Mornin’, Benny. Gotcha somethin’ to fill that belly.”

He headed toward the communal washrooms to prepare for the day, but the place was already flooded. Must have been Conner again. He waved to Hugo as they passed, removed his sweaty clothes, and walked into the shower to rinse off the grime. Soon, he was back in the room, dressing smartly in his uniform. That was definitely something about this place, it was fancy and sophisticated, with these trimmed garments that were probably worth more than his entire wardrobe, including his Sunday best. He made a mental note to take good care of his uniform as he dressed sharply and set off toward the Opening Ceremony.