[IC] St. Fortuna's Academy for the Higher Arts

[onenote]

Nancy Jones

Nancy smiled when Nathan told her his plans for his, now one, free elective. "Music, huh? That's cool! I always wanted to learn to play an instrument, but honestly, I don't think I have the patience for it. Even if it was just singing. I got my hands full with cooking and my magic. Oh! It's plant magic, by the way, that's why I have to take hort. Well, no, that's not true. I have to take it cause my sponsor told me to. 'Nancy I am tutoring you to cook in the summer, you need to focus on that magic of yours! That's why I'm sending you after all!' He told me before I left for here. It's kind of lame but he's right. Besides learning to use my magic better will help me in the long run but ugh, I didn't get the chance to tell my other friends that I wasn't going to be taking cooking so Feli is going to be majorly bummed when she finds out..." Nancy sighed but suddenly realized that she was just complaining to her new partner and immediately perked up. "Oh! Sorry man! Seriously it's not like I have any actual problems with taking hort. It's like algebra. You know you have to take it, and while it's not that hard its still not your first choice of class if that makes sense." Nancy shrugged.

"Well I've gone on about myself for awhile...hey, if I can ask, why do you want to take music?" Nancy asked him, once again smiling. "You know, to help me get to know ya! But no rush, we do have all year after all."

@mechonraptor

---

Ruby Doer

Ruby barely had time to say that she was ready when another priest came up to the headmaster and whispered something to him. She couldn’t catch much of what was said, but she did hear that there had been some kind of mistake. Before she could ask what it was, she was ushered off the podium with Loke and forced to stand on the sidelines as another pairing was brought up to the stage. Well, this was...Terrible. Terrible was a good word here right? She was pulled from the podium before she could be bonded. She never heard of this happening before and she could see what was left of the crowd whispering among themselves. What had went wrong? Nobody was telling her or Loke anything... She looked towards the headmaster as if he would give her some kind of hint... But he was dealing with other issues right now.

The moment Franceska spoke out of line, and began her little tirade, a hush fell over the room. All the whispers of confusion stopped as the blonde girl laughed, letting insults spill out in every direction like wine from an overflowing goblet. The very tone with which she addressed the headmaster seemed to cause a chill through the room, one that was visibly felt. Loyola turned to the girl slowly, big black eyes peering down through his glasses. Even the gazes of the Druids seemed much colder now, looking at the belligerent child with quiet disdain and judgement. There was a moment’s pause before Loyola spoke, the deep, rumbling voice amplified through the dead silent hall.

“Franceska Vrodiskovich. Daughter of the esteemed Vrodiskovich family, born in Maefeld, I believe. Aren’t you a little old to be confused as to the nature of this ceremony?” he asked, his tone warm but words cutting.
“As for your confusion, there is no mistake nor joke. Please, try to have some maturity befitting a young woman of your station, and do refrain from calling your peers ‘peasants’. Unless you need a remedial lesson in history, do remember the importance of this ceremony, you are not being bonded to a servant. That goes for all students here. This is not simply a partnership, this is your entrance into the realms of adulthood. You will be expected to act with maturity, with dignity, and with eloquence. Such childish behavior, you will find, will not be permitted in our venerable halls.” he continued, before giving a head nod to the Druids. The female Druid nodded back, holding out her hand to Franceska, the warm smile no longer on her face.
“Hands, please. Let us not waste any more time.”

Well, it seemed things could be kind of worse, after all, Ruby thought after watching the spectacle that was on the podium before a new, much younger druid came up to them.

"Ah! Sorry for the wait, we need you two to come with me, there's been a bit of a mix up you see, and well... You got paired up with the wrong partner." The druid admitted as he lead the two students to a private room where they could fix the situation. "Don't worry, my partner should be bringing back the two who you two are supposed to bond with shortly." He told them when he noticed his partner wasn't back yet.

@duskshine749 @Heartlessnobody @Republic

[duskshine749]

Samuel Deniel

Before Vyvyan could tell Sam if he was right or not a female druid opened their door, she seemed slightly out of breath. "I'm terribly sorry, but you're going to have to pack up your things and come with me." Sam hadn't done much unpacking, so he wasn't as annoyed as he might be if he needed to pack all his things once more, but this was still an inconvenience. "Um, okay, why?" Sam wasn't really angry, more curious than anything. He re-wrapped the small dragon with bubble wrap as the druid explained. "Well, you see, there was a slight mix up and it seems you two were bonded to the wrong people." Her face went slightly red as if it were her fault that the mix up occurred, maybe it was, Sam wasn't going to ask and embarrass her more.

Soon enough they were on their way back downstairs, they were walking at a brisk pace but not running. Sam wasn't sure if it was because the druid was unsure if Vyvyan could keep up, if she didn't want to look suspicious, or she was only in a big hurry to get them from their room so they didn't get too comfortable. At any rate Sam didn't mind the pace, when he walked it was usually with a brisk pace, he'd been accused by his mom on multiple occasions of running away when they were going somewhere. The walk was pretty quiet, guess I'm not as socially adept as I thought I was, Sam thought to himself as they made their way through the grounds.

They entered what Sam knew was a classroom, but it was set up with a makeshift podium to do the ceremony. "There we are," the female druid said as she closed the door behind them. "Now, Samuel and Vyvyan, since you two went through the binding process before we realized there was a mix up we'll have to unbind you before you have your correct partners." Sam could have swore she looked at the male druid also in the room when she said the words "mix up" but maybe he was imagining it. Sam must have looked a bit nervous because she followed it up with, "don't worry, it's almost exactly the same as the binding process."

They proceeded and she was right, it was nearly the same ritual. Sam and Vyvyan joined hands as the druids chanted some words Sam didn't understand, but instead of sprinkling water they submerged their hands in a small tub. The ritual finished and the marks vanished from their hands. Sam felt a strange pang of...something when it was finished, like he was part of something and now it was over. While that was technically true he didn't think he'd feel anything when it was done. "Alrighty, now, Samuel Deniel and Ruby Doer, let's bond you guys first." Vyvyan moved to the side and Ruby got on the podium, "hi Ruby, nice to meet you."

Sam knew a bit about Ruby, same as he knew about almost everyone in his year. Her whole family was part of the Swords of Faith guild, as the ceremony commenced Sam wondered why he never considered joining a guild. It would certainly help him explore the world like he always wanted. He was only half aware the ceremony finished when the female druid told them, "we've called some volunteers to come and show you two to your room, I'm really sorry about the mix up again." Sam just gave her a friendly smile, "don't worry about it, these things happen." She seemed to appreciate that, and Sam went with the volunteers who showed up to go to his new room. "Hopefully there's not another mix up, right?" He hoped Ruby was better at conversation than he was, he'd need some time to get less awkward as he had with Vyvyan.

@onenote @Republic

[karamonnom]

Mikayla Iovine

While Mikayla was waiting for Alice to come back with her stuff, the nurse had given her a set of crutches that she could use. They were rather ugly in Mikayla's opinion, a basic set of dull grey ones, but they got the job done and Mikayla would rather not have to rely on Alice again to get back to their new room. It was humiliating enough just that one time.

She was still sitting down and icing her ankle when Alice came back with some male student. He was carrying Alice's stuff while Alice had hers. "Thank you," Mikayla said, for what must have been the hundredth time that day. Never had she needed to say it so many times, and the words felt stupid in her mouth. She motioned toward her foot to indicate that she was not quite ready yet. "I should probably keep icing it for a while and then I need to get it wrapped. It would probably be best if you two go to our room first and I'll meet you there."

She noticed a sweater hanging over the volunteer's shoulder and could catch a glimpse of what was on it. It was one of those souvenir sweaters they had at concerts or whatever. And much to Mikayla's amusement and slight disgust, it was definitely Alice on that sweater. She found it rather tacky, to be owning a sweater with the face of a fellow student on it. She couldn't imagine him or anyone wearing that in public."I really, really want to make fun of that idiot for his awful fashion sense," she thought to herself, feeling the need to bite her tongue to prevent herself from insulting the poor boy. She knew that she probably shouldn't. Especially while he and Alice were going to carry her stuff to their room while she was injured. She wasn't going to pick a fight when she clearly had a disadvantage. That, and Alice was... nice. Annoyingly so, but nice. And not to mention, her Familiar.

"Y-yeah... I'll be fine," she said in a strained voice and a forced smile. "Go on without me."

@TheHangedMan

[Raijinslayer]

Jeanette Blackwood

It took every bit of self-control that Jeanette possessed not to up and slap the pretentious princess right across her damn face, though if anyone were looking at her, they'd see a face brimming with barely contained fury, cheeks reddened by a mix of anger and utter embarrassment. This uppity lass is a right chancer, ain't she? Just my luck that this feckin' gobshite would not only get picked from my partner, but also be the only idiot that would choose now, of all times, to throw a fit about it. Clenching and unclenching her fists in an effort to calm herself, Jeanette decided that the best thing to do now would be to shut her trap and not say a word, lest she make the situation any worse than it was. There would be plenty of time to handle the damn bitch once they weren't infront of a bunch of teachers, not to mention the whole of their second year class. You'd think the child of some uppity noble house would no better than to cause a scene like this on her first, feckin' day, but I guess we're dealing with a special kind of idiot. Ugh, do I really have to be bonded with some like her?"

The thought of having to share her soul with such a vile and repugnant human being made Jeanette feel sick to her stomach, so much so that she actually had to hold her hand to her mouth to keep herself composed. Gods be damned, I'd rather try to harness my magic partnerless than have to rely on her mana. It'd probably kill the plants anyway, she's so full of spite. Back in Eriu, this likely would've been grounds to get her kicked, though in Eriu, no one is dumb or arrogant enough to pull stuff like this. Guess Prydain just isn't as obvious with stating the improtance of this event to it's students as we are. Jeanette looked between the drill-haired Neddy and Prinicipal Loyola, wondering whether or not the girl would take the one chance she was being given to shape up or just continue to be an obnoxious geebag. Jen was honestly hoping for the latter, as it would mean that she'd be free of having to actually spend time with the piece o' shite. By the Gods, what did I ever do to deserve her as a partner.[/i][/color]

@banjoanjo
@onenote
@liferusher

[banjoanjo]

---don'tlookSun Roomdon'tlook---

Franceska laughed, the headmaster's words as fearsome as a light breeze against her back. Remedial history lessons sounded far more appealing than a ceremony to watch the insignificant bond. As if the world cared who bonded with whom when power and wealth controlled the upper class far more effectively than a single, maudlin tradition, one that felt dreadfully ludicrous the longer she stared at the girl meant to be her--she grimaced at the thought--soulmate.

"Maturity, dignity, and eloquence is wasted upon the undeserving rubes," she remarked, resting a gloved hand on her hip, "and I'll name my lessers what I please. Calling a worm by any other name doesn't change what it is, does it?"

She flicked the curled tresses behind her, eyeing Jeanette with the asperity of a queen who had just sampled a dish of rotting fish. Though even that sort of abominable cuisine was consumed somewhere, she supposed. Certainly not by anyone she would associate with, at least.

Her father had wanted the best for her, in his typical, disconnected fashion, but to think he would expect her to lower herself this far while upholding the Vrodiskovich name. The man certainly tried her patience the most of all the people she had encountered throughout her life. And then there was the matter of this absurd tradition--particularly now when touching her selected partner seemed as appealing as swallowing strychnine after their little tête-à-tête.

She generally reserved her best behavior for the extravagant parties and hubs of socialization she had grown up with and rarely extended such regard for anyone below her station, but if her father thought she would come running back home after something like this, he was grossly misinformed. Of course she despised the commoners she couldn't understand, and no amount of poorly timed conversations in her father's study would change that disdain now, especially not when he summoned her during her leisure time.

But in all things, there were games to be played, and if these pathetic excuses for traditionalists wouldn't yield, she'd find another way, sooner or later.

That still didn't make Franceska want to touch the filthy thing in front of her, of course, but she supposed she had entertained worse types pecking at the back of her hand like they deserved to even breathe the air around her.

"Well, if you insist on imposing this..." her prim lips pulled into a cold smile "...living sewage upon me, I'll simply have to wash the filth away more often."

She clasped and unclasped a hand slowly in front of her, watching the movements of her fingers and letting the seconds tick on, before finally extending it towards the Druid with a carefully neutral expression.

"But you're right. Let's not waste any more of my time standing in front of this poor thing." Franceska let a cool gaze linger on Jeanette's eyes a moment longer, catching the glare there with a glimmer of amusement in response. "She looks liable to faint from my mere presence."

@Raijinslayer@onenote

[TheHangedMan]

---

---

𝔏𝔢𝔬 𝔍𝔬𝔥𝔫 𝔡𝔢 ℭ𝔬𝔢𝔲𝔯

^{Cerulean Lion}

---

Leo smiled in approval - inwardly, anyway. He didn't let it show on his face asides from a slight lifting of his eyebrows. It looked like he'd be getting along quite easily with Talia. He thought about those rules with consideration for his partner in mind, but he still expected a bit of resistance, particularly about bringing other people inside. If Talia was a social butterfly, then it would have presented a bit of a problem, but from what he'd seen, she was fairly reclusive, so that was no longer a major concern.

On to present matters, she took up his invitation to eat out, and maybe look around town. She was an adventurous sort, despite her silent exterior, hm? In fact, her 'silent exterior' was quickly giving way to someone who was much peppier and excitable. It looked like she really liked the idea of going out to town.

"Okay then. We'll have a quick bite at this cafe of yours, and then we'll have a look around town. How does that sound?" As far as bonding activities went, it wasn't a bad idea. If she was more in her element in the city rather than in the academy, then there was no better place to get better acquainted with her.

Of course, it was no fun if that was all he would be going there for. He might as well enjoy himself along the way.

---

@Redmarshmellow

---

---

A_lice A_manda A_nette A_nderson

Alice nodded, though she was hesitant to leave her, she recognized that being too forceful about the issue probably wasn't the best idea. If she pushed to hard, it might backfire and antagonize her further. Mikayla didn't seem like the kind of person that took well to being coddled.

That being the case, she still wished she could go with her. It was such a small thing, just the simple act of opening the door to new room for the first time, but the thought of having to do alone that which was meant to be done as a pair didn't sit right with her, even if the circumstances were beyond her ability to control.

At first, she wasn't sure if she should bring Mikayla's things with her, but after a moment of deliberation decided to ease her load a bit. "Alright, I'll be bringing your stuff as well. Catch you later," she said with as genuine a smile as she could manage - which meant the smile came quite easily - as she closed the door behind her, the volunteer student following afterwards. He still had that jacket over his shoulder.

Actually, the more she thought about it, the more embarrassing it became. That was a piece of clothing with her face on it, being slung over a schoolmates back, a schoolmate who was still eagerly waiting for her to sign it, judging from his facial expression.

She hoped to god that he wasn't actually planning on wearing it everywhere. The thought of that happening colored her ears a tad red now.

In a short while, they arrived at her room. Once inside she turned to the volunteer, and finally signed the thing, and hopefully he could leave before her ears could get any redder. The ecstatic look on his face almost made her forget exactly what he was holding in his hand. Still, it looked like he wasn't going away anytime soon, as he then informed her that she needed to choose her elective. Of course, given that Monster Hunting was mandatory now, it was obvious what her choices would be: that, and Music. Now she just needed Mikayala . . .

"We're going to have to go back to the infirmary," she sighed; why didn't he bring this up while they were there earlier? His being late aside, this guy was being highly unprofessional, to the point where it was grating on her nerves slightly.

If he caught up on her annoyance, he didn't show it, but their trip back to the infirmary was rather quick.

"Mikayla, I'm back! Here're your papers for your electives. Looks like this poor guy over here can't leave unless we sign it," she announced cheerily.

---

@karamonnom

[The Errorist]

Monty

Monty perked up at his partners choice of elective, completely missing the other boys verbal blunder. So he liked cooking too? And he was good at it? Maybe he would like to meet Nancy, they could talk about cooking. Monty would have to introduce them to each other. This was great, they were gonna be great friends! He could feel his excitement for the year ahead growing. He could barely remember why he was so nervous about this in the first place, he doubted he would be stuck with anyone he hated anyway. And Regis seemed like a very nice boy, so there was nothing to worry about now.

His thoughts drifted back to Felicity, wondering how her meeting with her partner was going. The boy seemed a bit, well, shady, but Felicity seemed to like him. And he had been rather friendly towards them both. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad after all. Abruptly he remembered the announcement about monster hunting and paused. While he himself and even Felicity would be fine in the class, he didn't know if that was the case for his partner. Although the other boy claimed to have some very handy skills, it was different running around and dealing with monsters, some of which would be hostile. That wouldn't be good for all of the students, although they couldn't much help it now that the class was mandatory. He chewed on his lower lip, eyebrows scrunching together in concern. He would have to ask and make sure his partner would be alright.

As Monty tuned back into the current situation he realized Regis was speaking. He shook himself and went back to listening, it was rude to ignore someone, his mother would be very disappointed if she ever found out he kept doing that. Which was very unlikely to be honest, he doubted she could read minds, but just the image of her face when she scolded him for being rude was enough to make him more alert. At Regis's mentioning of child protective services, Monty quickly threw his hands up in what he hoped was a placating act.

"Oh no! No no, I would never! I mean, unless they were like, actually being abusive or neglectful because that's illegal, but highly doubt that's it." Hopefully his partner was able to decode his babbling, he doubted he was making much sense. He took a calming breath and forced himself to slow down. "I was just curious, and a bit confused. My parents are home fairly often, so it was just a bit odd to hear that you were alone enough to teach yourself that kind of stuff."

He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling awkward once again. Back at square one then. Carefully lifting his suitcase, he walked over to one of the beds and set it down. As he unlocked it and began carefully unpacking, he racked his mind for something to change the subject with. Eventually he remembered his earlier concerns regarding the electives, and turned to face his partner, slightly less stiff than he was a few moments ago. Mundane actions like unpacking helped calm his nerves a bit.

"Oh, by the way, will you be alright in monster hunting? I have some experience, not much, but I can help you if you need anything." He asked, still absently sorting items onto his bed. "Not that I think you do, but I heard the class is a bit tough, not to mention the teacher..."

Beatrice

The room remained a deathly silent, all eyes on Loyola and the offending girl. Then, quietly, he turned to one of the teachers present near the podium, a blocky man in his forties, beckoning him forwards.
"Please escort miss Vrodiskovich from the premises, and contact her father. The subject of her refund can be settled at a later date, but for this moment, this event is holding up the proceedings." he ordered, his voice quiet, yet icily cold. The teacher nodded swiftly, and in a fluid motion, pulled Franceska from the podium and bustled her out the door. Students moved aside and gave them a wide berth, the entire scene happening so quickly, there was hardly room for fuss.

As the doors closed behind the departing pair, Loyola turned to Jeanette and the other students looking stern and sympathetic.
"My apologies for the scene. On occasion, there are those who feel as though their status elevates them above others, and disregard the very nature of this academy and our focus on teamwork. Let this serve as a warning to the rest of you. Your background, breeding, or family wealth matters very little to us here at St. Fortuna's. Once you enter our hallowed halls, you are no longer the son of a shoemaker, or daughter of an aristocrat. You are a student of the academy, and you are here to learn and grow beyond your station, whatever it may be, towards a higher purpose. You will find that the faculty has little patience for those who brazenly disregard all that we stand for. In return for the ample opportunities provided here, we expect maturity, dignity, and exemplary conduct from all of you! You are no longer mere children today. Today, you take your first step into adulthood, and with the privileges of age come the responsibilities. If you find you cannot conduct yourself in a way that would make our academy proud, then this is not the place for you." he finished, before solely turning to the Druids behind him.

After a moment's hushed discussion, the headmaster turned back to the podium, making an adjustment to his list. He cleared his throat, before calling out the next name.

"Beatrice Quincy!"

As Beatrice watched in a mixture of shock and amusement at the situation in front of her, the only thought running through her mind was 'Oh crap'.

At first it had been just the average noble with a superiority complex, but it was quickly moving into insanity. Speaking in such a way to Loyola, the head of the school and one of the most well liked and respected man in Prydain was a sure way to get yourself in trouble, probably expelled. What was this girl even thinking? Her predictions came true as the offending girl was quickly escorted off stage. There was an awkward silence afterwards, no one knowing where to look or what to say. Loyola filled the silence with another speech, which gained murmurs of agreement throughout the crowd.

Everything seemed to be going back to normal when the headmaster changed something on the list, and called out a very familiar name. Too familiar. Oh crap, that was her name.

For a moment she froze, not knowing what to do. The most obvious answer was to calm herself and go meet her partner. Now if only she could get her body to obey what her mind was telling it. After that treacherous moment that seemed to last for an hour, which of course it didn't because that would be awfully silly, ended as she gained control of her body again. Composing her face into a friendly smile, she began walking to the stage, only slightly weighed down by her ridiculously large bag which she promptly abandoned at the steps. Once she reached the stage she gave a nod to Loyola and the druids, and turned to her soon to be partner and stuck out her hand for a shake. You can never go wrong with a handshake, that's what her parents told her. Although she doubted that was the absolute truth, and had made a list of all of the situations where it could go wrong, only for her parents to shake their heads fondly (albeit with some frustration from her mother) and tell her it was the principle of it.

"Hey there! So, I guess I'll be your new partner. It's very nice to meet you, but we can probably talk more later. After all, we got a whole year, and I'm pretty sure people are going to start going crazy if this ceremony is held up any longer."
She finished her introduction with a wink and turned back to the druids, looking slightly more serious, and placed her hand on the podium.

@Raijinslayer@Discontent

[onenote]

Ruby Doer

Ruby didn't know what to think when she was told that she had just about been paired up with the wrong person. Loke didn't look like a bad person at all but the school apparently didn't think they would be compatible. Well...that was fine they would be getting with their approved partners soon. And soon it was, it only took a few minutes for the other mixed up pair to arrive. It was interesting position to be in for Ruby as she watched the (surprisingly simple) unbinding ceremony take place. One of these two had to be her partner and yet Ruby had no way of knowing just by looking at them. Maybe if Ruby knew them personally she could hazard a guess but as it was she only vaguely recognized one and was pretty sure she never saw the other one around before. Thankfully she didn't have to think too hard about which one of them it could be for too long. The ceremony was over shortly and she and the one called Samuel were being called up to be bonded.

Ruby walked up to them, giving an awkward smile. "Um, hi there," she said as she handed the druid her hand and let them take over the ceremony. It didn't take long and...honestly it didn't feel that special...maybe because it was in an empty classroom by themselves and not in the sun room in front of a crowd that made it feel that way. Like the process itself was special, Ruby knew that and knew that the meaning of bonding was special too, but it also felt like part of the moment was lost. But it was fine, she was just happy to be bonded now and in a way she kind of preferred the small location this all happened in. Though she also wished she hadn't been up on the stage when they realized their mistake but these things happened. It was probably worse for Samuel and the boy he was originally partnered with anyways seeing how they had already been bonded.

Once the ceremony was over, they were apologized to again and told they were going to be lead to their new room now. "It's alright, these things happen I suppose." She told the apologetic druid and turned to her new partner as they waited for the volunteer. "um...it's um, good to have you as a partner now..." Ruby said, unsure of what to say now. It was a little awkward with the other pair getting bonded behind them. "I hope we work well together." Ruby never claimed she wasn't awkward as heck.

@duskshine749

[karamonnom]

Mikayla Iovine

Once Mikayla had finished icing her ankle, the nurse swiftly wrapped it so she would not move it too much. Mikayla looked down at her leg and sighed. The wrap was a dull, off-white color that definitely did not match what she was wearing. She understood that it was there for practical reasons, but wouldn't it be better if it came in lavender?

She was about to step off the cot and use the crutches to get to her room when Alice and Mr. Creepy Helper Kid returned for some reason. "Oh okay," she said, grabbing the papers and a pen from the kid. She hadn't really decided which elective she was going to take. Originally, she was thinking of doing Music, but she really didn't want to since Alice was going to be in that elective. Also, Monster Hunting is mandatory, so that's decided for her already. Now it came down to Horticulture, Cooking and Painting. It was easy for her to rule out Horticulture as she does not want to work outside and ruin her pale complexion. "I suppose I could try cooking. I'm sure Daddy would be impressed if I made him something for his birthday. And how hard could cooking be anyway?" she thought to herself.

After figuring out which electives she wanted to take, she quickly filled out the proper forms and handed it back to the volunteer. He was finally out of their hair and ran off to do whatever he needed to do next. But not before looking longingly at Alice one final time which demanded an eye roll from Mikayla.

She then hobbled off the cot and tried to balance herself on the crutches. "Let's go back to our room already. I just want to lie down and go online shopping for an hour to get my mind off my stupid ankle," she said to Alice, already halfway to the door. She made her way to the dorms in a slow, clumsy manner. She had never used crutches before, and it seemed a lot easier to use when other people were using them. Also, it hurt her under arm, a lot.

When they finally reached their room after what felt like forever, Mikayla went to what she assumed was her side as Alice had left her stuff there. "Ugh, today was so long and stupid," she groaned, not really to anyone, and plopped onto her bed. She let the crutches fall to the ground beside the bed. She should really unpack, but that could wait til later. She really wasn't feeling it at the moment.

However, remembering the fact that she was sharing the room with someone meant that they needed some sort of agreement on how things were going to work. She turned over to face her partner and added, "If you have any roommate rules or whatever, let's get it out of the way. I don't really have anything aside from no borrowing my stuff without asking and always knocking before moving the slide."

@TheHangedMan

[duskshine749]

Samuel Deniel

Great, Ruby was just as terrible at ice breakers as Sam was, at least he didn't have to worry about accidentally saying something about a wheelchair anymore. "Ya, I'm sure we'll make a great pair," he gave Ruby a friendly smile but this was still pretty awkward. Their walk to the dorms was a rather quiet one. They got to the room and Sam saw it was his old room, 222, "I get the same room?" He wasn't complaining, he was just surprised. "Ya, we basically flipped a coin and you got lucky, so you get the room," the volunteer told him. Sam shrugged and entered the room, making sure the door stayed open for the others before taking his bags back and setting up on the side of the room he had taken previously. He guessed Ruby hadn't picked her elective yet since she wasn't bonded until just now.

"So Ruby, for your elective, I don't know if you have a choice in mind yet but I'm taking cooking if that affects your decision." He took out the glass dragon again and set it on his dresser, hopefully this time he wouldn't have to pack back up again. "Also I guess we should set rules for living together? Honestly I don't really have any rules in mind, just like, don't be a dick? Not that'd I'd expect you to be, just that's the only thing I can think of. If you have any specific rules just let me know." He began setting up his laptop on the desk before thinking of one last thing, remembering what he was doing with Vyvyan before they had to leave. "Oh right, if you don't mind sharing, what's your ability? Just curious is all." He hoped that wasn't too awkward a question to ask, it shouldn't be. They were partners now after all, he'd need to know her ability so they could work together, right?

@onenote

[Discontent]

Regis Dimitrios

"I was just curious, and a bit confused. My parents are home fairly often, so it was just a bit odd to hear that you were alone enough to teach yourself that kind of stuff."

Regis blinked. Through his partners blatantly romantically grounded worrying, he was suddenly overcome with the urge to call his parents. Not for any particular reason, just to talk. Ask how work has been. Maybe if they'll be free anytime during the holidays. Maybe they could go see a movie. He began to rub his neck, as the concern-esque colours that emanated from Monty made Regis strangely uncomfortable, for reasons he wasn't quite sure of. Was his family life really that strange? This may be the longest he's ever held a conversation with someone his own age, he can't quite remember ever having asked anyone about what their home life was like.

"Well, uh, your parents are probably just not as busy as mine. If they even took a single day off the company would fall apart! Important people are very busy."

Monty's parents were home often? As in, every night? Was that normal? No, Monty was the strange one. Regis was a well-adjusted boy with a well-adjusted home life and well-adjusted interpersonal relationships. His partner was just over-coddled! How spoilt! How pampered! How... How... nice. Regis would call his parents later.

His partner, who was sorting out his things, mentioned the monster hunting class and boy howdy did the sweating begin again.

"R-right! Monster hunting! Your concern is cute, but completely unfounded! For you see, I am also highly skilled in...” There was a firm knock on the door, interrupting his completely true and not faked boasting. Regis furrowed his brow, and stormed towards the door. “Why on earth do people keep interrupting us? Does no-one understand just how important we ar—Oh, it’s just you.” He opened the door to a middle-aged maid lugging around what had to have been 7 taped up medium sized cardboard boxes stacked in a wheeled luggage carrier.

“Oh yes, ‘just me’, the woman that practically raised you lugging around your rock collection,” she said, looking down at him from behind her oval glasses. Regis shot his head around to his partner the very second she started saying ‘rock’.

“Haha, she’s being figurative!” he stammered nervously. “As in ‘these boxes are as heavy as rocks’, haha, good one, Martha.”

“I was referring to your literal rock collection in box 3—“

“Excuse us for a moment!” he said loudly, hurriedly moving outside and shutting the door behind him. He turned up to the woman angrily. “First of all, that is a geode collection. Second of all, why didn’t you just send a delivery man or something? Don’t you have anything better to do, you old hag?” He was completely oblivious to just how loud he was talking. A ‘could probably hear what was being said if you tried to listen’ level of loud.

“Your parents were merely curious as to who you were paired with.”

“His name is Monty Goldberg. Now leave.”

“They were more hoping for ‘what type of person’ they are.”

“He’s a lovely fellow! Polite! Attractive! He can cook! 10 out of 10, would recommend. Ok, go home.” He swept his hands forth in a ‘shoo, shoo’ fashion.

“Why are you so hostile today?” she said calmly.

“I’m not hostile. Do not tell me I’m hostile. I just don’t want anyone to mess this up for me. I am finally talking with a person my own age. Conversing! And I don’t need your pompous self in there making him think the Dimitrios family hires high and mighty snobs! He might think I’m a high and mighty snob!”

“What an awful misconception that would be,” she said. Regis could not make out a single colour this woman was feeling. He had a vague feeling it wasn’t positive, but we wasn’t sure.

“I know, right? So, in short, go away and tell my parents that my partner is superb. Actually no, I’ll call them tonight and say it myself.” Martha gave off the only easily recognizable colour he had seen in her yet: mild surprise.

“Very well. But call me ‘old hag’ again and I’ll tell your parents that Monty is a low-class delinquent that just exited juvenile detention.”

“You wouldn’t d—wait, you might. Dammit. I... apologize,” he said with a transparent lack of sincerity. She didn’t seem to give off any colours that indicated she particularly impressed, but she didn’t say anything in response towards it.

“Very well, then I’ll be leaving. Do stay out of trouble.” she said, and turned away.

“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled to himself irritably, only just having realised that St. Fortuna wouldn’t even let someone like that enter in the first place. Opening the door he dragged the luggage carrier in with him, utterly shocked at the sheer weight of the thing. How far had she managed to lug this thing? He somehow dragged the thing inside, and went back to talk to his partner. “Sorry about that! You know how maids are, amiright? So, uh, what were we discussing?” He legitimately could not remember, and looked out at the boy unpacking his single bag of luggage. “Eh, probably wasn’t important. So when’s the rest of your luggage coming?” Surely the luggage Monty had brought himself wasn’t all of his belongings.

[Raijinslayer]

Jeanette Blackwood

Jeanette couldn't help the small grin that spread across her face as the stuck-up princess was escorted out of the building, glad to have dodged that figurative bullet. She quickly suppressed the expression, however, so that the principal wouldn't catch it. Deserved as it might have been, it wasn't proper to delight in the misfortune of others, even if they only had themselves to blame for it. Once that had been taken care of and the headmaster had given his speech, the Erish girl was getting ready to walk back down to the crowd, expecting it to take sometime for her new partner to be chosen. However, it seemed that wasn't to be the case, as hardly anytime past before she heard a name being shouted out by the Headmaster.

"Beatrice Quincy!"

Well I'll be damned, they really don't arse around here, huh? Jeanette thought as she ceased her descent down the stairs, looking out among the crowd with cerulean orbs as she searched for who her next partner was going to be. She didn't have to wait long, however, as a petite girl with brown hair and green eyes quickly made her way forward, teetering somewhat due to the large pack that she carried with her. Jeanette couldn't help but give a slight chuckle as she placed a hand on her hip, sizing the girl up a tad as she approached with a smile and a greeting. With a genuine smile of her own, Jen grasped the smaller girl's hand with her own to give a firm hand shake.

"I couldn't agree with you more. As much as i do love this place, no need to prolong this any further now that I have someone relatively sane as my partner. I hope we get to know each other very well this coming year." Jeanette ended her sentence with a sly wink and a somewhat more suggestive twist to her grin before she turned back towards the Druids, quickly removing the glove from her hand before setting it down over Beatrice's. Despite the cool exterior she gave off, her soon to be partner would feel a slight trembling reverberate through the blonde girl's hand as the excitement and nervousness of the moment, as well as relief that she no longer had to worried about being tied to such a cruel woman anymore, caused her nerves to be somewhat shaken up.

@The Errorist

Korrigan 'Korrey' Umbraisis

Korrey raised his head a tad as Felicity offered a trip to the Library, scratching at the back of his neck. "Yeah. . . Probably best to do a quick overview, since I've got no clue what this class is going to be like on the first day, especially considering how much of a hardass I heard the teacher was." rising up into a sitting position, Korrey took a second to adjust his sunglasses before hopping off the bed and walking over to the glass box where vulcan was currently sitting. After a few clicks, the top was opened and Vulcan was quick to jump out and begin exploring the contents of the dorm. While Vulcan satisfied his curiosity, Korrey opened his backpack and set it on the ground, letting out a sigh as he saw that Festus was still in mope mode.

"Festus, I know you're still upset about me yelling at you earlier, but I need you to watch Vulcan while I go out for a while, okay? I can't take him with me, lest he cause a disturbance, but I know he'll get himself into some mischief if I just let him walkabout unsupervised. Can I count on you?" Korrey gave Festus a stern look, which was returned by the snake's own unblinking gaze. However, Festus quickly relented, moving it's hide to the side with a defeated hiss before slithering out of the bag in order to watch small rodent.

With that handled, Korrey turned back towards Felicity, taking a moment to stretch a tad before they actually left. "So, any particular critters you want to cover, or would you rather we just covered some general topics over anything specialized?"

[@InvaderLen]

[The Errorist]

Monty

So Regis's parents weren't home often because of work then? They must be very busy then, if they couldn't come home to their child. Monty's own parents were always home in the evenings, save for a few rare occasions were they had a conference or simply had to stay late, and in that case they always called ahead and sometimes even left a sitter. It was hard to relate to his partners situation, it seemed like such an alien concept to him. But it would be very impolite to go nosing into others buisness, so Monty let the subject drop, focusing on the change of conversation instead.

Just as Regis was seemingly reassuring Monty about the Monster Hunting subject, a knock on one of the doors leading into their room interrupted him. Monty watched curiously from his position next to his bed as Regis stormed to the door, seemingly quite annoyed at being interrupted a second time. The boy was complaining about this fact but abruptly cut himself off, apparently recognizing the person at the door if Monty could wager a guess. Monty peered curiously over Regis's shoulder, wondering who it could be, and how his partner knew them.

At the door was a middle aged woman with a very large amount of luggage. Monty felt his eyebrows shoot up, confusion clear on his face. Was that all Regis's things? Why on earth did he bring so much? What could one even need, when almost everything was provided. Maybe the other boy had some very important possessions he couldn't bear to part with? Whatever the reason, Monty wasn't to judge. It was none of his business anyway he told himself, attempting to quell his curiosity and outright incredulity by folding and putting away his clothes.

Although apparently it had something to do with rocks according to the woman, which garnered his attention once again. The mention of rocks seemed to bother Regis judging by the look the boy threw Monty's way and his stammered remark about it being figurative. Monty simply smiled calmly at the other boy, amused and rather confused. Was Regis embarrassed about rocks? But why? He continued pondering this as his partner escorted the woman and himself outside. After finding no reasonable answers to his questions, he gave up and resolved to ask Regis later.

It was hard to eavesdrop on the barely muffled conversation going on through the wall, but he managed to ignore most of it by organizing the rest of his luggage. Eventually his mind wandered, and he thought back on the events of the day, a content smile making itself at home on his face. So far, everything had gone rather smoothly, ignoring a few bumps. He had a seemingly rather nice, if not a little strange partner, and he looked forward to the rest of the year. His thought drifted back to Felicity, wondering once again how she was doing, and to Nancy. He hadn't seen who her partner was, but he hoped they got along. Nancy looked rather intimidating, and at first glance people often assumed the worst, but she was a genuinely sweet young woman. Monty was glad to have her in his life.

Monty startled slightly as Regis came back into the room, carrying his luggage with him. Quickly pushing himself off of the bed, Monty walked over to his partner, slightly concerned for the other boys safety. The boy really did have a large amount of boxes, and the thought of how heavy it must be made Monty cringe. The expression was quickly replaced with another bout of confusion at the mention of maids and then the reference to his luggage, before realization and a bit of amusement washed over him as he put together what Regis was talking about.

"Uh no actually, I can't say I do. We never really had maids at home. I mean, we have a cleaning lady who comes in every once in a while, but other than that we do most of the work around the house. We all clean, mom usually cooks, sometimes dad. We live in a penthouse so there's also building staff, but we don't really have a need of our own personal staff." He rubbed the back of his neck in thought, before nodding decisively. That was it, they never had need for more than just that.

"And as for my bags, this is all. I only brought what I needed, since we get most of the rest already. So just some essentials, clothes, some personal things." He cocked his head in thought, mentally going through all that he had brought. It wasn't much, but almost everyone else had about the same amount with a few exceptions, such as that boy Felicity was partnered with, and now his own partner. He glanced over to Regis and his boxes, curious despite himself. "What about you? Not to be rude, you just have a lot with you. Do you, uh, need some help carrying or unpacking? They look... heavy."

---

Beatrice

Beatrice huffed in amusement at her soon to be partners statement, grinning up at Jeanette. She seemed like a rather nice girl, and Beatrice again felt a spark of anger at the rudeness earlier displayed. But that was in the past now, and at least it mean that whatever impression she left on Jeanette definitely wouldn't be as bad as that. As the other girls had laid on top of hers, Beatrice clasped it in her own atop the podium, and the druids began to work. She felt the slight trembling and squeezed lightly, wanting to comfort Jeanette but not wanting to embarrass her by pointing it out. The druids completed the ritual normally, and Beatrice shivered slightly at the tingle the mark caused as it formed on her hand. She withdrew her hand from Jeanette's, and grinned down at it. This was it, she was bonded!

She happily walked off stage, almost skipping, and looked over her shoulder at her new partner as she bent down and grabbed the handle to her bag.
"Well then, what's say we be off, out of these lovely peoples hair?" She gave a cheeky grin of her own, before focusing on her bag. With strength very out of place for someone of her size, she hefted it up with only slight difficulty.

@Raijinslayer@Discontent

[TheHangedMan]

A_lice A_manda A_nette A_nderson

---

"Sure, I'll just be unloading my stuff."

Alice took a moment to check on Mikayla before beginning to unpack her things. There wasn't much to unpack, as she was rather frugal with her things. Anything she didn't need she'd leave behind - of course, she didn't doubt that by the end of the year she'd leave with more stuff than what she came with. It was somewhat embarrassing to admit, but every once in awhile she decided to just go on a shopping spree. It was pretty much her indulging in the money she made, and when those moments were compounded over the course of the year, by the end, she'd managed to amass a sizable collection of purchases.

Her room was set up simply, more for practicality than for aesthetic, though she did go out of her way to make it look presentable in a homey way. The only object that looked out of place was a child sized shirt that was pressed inside a picture frame. It was given a place of honor in the empty space beside the window that gave it a lot of exposure.

When Mikayla spoke to her again, she was almost finished with unpacking. Taking a break, she faced her partner, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Hmm . . . well, same with me, really," she said with a shrug. She wasn't the strictest person, all things considered. There was one thing though . . . "One question though: you listen to screamo music? It's just not my thing," she added. She had a wide variety of musical tastes, but for the life of her she couldn't stand screamo. It just wasn't fun to listen to and as someone who enjoyed listening to punk rock even she found it too loud.

---

@karamonnom

[DELETED7282737]

Mui Rei

Can

@General Scales

The blonde prince... I mean the blonde princess had left Mui alone once more to meet her own partner on stage. At first it was the curled witch but that was soon to change for no good reason. She didn't really understand but she was happy to hear they wouldn't be together. A good person and a bad person shouldn't have to be forced together like that. In a brief moment of airheadedness Mui was taken off guard by the name calling.

Mui Rei and Janine Alyra

Her head quickly snapped towards the podium after her name had been called out. Mui got back to her bags as swiftly as she could pulling them with her towards the podium. Just before the podium people came to take her bags and move them on ahead more towards the exit of the sunroom. Mui herself took a quick glance to see if they really didn't take her stuff out of the blue, otherwise she would have to search for her lost stuff again after this. Mui proceeded to head onto the stage and was met by two older looking people in weird ceremonial wear, she both gave them a short polite meeting and waited for her ceremony to start which would happen after her partner had decided to show up. It made her a little anxious though, what would they be like... How did they look... Were they even here at the moment. Oh that would be awkward for her to happen... Her partner not showing up leaving her standing...

[Discontent]

Regis Dimitrios

No maids! A pitiful number of belongings! This poor, deprived soul. Is he not worried someone will steal his possessions whilst away from home? That aforementioned cleaning lady sounds incredibly suspicious, he should be more careful! He knows he wouldn't trust his maids to not loot his abundant and valuable geode collection, so he brought the entire thing! Along his top of the line computer, the part of his book collection he actually cares about, almost every single piece of clothing from his bedroom sized walk in wardrobe (all tailor made for him!), makeup accessories (it takes work to be so beautiful), and five tennis rackets.

Oh, and his animal plush collection. Half of them are bears. He was distraught when he was told he couldn't bring his 2 and a half meter tall Eremite plush.

"Oh, uh, you know, usual stuff. Clothes, computer, uh, life... provisions. And worry not! I assure you this is all quite light," he grabbed a hold of one of the boxes on top, and heaved, expecting it to lift easily with his immense strength. It lifted a centimetre up before he gave a startled yelp like a small surprised puppy and dropped it back down. That was definitely one of the geode boxes. He looked sheepishly back to Monty, and rubbed his neck.

"N-not that I'd need it usually, but um, help would be appreciated. I'm just uh, tired after the train ride. Yep."

@The Errorist

[Natsu]

Robert Allen

---

This guy was a piece of work. Robert looked on at Richard in equal parts awe and confusion as he attempted to muster a response. Throughout the entirety of their tour, the only possible word he could have used to describe he could have used to describe Richard would be gaunt. Even more so, once they were informed that they'd [i][have/i] to take Monster Hunting, it looked like he was actually going to die. While Robert himself wasn't partial towards the idea, if looked like Richard had a particularly difficult time controlling his emotions, and that could spell bad things for the both of them.

Robert looked on to his partner now, and dryly responded, "I don't think I'll be joining you, if that's alright." He said, before taking his sheet, and checking off Cooking, "Music isn't really my thing, you know?" He said, which wasn't untrue. At this point, however, he wasn't certain he wanted to spend that much time with Richard. He handed back the slip, and waited for their guide to take their leave. Once the room was there's Robert continued to say, "So, since it looks like we're gonna be spending some serious time together, why don't you tell me about yourself?" He asked, sitting down and leaning back, taking a gander over at his new partner.

[karamonnom]

Mikayla Iovine

Mikayla almost chuckled when Alice asked if she listened to screamo. "Do I look like the type to listen to incoherent screaming or 'rocking out' in general?" she asked while suppressing an amused smile. While there was that one saying about judging a book by its cover, there are some safe assumptions one could make.

Not knowing what to say next to her partner, she shifted awkwardly on her bed. She was unused to having to make small talk without any malicious intents. So instead, she pulled out her phone and began to look at the new Fall line from Ella McCarty to hide the fact that she was feeling awkward.

"Oh my gosh! Isn't this so cute, Alice?" she squealed after a minute of scrolling and forgetting everything that wasn't shopping. She turned her phone around so her roommate could look at the light blue denim dress that somehow costed 1000G. Usually she would only have her maids to show these clothes to while she online shopped at home and while they were nice enough to humor the rich girl, they were understandably not very 'into it'. So Mikayla wouldn't mind having someone receptive to fashion around even though she wasn't looking for something as concrete as friendship.

@TheHangedMan

[The Errorist]

Dining Hall

Monty

Monty suddenly awoke to the incessant beeping of his alarm clock, placed on the nightstand next to his bed and currently vibrating. The neon green lights blinked out the form 6:30 am and burned to look at. He simply blinked at the ceiling for a minute, still caught up in the fog of sleep, before pushing himself to sit up with a yawn and batting at his alarm until it turned off. He stretched, wincing slightly at the way his body ached. He didn't regret his offer of help to Regis, but damn were the boxes he had spent the previous day hefting around heavy. He hadn't paid much attention to their contents, not wanting to pry, but he was fairly sure that most of it wasn't necessary despite Regis' claims. The other boy certainly was an interesting one. A little odd, but Monty was sure it was just the nervousness that accompanied first meetings. Plus, they had a lot in common, and he seemed nice enough, so Monty was sure the year wouldn't be bad at all.

He smiled to himself and hummed a cheery tune as he got to neatening the blankets and sheets until he was satisfied with how they looked. The menial task presented the perfect opportunity to get his thoughts in order and prepare for the day, so he took the chance to run through his schedule. Everyone had the same schedule, up until electives, where usually one would have the choice of two. However it seemed this year was an exception to that, with the choice having been reduced to two as the volunteers had reminded Monty and his partner the previous day. He wasn't completely sure on how it would work for everyone, but he trusted in the staff to do what was best. After all, it was St. Fortuna's, everyone who was employed there had to know what they were doing.

Now that the bed was done, the next thing on his list was physically getting himself ready for the day. First things first, a shower. He made his way over to the bathroom, placed in between the two halves of the room. After stepping inside and shutting the door leading to his room behind him, he began shucking his sleeping clothes, folding them and placing them into a neat pile. He turned the shower faucet and stepped into the cold stream of water, waiting for it to warm, which it quickly did. He rinsed quickly, only taking a few minutes to shower before shutting off the shower and stepping back into the bath room, slinging a towel around his waist and going to the mirror. St. Fortuna's had provided soap, shampoo and conditioner as well as most other necessities, but they didn't provide razors or shaving cream so Monty had brought his own. It hadn't been a problem the previous year, but now he needed to shave every so often or be forced to deal with the pathetic facial hair that came with being a teenage boy. He grabbed his shaving cream and spread it over his face and neck, before carefully using the razor to remove it and washing his face again. Next he brushed his teeth and ran a comb through his hair, looking at himself in the mirror to make sure everything was in order.

He walk back into his room and began rooting through his wardrobe, putting away his pajama's in one drawer and grabbing his uniform clothes from others. Once properly dressed he grabbed his textbooks, which every student had been sent over the summer, and shoved them into his bag before quickly slinging it over his shoulder. He glanced over at the clock which now displayed 6:45 am in it's blinking green lettering. Breakfast started at 7:00, but between walking to the dining hall and finding Felicity and Nancy, it would probably be just enough time. Mind made up, he walked over to the sliding wall separating him and his partner and knocked three times. He didn't know if his partner was up, he would hope so, but either way the knocking should catch his attention.

"Hey Regis? I'm gonna head to the dining hall to find my sister and friends." He paused for a moment, thinking, before continuing with, "You're welcome to join us for breakfast, Felicity and Nancy are pretty friendly."

With that said, he walked out of the room, making his way down the hallways to the dining hall. He wasn't sure whether Regis would take it or not, but it was an open offer. He really did want to get along with his partner this year, and he would already be spending a lot of time with, so it made sense to invite him. If he accepted or not wasn't Monty's problem. He paused at the entrance to the dining hall, looking around. It was just as grand as the rest of the building, with stained glass windows, luxurious crystal chandeliers, long oak tables, and the busts and portraits of famous mages, familiars, saints and historical figures. Ulfred the Bear, hero of Bärwald, Emperor Faustinius the III of Lupinia, and in a fabulous painting, the founder herself, St. Fortuna, the wandering mage and patron saint of education.

Done marveling, he began eying the crowds, searching. He couldn't find either his sister or Nancy, so he got in line to the buffet like set up. Crepes with creme and fruit and chocolate sauce, and a cup of cafe au lait, also with creme and sugar. He sat down at an empty table and pulled out his phone, content to wait for Felicity and Nancy, seeing as he couldn't't find them anywhere in the hall at the moment, but he didn't't even know if they were there. He supposed he'd just have to wait and see.

---

Beatrice

An aggravating beeping noises interrupted Beatrice's sleep, and her first semi-coherent thought was regret at ever setting the damn thing. Now it had stolen away her sleep, the most precious commodity in this world. How dare it, what right did it have. Of course, if she didn't set the alarm she would sleep through breakfast and miss food, the second most precious thing in the world. Begrudgingly she rose from bed, groaning loudly. She restrained herself from murdering the alarm clock, instead simply turning it off, albeit with a little more force than necessary.

Once up, she shuffled her way over to the wardrobe, shedding her pajamas and exchanging them for a clean uniform. She dragged herself into the bathroom, brushing through her mess of hair and securing a lock with her butterfly pin. After brushing her teeth and making sure she looked less dead than necessary, she left the bathroom and clearly grabbed her belongings, haphazardly shoving them into her bag. Only just remembering to grab her phone, she headed out of her room to the dining hall.

She was much too drowsy still to stop and take in the dining hall, instead shuffling like a dead person towards the breakfast line. Bacon and eggs, nearly drowned in hot sauce, and a cup of coffee. She plopped herself down at a table, and sipped her coffee contentedly, feeling slightly more awake. Mornings were definitely not her thing, that was a given. But eventually the strength of the coffee and the spice from her meal would wake her up, and she was sure Richard would show up soon.

[onenote]

Ruby Doer

If Ruby was glad of one thing, it was that her partner was just as socially awkward as her it seemed. Maybe it was the situation or the fact that the two of them were now going to be living so close together that made him that way but it was fine. Ruby could adjust well to this situation (well, her awkwardness was bound to not change too much but she was glad for the battles that she could win). She was also glad that the trip to their room was a silent one, it gave her time to try and establish a conversation game plan so that she seemed less awkward. She really didn't want to make her new partner feel like she didn't like him or anything like that after all. But the walk didn't give her much time as they quickly got to their new room and Sam seemed happy about the arrangement, seeing how he had been in that very room before he was called back to be rebonded. "We just got your things in here, no worries!" One of the volunteers told her as they put the last of her luggage on her side of the room and moved Sam's previous partner's things out to his new room. Another thing to be grateful for, a way out of the awkward conversation if she couldn't keep the awkward levels down. Things really were looking up for Ruby.

Ruby thanked the volunteers with Sam and headed inside, taking a look around. It was much smaller than her last room, but with a much bigger room to occupant ratio as well, which Ruby didn't think was bad at all. Ruby was pulled out of her admiring by Sam asking her what she wanted as an elective, just one seeing how monster hunting was now mandatory (which Ruby had no problem with either). There...wasn't a lot Ruby wanted to take. She wasn't good at music, and maybe if the art was something interesting like map making she would take that but no. Horticulture and cooking were the only two things that were remotely useful to her and after a little mental arguing, she decided that cooking held more benefits for her right now than horticulture. "I'm going to take cooking too I think." She told and marked it on her sheet and gave it to a volunteer outside. Once that was done it was time to get to unpacking...and answering more questions. Ruby didn't really have anything to add to the rules of the room and when Sam got to asking about her ability...she didn't know what to tell him. Sure it was quite normal to not know your ability now but Ruby knew that might be a disappointment to her partner as well. But Ruby thought it would be better to simply tell him the truth, so in her usual blunt fashion, she told him she didn't know yet and went back to unpacking, not really saying anything for the rest of the time as she focused on making her room as comfortable as possible. This thankfully kept her attention until it was finally time to go to bed and after wishing her new partner a good night, promptly did so.

The next morning, early the next morning (as in still dark out early), an energetic tune woke Ruby up. It was her own alarm clock that was making the noise and she quickly shut it off before getting up. She was always an early riser, both at school and at home. For one thing, it certainly helped her get ready before the bathroom was taken and she just felt like she got more done on days she got up early. Like taking an early morning jog after she got ready for example, which was something she tried to do as long as it wasn't freezing or raining outside. She slipped Sam a note under his door telling her that she was going for a run and then to breakfast, so he didn't wonder where she had gotten to when he did get up and they could meet up then. Hopefully, the jog would give her a chance to think about some actual conversation topics.

Ruby's run didn't last long, not like it usually did. She was too anxious to get back to Sam, well more anxious to keep him from thinking she was avoiding him. It was the last thing she wanted her partner to think, but she felt she had already shot herself in the foot when it came to their first conversation and now they weren't even going to be walking to breakfast together (which was something partners did right?). Of all the times she needed her sister, Ruby needed her the most now but she wasn't here so she was going to have to make due and boy was that going to be something. In the end, Ruby ended up going to the cafeteria sooner than usual, getting her food and slightly eating, mostly playing with it as she waited for Sam to come in and join her.

@duskshine749

---

Nancy Jones

What. Was. That. Freaking. Noise!? Nancy felt around sluggishly looking for the offending noise that was trying to drag her out of the bliss that was sleep. After an eternity of buzzing, she found the offender and found it was her alarm clock. Oh...Oh right. She was back in school. With a groan, Nancy set the alarm clock back down and proceeded to defy gravity (which seemed to be working extra hard to keep her in bed) so that she could wobble (like she had drunk about a gallon of booze) around the room as she proceeded to get ready. Needless to say, Nancy was not a morning person. She hated mornings with all her heart and honestly if she didn't have goals and life dreams and friends, she probably wouldn't get up in the morning at all. It was a true demonstration of just how strong her will was to make her body get up but by golly Nancy did it!

As Nancy got ready she tried to remember the previous day. Got on the train, check. Got off the train, check. Met up with Feli and Monty, check. Things got hazy after that. She remembered the sunroom, it was hard to forget a place like that after all. And she vaguely recalled getting bonded...but who was it with again? N...Nick? No. N...Nicholas? No no that wasn't right either...Oh! Nathan! That was...wait, that wasn't right...but it was him unless...oh right right. Those other druids came and got the two of them as they were unpacking and told them there had been a mistake. Righttttt, so she got bonded to Nathan, then unbonded and rebonded to someone else...who's named just wasn't popping up in her head. Nancy needed coffee, stat.

So Nancy quickly finished getting ready (well as quickly as one can go when one's limbs feel like there were made out of concrete) and stumbled out the door. She managed to get over to her new partner's door (at least she was pretty sure in her sleepy haze that this was her partners door) and knocked, calling in "Hey, I'm going to breakfast, see you there," Nancy figured it might be for the best that her new partner didn't see her "I just woke up" face until she got some coffee in her, because that's how she scared her roommates last year.

Once Nancy managed to navigate herself to the cafeteria (having to rely on her nose at one point because her sense of direction was completely screwed up due to the new room placement) she quickly got in line (making those who didn't know her well take a few steps away from her as she looked like she was going to murder someone. The sad life of having RBF) and got some bagels and some coffee. Just a cup of black coffee, no time for creme and sugar, Nancy needed the caffeine to hit her bloodstream fast. Hell if she could safely hook up a coffee iv to her arm she probably would but no she had to settle for in taking the coffee the old fashion way. Thankfully just a sip perked her up that she was able to see Monty sitting by himself (Felicity must not have been in the cafeteria yet) and so she went over to join him. "Hey there man," Nancy said with a tired yawn as she sat down on the other side of the table from him. "How're things going?" She asked before starting to drink more of her glorious drink known as coffee and tried to rack her brain more on the identity of her new partner.

@Nyahoo@The Errorist