[IC] Salem Witches' Institute {Harry Potter}

[Apokalipse]

August 22, 2015
Tallahassee, FL

She couldn’t stop her leg from shaking. Every few seconds it would tense and quiver when it wasn’t rapidly bouncing up and down. Her heel slammed into the concrete sidewalk, the thin sole of her flip-flop the only thing preventing her from a bleeding foot. She felt sick to her stomach with anxiety, as if her stomach acid was eating away at her insides. The bouncing of her leg only made it worse, but she couldn’t stop. With every jolt, her stomach felt sicker, until finally she threw herself into the bushes and threw up. The vomit scorched her throat and burned her lips and, when it was all done, she had to spit multiple times to get the taste out of her mouth.

Every year since her first year at Salem Witches’ Institute, this had been Aella Strand’s Bus Stop Routine. At six thirty, she would travel to Tallahassee and sit at the bus stop on 112 West Tennessee Street; no one would have arrived yet, since the Peregrine didn’t get there until seven forty five. Once there, she would work herself into a frenzy, anxiety riding her body like a disease. For ten minutes, she would sit alone until her stomach had become so riddled with apprehension, she would throw up into the bushes. Then, she would sit on the bus stop bench until that ugly, old car came.

And, six years after that first year, she still upheld the routine. Aella’s fingers clamped onto her jeans, scratching at the material, and her leg started up bouncing again. The brunette attempted to quell her horrible disorder by taking in deep breaths, but so far it hadn’t worked. Students began to arrive at the bus stop – Aella could only tell they were students because of their multiple bags and the weird, strange animals they kept in cages. Aella never talked with any of the students, except for a word or two when they asked about the time or how long she had been waiting. There were multiple unfamiliar faces, obviously first years, by the looks of it.

Then, finally, her watch changed to seven forty five and the Peregrine screeched as it slid in front of the bus stop. It was an ugly, old, tan Peugeot with clear windows and two old women sitting in the front. Aella was the first to move forward, bending over to peer into the driver’s window at Mercury, the old woman who drove the Peregrine, and she could see Pluto in the passenger seat, yelling something at Mercury. Aella knocked three times on the window, but when it wasn’t rolled down, kicked the car door.

“What?” Snapped the white-haired elder once she rolled down the window.

“Uh, well, um, - hi.” Aella stuttered, trying to remain polite. A kid yelled from the line that had been formed behind her, vaguely saying something like hurry up and Aella felt her face brighten.

“Well, spit it out, brat.” Mercury said gruffly.

“Room number?”

Almost immediately, Mercury’s face turned pink and Pluto started to yell at her for being a fool and for forgetting what her job was.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, shut your pie hole, Pluto. You’re in room 207.”

Aella nodded and shuffled away from the line, opening the back door and climbing in. It was always cramped when first walking into the car, but when walking down the stairs, it was wide and open. Aella nearly fell down the stairs, she was so eager to get down there. She continued to skip down the stairs, flight after flight, until she was on the second floor. She stuffed her bags into her room, not even sparing a glance at the place she would be staying the night, before she grabbed her puzzle book and went into the Tomb, the place where students hung out during the seven day trip.

The room was vibrant and bright with red sofas and black tables with a karaoke machine and a bar that served non-alcoholic drinks. Aella picked an empty sofa and opened up her Sudoku book, concentrating on the puzzle. However, in the back of her mind, she was hoping that someone would come talk to her.

[c3p-0h]

Aja sat on one of the overstuffed sofas in the Tomb, legs curled up under her, and a book resting on her lap. The young witch picked at a chocolate bar sitting on her leg as she read (her mom would've had a fit if she knew Aja was eating candy so early in the morning). She usually didn't venture down here, enjoying the privacy of her room after spending the summer with her overflowing family, but it was early enough in the morning that only a few students had managed to pull themselves from their bed. Besides, she'd been in this old car since the first evening – Aja was beginning to go a little stir crazy and needed a change of scenery.

Humming a quiet tune to herself, Aja turned the page in her book. It was an old favorite her brother had given her when she'd first gotten her acceptance letter to Salem's. A smile grew on her face as she read the familiar words. She knew the book by heart already, and had nearly brought a textbook with her instead. But if she'd done that then she would've wanted to practice her spells, and Aja hated practicing in front of other people. It took frustratingly long to get spells to cooperate with her, and she preferred to just let people see the finished product instead. Besides, sometimes her first attempts could be a little… explosive. And she really didn't trust the Peregrin's ventilation system.

Aja perked up when she heard the tell-tale sounds of footsteps on the stairs. They'd made another stop, then. She idly wondered where they were, and remembered seeing a "Welcome to Florida" a few minutes ago when she'd looked out the enchanted window. The sounds continued overhead, dying down as various students found their rooms and settled in, no doubt looking to catch the sleep that'd been stolen from them from being awake so early for pickup. A single pair of footsteps continued down to the Tomb, and Aja looked up to see the newcomer.

It was someone she vaguely recognized, but couldn't name. Aja knew she was in Good, and was older than her, but she couldn't remember if the girl was in the sixth or seventh year. She seemed pale, and on high alert, though there was no sign that something was actually wrong. Aja turned back to her book and watched the girl out of the corner of her eye. She always seemed nice when Aja saw her in the hall, but nervous… The girl sat in the sofa a short distance away from Aja and seemed to be concentrating very hard on her sudoku book. Whatever the girl was thinking, it was her own business. But Aja decided that at least she could do some small thing.

"Uhm… excuse me?" she said to the girl, wearing a sweet, slightly embarrassed smile. Aja held the almost-whole chocolate bar out to her. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to bother you, but, would you like this? My mom stuffed my bag full of them when I wasn't looking and I'm trying to get rid of them." The lie came easily as she smiled at the girl. "I mean, you don't have to, obviously. I'm sure I could find someone else if you don't want it."

[Joshua Tamashii]

Amelia woke up with a start when the sound of people entering the Peregrine. The young girl listened as feet moved everywhere, some of the footsteps stopping somewhere above her, some in the rooms next to her's or somewhere else on the floor, and yet others on the floors below hers. Amelia herself was in room 608 and she hoped she would be the only one to remain in the room, but she had quickly figured out that the car/hotel only had seventy rooms in total but she still hoped. She didn't want to share a room and possibly have to 'talk' to some stranger. She already had enough problems as it was.

With thoughts like there running through her head, Amelia tried to go back to sleep but failed miserably. Groaning, she got out and changed into her favorite white dress before opening her door and checking the hallway. The coast was clear as most of the newcomers had gotten to their rooms and gone to bed or further down. Moving quietly down the hall, Amelia made her way down to the bottom level. To her dismay, there was a decent crowd down there and that made her incredibly nervous. Moving along the walls of the room, she made her way towards one of the few empty sofas and taking a seat, pulling her knees to her chest as she watched everyone.

The world of magic truly fascinated her. She watched as some of the students cast some minor spells with their wands, causing sparks or flashes of light to occur. Others were playing Wizard's Chess and she could help but be fascinated by how the pieces moved on their own and occasionally flinch at the brutality they displayed when they fought each other. There was also a game that looked a bit like marbles but the stone squirted liquid at players, so she made a point to avoid that. Yet another game involved cards that exploded and caused her to jump every time they did. She watched as some chased after chocolate frogs they had accidently let loose. the first time she had seen the candy, she thought it was a real frog until she saw a student eat it and saw that the inside was hollow.

She looked down as her stomach grumbled in hunger. She didn't have the money to buy any food on the ride to the school and she had finished the last of her food halfway through the day before. She had only made it last that long by eating it sparingly when she truly felt the need for it. Now without food or money for more, she had to hope that she could make it through the rest of the trip without passing out or dying of starvation.

[Crimmy]

Florida! Land of the sun, retirement homes and Little Havana! A favoured vacation spot for numerous members of Columbia's capitalist bourgeoisie, and to his own shame and dishonour, his own beloved family! Oh truly they had descended into the signature western decadence found amongst all American peoples, a sin that would only bring the disapproval of the glorious motherland! And the sand! The horrid sand! How could his friends and family subject he, Lü Ziya, to the terrible effects of Miami Beach?! Cleaning all those tiny, detestable grains out of his furry ushanka-hat would be such a nightmare! Truly, to have journeyed to the state that even Warner Brothers' evil Bugs Bunny had rejected was an unwise decision! But it was good luck that he could choose his family's holiday destination for next year!

Australia! Everybody loved kangaroos, right? And he had heard that the flesh of the marsupial species was absolutely divine! It was a quest he would embark his family upon after the school year was done and dusted, or he would die trying!

"Chinese guy in the mask ... could you um, stop pointing at the Sun and get in the car?"

Ah yes, one convenience that vacationing to Florida provided him was the ability to rock up at the Peregrine here instead of waiting at the accursed bus stop (literally, the seats there had been enchanted by some smart-aleck wizard to play 2pac's music only to people with magic in them) on Koval Lane. Mr. Shakur was a truly outstanding artist (indeed, Lü Ziya could admit that he too was a massive fan!), and it was always quite interesting conversing with the man's ghost, but it was an utter pain to constantly experience music when readying oneself for the glorious school year!

"Dude ... can you hear me?"

Right, getting into the car. 0748 hours; a bit late, but it did not matter to Lü Ziya! If one could not grandly point at the sky in triumph for a minute because it was an enjoyable act, then what else was there to do? Immediately dropping his arm to his side, the coat-clad fifth year (yes, for it was his fifth year now) jumped straight into the backdoor, ushanka-hat and mask still tightly strapped to his head. It was actually quite difficult to see (mostly because of the fact that his hat covered his eyes), but like he had the previous year, he once again avoided death via falling down the stairs (or becoming Christopher Reeves, may he rest in peace) through a quick application of the Softening charm.

It still hurt when he landed at the bottom though.

Ziya pulled himself to his feet, wincing at the pain that travelled through his lanky legs. Now, would he store his suitcase in his room (was it 108, or did he mishear the two respected grandmothers this time again?) or go straight for the Tomb and commiserate with his fellow students in the school of magical practices?!

Bah, he could do the suitcase thing later. It was light enough for he, and Lü Ziya was never one to avoid socialisation!

[Fumari]

It had been a long week for Larissa, being one of the first students picked up by this rumbling hotel of horrors. The familiar sound of an idle engine and feet moving reminded her of the fact, signaling their umpteenth pick-up. Really, the first two nights with Mercury behind the wheel had been the worst of it, as a majority of the rooms were empty, and there wasn’t much for Lars to do outside of keeping herself company while enjoying the wonderful sensation of being jostled about like a rag doll. They were on the very last stretch of the trip now though, and things had become a whole lot livelier with a majority of the upper level rooms having been filled.

Lars herself had been placed on the 10th floor, in room 26, where she spent a majority of her time with her birds. While Gar had become quite use to these trips, Bel was still adjusting, and was unfortunately much more panicked than his older brethren. She would often sneak both of the little-feathered devils into the Tomb from time to time, hoping that the much more open area would help them relax, and subsequently, help her wind down as well.

The familiar sound of footsteps at the entrance to the Tomb reminded her once again that more students had arrived, a majority of them quickly making their way down to the steadily crowding common area. Even this early in the morning, there was no escaping the hordes of young witches and wizards that currently occupied the car, but the crowds never bothered Lars any. She sat contently on one of the couches towards the corner of the room, her birds settled on the cushions beside her, while she quietly watched more students pour into the large room. Some of their faces were familiar, recognized as classmates or club friends, but a majority of them were new, most likely incoming first years.

“Mm, this place is getting packed.” Lars chirped lightly. Beside her, Bel began making small noises too, suddenly very interested in the large number of people around him. He’d mimic a word or two every now and again, choosing to spout them at anyone who got too close. He sometimes acted like others should actually understand the jumble of words he said, and was often displeased when he didn’t receive an answer back. Lars only smiled at his antics, tossing apologetic glances to any students who didn’t appreciate the obnoxious bird talk.

[c3p-0h]

It was early. It was too early. It was ridiculously early. And yet for some reason, Julius was awake. It was this stupid car, he swore. Every year it was the same thing – he didn't know if it was the jumps through all the time zones, or if he was going crazy from being stuck inside, or what, but every year King Tutt messed with his sleep schedule. And then for some reason Jules was stuck awake at 8 in the morning. Ok, maybe it wasn't that early, but still. Jules wondered if any of his friends were awake yet. Rubbing his eyes, Jules pushed himself out of bed. He opened his fridge and grabbed the half-eaten sandwich he'd had for dinner the night before. Not bothering to change out of his pajamas, Jules grabbed his wand and opened his door to make his way downstairs to the Tomb.

To his surprise, there was actually a pretty decent amount of people there already. His eyes scanned the room, searching. None of his usual friends were there (they were all still sleeping, no doubt) but he perked up when he found Lars, along with her two squawking birds. He liked Lars. She was pretty cool. She was older than him, but she was in his house and Magical Creatures Club, so they saw each other around a good amount. Hey also… may have had an itty bitty crush on her. Maybe. Probably not. But maybe.

Jules' attention was drawn by the sudden bout of crackled shouting coming from the speaker in the corner. It seemed like Pluto and Mercury were having another argument about off-ramps or yield signs or something. A smile grew on Jules' face as an idea came to him. Creeping around the edge of the room, sure to stay out of Lars' field of vision, Jules plopped himself on a sofa next to some girl he'd never seen before. She's was this nervous blonde thing, and probably a first year, but all that really mattered was that she was placed directly between Jules and Lars. She was small, but so was Jules. Maybe he could hide behind her.

He brought a single finger up to his impish smile, giving a little 'shh' sound to the girl. Then he turned his attention back to Lars and her birds and he drew his wand. A whispered incantation later, and the birds opened their beaks to screech insults at each other in Pluto and Mercury's voices. Several students in the Tomb jumped at the sudden sound. Jules' shoulders shook as he tried to control his laughter. He clamped a hand over his mouth and gave a light nudge to the blonde girl with his elbow. But he couldn't stop himself from full on laughing when Gar (in Pluto's voice) started saying Bel's vision was "about as clear as New York sewer water."

[Prints Avoid]

Dor always hated this part of the trip to school the most. He stood before the ridiculously long bridge over the seemingly bottomless chasm. Far on the other side, he could just see Salem Witch's Institute. He wondered why it was even necessary to take the bridge. Surely it'd be easier to just fly across on his broom. With a sigh, he began the walk across the bridge. "What do you have planned for this year, Dorado?" Nebula, his mother's dog was suddenly at his side walking with him. Of course he only liked for family to call him Dorado. It only made sense that Nebula should be able to call him that. But why was she talking? Unless this was... Suddenly, a herd of jackalopes in various sizes began running across the bridge, and caught up in the stampede he could do nothing but run alongside them. Though they were bounding along quickly, it was easier to keep up with them than he would have expected. In no time at all, they were across the bridge and to the front doors of the school. Walking up, he attempted to open one but found that it refused to budge. He looked around, and noticed once more that none of his friends were around. Only then did he hear a voice...

"Doradooo! Wake up! We need the golden boy to come save us all from what IDIOTS we all are!"

Dor groaned, recognizing Danny's attempt at making his deep voice sound like a high-pitched damsel in distress. It was too early. He should not need to get up right now. No, he actually didn't need to get up right now. "Go away Danny... I've got one day of sleeping in left and I don't wanna waste it." Without opening his eyes, he turned away from the voice, pulling a blanket over his head. He heard a low chuckle and mutter. The next thing he knew, there was bright flash and a pop. His blankets flew across the small room and he was thrown to the floor. The blinds rocketed upwards and Dor was left on the floor, facing the ceiling with sunlight streaming in through the window onto his face. He groaned once more as Danny burst into laughter, wand gripped in one hand, his other hand clutching his stomach. His guffaws were interrupted by a loud belch, which only made him resume laughing even more forcefully.

Dor sighed, then rubbed his eyes as he stood up off the floor. "You better hope-" Dor's own speech was interrupted by a burp of his own, which of course set Danny off again. He had a tendency to have overly long and exaggerated fits of laughter. Dor couldn't help but laugh himself. "Damn, how much of that stuff did we have?" The previous day had marked the pickup of the final member of Good's quidditch team. With all three houses' returning players fully accounted for, they had put together a Quidditch pong tournament. A combination of the muggle game of beer pong and Quidditch, it was immensely complicated and a lot of fun. Of course all members of the Quidditch team were respectful, well-behaving, rule-abiding students, and even if they did manage to get any beer they'd never make it available to the younger members of the team. Instead, every year the current Quidditch Cup champions were charged with choosing a non-alcholic but fun substitute. Tituba's team captain had chosen carbonated water with belching powder mixed in. It had made for an uproarious night. Of course they'd had so much of that unholy combination that Dor expected the effects to linger most of the day. While Warren had taken last night's tournament, Dor was confident the actual Quidditch Cup would go to Good this year... which gave him a year to choose next year's drink.

Danny was a friend of Dor's in Good and his teammate. Short and stocky, the seventh year made for an excellent Beater. He was a Muggleborn wizard, but had grasped American wizard culture faster than anyone else Dor had ever met. The two had instantly hit it off when Danny helped Dor find a classroom in his first year, finding they had many common interests. When Dor got on the Quidditch team it only solidified their friendship.

"Anyway, we just picked up Florida," Danny said once they had both stopped laughing. "Tomb's already getting filled up... There'll probably be food soon. It's the last day and night with our own rooms. Don't let it go to waste." He then added in a sing-songy voice, "I know I'm noooot..." Danny gave him a quick wink then left his room, presumably to the Tomb.

Dor was left in his room, and in the sudden quiet he could make out the sounds of the Pegerine and the people in it. He could vaguely make out the muffled voices of Mercury and Pluto coming out of a speaker a few rooms over. He stretched his arms once more. Despite his earlier protests, now that he was awake he was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep if he tried. A small burp escaped his lips as he slipped on pair of basketball shorts and a t-shirt. He made his way downstairs, curious as to what this morning had to offer.

[Apokalipse]

Aella glanced at the simple candy bar dangling in front of her face from the younger girl’s fingers. She couldn’t have been too much younger than Aella, perhaps a fourth or fifth year, and had an unfamiliar face. However, Aella never noticed too many students, preferring to keep to herself over the years. The brunette didn’t think she could stomach a chocolate bar, considering her delicate mental state was causing inner turmoil in the form of acid, but at the same time, she had the option of making a friend. Of course, Aella had friends…just not friends that were around often. It was probably this thought that drove Aella to accept the candy bar from this near-stranger, popping a small chocolate piece into her mouth.

“Thanks.” Aella muttered, even as she felt the sugar dissolve into sick acerbic liquid in her gut. At least it tasted good momentarily.

Aella closed her Sudoku book and placed it to the side next to her, gently setting her pencil on top of it, hoping it wouldn’t roll away like every other pencil she owned. “Um, hi. I’m Aella Strand. Puzzle extraordinaire.” She thoughtlessly picked up the Sudoku book again and waved it, the soft pages waving in the air and creating a flopping noise. When she threw it back down, she belatedly realized that her pencil was nowhere to be seen.

“Anyways, what brings you here?” Aella asked innocently, and then almost smacked herself in the forehead. “I mean, duh, school – but, err, why are you up this early?”

Out of nervousness of social interaction, or maybe just the thought of upcoming school days, Aella felt her mouth dry up. She licked her lips slightly, but felt herself blush at how stupid she must have looked. Part of her wanted to get up and walk to the kid-friendly bar to get water, but an irrational – or maybe not-so-irrational – fear of tripping in front of everybody stopped her. Aella wondered distantly if others could sense her anxiousness and soon after the thought crossed her mind, it became a dominate worry. Did she look like a neurotic freak? Would this potential-friend notice her awkwardness? Would she laugh at Aella or, worse, openly mock her?

Aella could imagine the situation now:

“What’s the matter, Aella?” She would say, a fake concern gleaming in her eyes.

Then, Aella would say, “Nothing, stranger!”

The stranger’s eyes would then crinkle and her mouth would become a sinister grin as she would crow, “Are you sure about that, basket case?”

And then the whole room would laugh at her!

Aella pinched her leg, telling herself that she was just creating a scenario that would never happen. This girl was probably nice, sweet, yet the brunette was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

[Fumari]

At first, Lars thought it was Mercury and Pluto arguing with the intercom on again. The familiar sound of their frighteningly senile shofars was always floating through the air from somewhere in the King Tutt, like the place was haunted (the horrors to come if either of the two bags died here though, no doubt). But they sounded awfully loud though, and uncannily close? Like they were practically right beside her…

Lars stole a glance—one tiny, little, paranoid glance at her birds and then practically snorted from laughing so hard so suddenly. Her birds babble had always been entertaining, but this was downright hilarious. The little witch curled into herself between bouts of laughter, knowing full well now who was responsible for her poor birds’ sudden voice over (if the familiar sounding laughter two seats over was any clue). It took her a good second, especially after Gar’s (or should she say Pluto’s?) last comment, but Lars eventually managed to calm her diaphragm long enough to reach down and pull her wand from inside her boot. One mumbled incantation and a quick wrist twist later, and the two presently confused birds were back to squawking unintelligibly into the air. Lar’s turned her attention to the true culprit then, a wide grin stretching across her face.

“You know, you’re really lucky neither of those two feather heads have held a grudge against you yet.” She announced to the younger wizard, who was currently laughing behind some poor girl. Jules was an underclassman, and a part of both Tituba and MCC, so Lars knew and got along with the kid fairly well. The jokes weren’t anything new either, and only the tip of what she hoped would be an iceberg of fun this year.

“When the heck did you get on the Tutt?” She asked then, done with her laughter and suddenly amazed that she hadn’t seen him around until now. This place was large, yes, but not too large that you couldn’t spot a familiar face if you frequented it enough. Maybe she’d been on this bloody road trip a bit too long.

[Crimmy]

The Tomb was a most excellent gathering place for the youthful students of Salem Witches' Institute (which despite its name, was not actually restricted to magic-capable American adolescents of the female persuasion), and it was with great flourish and gusto that Lü Ziya made his entry into the vibrant hang-out, his signature furry ushanka-hat and light-grey surgical mask present upon his head, obscuring all but his nasal bridge from view. It would seem to some that such a state of dress was detrimental to attempts at socialising with others (and indeed his mask served to muffle his deep, accented tones, making it quite difficult for certain peoples to understand his words), but the Chinese-American teenager was not somebody who would let his own clothing of all things get the best of him!

Manoeuvring through the crowds of students in a manner not too dissimilar from how Luke Skywalker traversed the narrow and deadly trenches of the Empire's mighty Death Star, he immediately honed in on the vermillion leather couches that dotted the room's landscape, intent on enjoying the comforting feeling of sitting down. Indeed, since his first year at the school of magic, Ziya had been a connoisseur of the Peregrine's furniture, admiring the egalitarianism they symbolised and their availability to all social classes, for no student would be able to dominate one sofa for their own selfish desires. Truly it was a grand step into introducing socialism to the magical society of the United States! The comfort of these couches would be provided to all that sought them!

Aha! There was a familiar face present on one of the couches!

Ziya plonked down right next to Aja, the force of his sudden appearance causing the piece of furniture below them to squeak quietly. As a fellow fifth year in House Warren, the Chinese-American was acquainted with the other teenager, and it was quite polite to greet one's acquaintances wherever they were.

"Good morning Aja!" he said cheerily, although the muffled sounds that emerged from his mouth could have been misconstrued as "Guten morgen A-jar", which, while not entirely inaccurate (albeit sounding like he was speaking a completely different language), was noticeably different from what he was intending to say. "And greetings stranger!"

His next words were directed at Aella, his head shifting slightly to 'face' the sixth-year his housemate was handing a candy bar to (though the obscured face made the turn of phrase a bit inaccurate). He hadn't really encountered the girl much, so his enthusiastic greeting was hopefully the first in a possible acquaintance.

[Joshua Tamashii]

Amelia watched as more people came into the room, watching as each one came in. They could definitely be seen as a weird bunch of people. The first one to come down after her of note, was a... boy she guessed, who was wearing a big, fuzzy hat and had a mask covering his face. She couldn't even make out the person's face behind all they were wearing. Next came a girl who was accompanied by two birds, something that Amelia was surprised at as she hadn't seen anyone come down here with pets before. The next person to come down was a boy who glanced around before moving over to and sitting next to Amelia, who quickly looked away from him. She could've laughed when he gave her a 'shh' but it was impossible for her to make any noise that would require a voice. She heard him whisper something the then the voices of the old ladies who drove the car. She glanced around in panic before realizing it was the birds the one girl had brought down with her. The shear comedy of it brought a smile to her face.

The owner of the birds looked around in surprise as well before realizing the source of the noise and began laughing. It took her several seconds to recover but when she did, she came right over to Amelia and the boy, addressing the latter of two. It would seem the two were familiar with each other by the way the girl talked to the boy. Amelia was fine being out of the spotlight and would've preferred to stay that way. Sadly, her stomach had other plans and let out a loud rumble that was unlikely to go unnoticed by the two strangers near her. Her face went bright red and she was too mortified to even try and move away.

[c3p-0h]

Aja opened her mouth to answer the girl. Instead of words, however, what escaped her was a surprised squeak when Ziya plonked down next to her. She looked over to see his familiar face (mask?) and managed a response.

"Morning," she said with a smile. She didn't know him very well, but they always had classes together since they were in the same year and house. He was eccentric to say the least, and Aja found that he typically worked best in small doses, but he was nice enough. Aja turned back to the other girl. "Aella Strand, this is Lü Ziya. Lü Ziya, Aella Strand. I'm Aja Kay." Aja had been meaning to ask Aella if she was alright, but she doubted the girl wanted to divulge all her problems to two strangers. So instead, she just explained, "We're in Warren together. Fifth year. He's very politically minded." She turned to her classmate, then. "So Ziya, how goes dismantling the ruling bourgeois class?" If Aella couldn't confide in them, then at least they could distract her. Small talk didn't exactly seem to be her forte anyway.

---

"Since Sacramento," Jules answered Lars. A smile was still stretched wide across his face as his laughter died down. "And come on, I bet they love all the attention I give them! They'd never hold a grudge against me." Of course, by 'attention' he meant 'constant use of them as pawns in his pranks.' He was about to say something else when he was cut off by some unholy rumbling. Jules snapped his mouth shut and turned to look at the blonde girl sitting next to him. Oh yeah. He'd completely forgotten about her. In his defense though, he'd been talking to Lars. Pretty, funny, cool Lars…

"Uh, wow," he said, snapping out of his thoughts. "That was actually really impressive." His smile was back on his face, but then he remembered that sounds like that typically weren't a great thing. "But seriously, are you ok? Like… have you eaten or something?" He remembered the sandwich he'd brought down from his room and scrambled to pick it up from where it was resting beside him on the couch. "Do you want part of this? I already started eating it, but I don't have cooties or anything like that. I could tear off the part I bit if you want."

[Crimmy]

Ah, someone who too held interest in creating a communistic, egalitarian society where the social organisation and technology of the state had eliminated real need for physical labour by an existing working class! From each according to his ability, to each according to his need! The dream of a world where goods and services would be in abundance, and all peoples equal under a banner of a bright socialist future would be able to pursue their own goals and ambitions without needing to worry for their welfare!

It was an idealistic goal, one that could be decades in the future, but it was one that Lü Ziya was utterly willing to strive for!

"Classism is still a highly persistent issue in today's society," elaborated the Chinese-American teenager, his eyes, previously unfocused thanks to his daydreams of a glorious future, snapping back to attention. "The gap between the working class and the bourgeoisie is widening, and unless the means of production can be redistributed to the proletariat, the latter will be too entrenched to truly bring down."

His words as usual were muffled by the mask, but it was still quite evident that there was a spark in a tone, one that could be found in anyone who was discussing the things they loved.

"In order to do so however, I believe that there should either be greater integration or disintegration of our economy with that of Goblin society," he continued. "As of the current moment, it would quite simple for the financial sector to destabilise if relations between wizards and the goblins were to suffer!"

A stable economic base was always a necessary first step to glorious communism.

[Rina]

"I'm not sure." Phoebe said hesitantly as she looked into the mirror. "Are you sure this necklace works with the outfit? It's not clashing or anything is it?" The girl said as she turned around and looked at the other girl in the room with her. Although she and Kendra were not the closest of friends, knowing that girl was rooming right beside her gave Phoebe enough of an excuse for the two of them to hang out even if Kendra was a year older than her.

"It's fine. Come on, can we please head down to the tomb now? I told a friend that I was going to meet then ten minutes ago." Kendra said with a slight blush which made Phoebe a bit suspicious that it wasn't just a friend she had plans to meet.

"Okay, okay." The girl said giving her reflection a last look over before heading towards the door. "I'm so glad today is the final day in the tomb. It's a bit depressing having to stay inside instead of being out in the weather, especially after going through a place like Florida. Too bad we couldn't take a little detour and visit the beaches. That would be amazing."

"Except for the humidity and mosquitoes. Up in Alaska you don't have to worry about those annoying things." Kendra said as the sounds of students started to get louder as they approached the tomb.

"True but it's better than having a ton of snow and being stuck in a sunless day. I'd think that would be worse."

"Oh there you are." A voice of a male said, interrupting the conversation. "I was concerned that you overslept and wasn't coming down here."

Just as she suspected. It was Kendra's boyfriend or rather "friend" since she said that things between the two of them were not official yet. As if. After those two being nearly inseparable throughout the prior school year and visiting each other throughout the summer, they were pretty much a couple just without the title because both of them were too much of a pansy to step up and take things to the next level.

"Hey, I'm going to see if I can find some of my friends. You two have fun, okay." Phoebe said before leaving the two alone. Being alone wasn't a good thing but being socially alone while with others as they left you out of a conversation was worse. She knew how those two acted when they were together and although they didn't purposely tune others out when they were together, that was exactly what they did. She could find someone else to better spend her time with.

[Brodie]

Azriel woke up with a startle. He felt like he could not move, he felt restricted, tied up. When he looked down, he was, by his snake. He often made it a habit to sleep with his pet snake Botis, and every once and awhile the snake would get a sick sense of humor. So in the middle of the night he would coil around Azriel and when he wakes up, Botis' head would be on his chest and he would look at Azriel with what looked like a smile but he could never tell. After getting untangled he felt like he needed to take a shower so he did. Afterwards he got changed into some grey casual joggers and a navy blue V-neck. After his shower he let Botis out and allowed him to slither around the room.

Azriel decided it was time to go socialize with his fellow students so he left the room and walked down to the Tomb. On his way down he could hear the different sound and voices of new students and old ones alike. Once he reached the stairwell he began to think back to what his mother said before he left his home for his 5th year.

"So do you have everything?” She asked sounding uninterested as usual. "Yes i think. Why did I need something else?" Azriel responded not even looking at her while he moved around his room. He and his mother had gotten into another fight the night before. It was over his reluctance to follow down her foot steps and become someone in the muggle world. "I know that we don't always see eye to eye but I need you to understand that I am still your mother. “As she said this he didn't even spare her a look and continued to make sure Botis was comfortable in his cage. "Look at me!” She said with a stern face and a sharp tone. Azriel looked up and stared blankly at her. "Yes." He said nonchalantly. “I have come to terms with the fact that you are getting older. This means a lot of different things but one of the most important is that you have started to make your own decisions. So, as much as I don't want to, I would like you to know that i accept your morals, choices, and dreams. But there is one thing I have to say, your father got lucky with his practice. It was a 50/50 chance and he got the better half. That does not mean that will happen for you. With what the Republic is going through and the magic community in general, you need to know that you might not get to fulfill your dream and aspirations. So, if you are ever in a pinch, been beaten to a pulp or just need someone to talk to, call me. I don't care how far you are, or what time of day it is you just call me. Understand." With that she left his room with a smile on her face. Azriel stood there in shock, for that was the nicest thing she had ever said to him. He took it as a good omen and whispered a thank you to her back as she left.

When he came out of his nostalgic daze, he found himself at the entrance to the Tomb. On the inside he saw many different faces, some he knew and some he didn't. He then realized that something felt different about what is to come this year at Salem. He felt certain that with his first step into this vibrant room something good would come from this year. So he took it.

[Prints Avoid]

As Dor made his way down the stairs, he ran a hand through his hair making sure it wasn't too much of a mess. He may have just gotten out of bed but he didn't want to make it that obvious. He couldn't deny it could use a trim, much like his father had said. Still, after having cut nearly all of it off at the beginning of the summer to deal with the heat, it was nice to have it all back. He held back a belch, managing to keep it controlled and under his breath with his mouth closed.

He was nearing the bottom floor when up ahead he saw Phoebe. Ah, Phoebe. Feisty, to the point, and apparently completely uninterested in him. What was it she had said? Something about not having any time for his stupid games. That was the nice of putting it anyway. And that was fine. There were plenty of other young witches at Salem keeping his attention after all. Still, Dor found that if he kept it to a minimum, she tolerated his presence if nothing else and they could often have good conversations on a variety of subjects. That said, he wouldn't mind in the slightest sneaking off to the gazebo with her...

He quickened his pace in order to catch up to her just as she was left behind by her friend.

"Phoebe! There you are! I was wondering if I'd even see you before we made it to school. I didn't see you cheering on Good in the tournament last night. You know everyone was invited to come watch..." He smiled at her. "But I guess it's not all that important. How was your summer?" He would walk along with her as they were both headed the same direction and see what she had to say.

[Fumari]

Lars didn’t get much of a retort past her lips before her head was suddenly turning towards the girl who sat between her and Jules. She was a tiny little thing, most likely a first year, and looked about ready to pass out now that she’d gone so red in the face. Lars herself didn’t quite understand why people got so embarrassed over normal bodily functions, but didn’t point this out to the already mortified girl. Instead, she chose to watch Jules attempt to offer a half-eaten sandwich— she silently bet that the boy had been surviving solely off of what was inside the mini fridge in his room up until now, but only smirked a bit over it.

“Jules, did you not hear how angry her stomach is? She needs real food!” Lars declared confidently and quickly looked down to the girl, waiting for some sort of response. Behind her, Bel and Gar had begun echoing her voice, the words ‘real food’ and ‘angry stomach’ being the most frequently spoken. After another moment, Lars’ took a quick glance around the Tomb, and then towards the large, hanging clock that hung over the entrance. Still early, she noted.

“Ya know, the Café has some pretty good grub.” She began with a softer smile, pointing her attention back to the two underclassmen. “We could all go grab some breakfast, if you wanted to. My treat.” She offered, not at all bothered that it would mark her second breakfast this morning (not counting snacks). Lars’ was still plenty familiar with how stressful being a first year could be, even if it’d been years since she’d been one, so she was always happy to help incoming first years when she got the chance to.

[Joshua Tamashii]

Amelia, with a bit of effort on her part, looked up at the two older students as they addressed her. The boy found her stomach's grumble somewhat amusing, judging by his smile and the way he talked about it. He was kind enough, however, to offer her a sandwich of his own. Amelia glanced at it and saw that the boy had already been eating it, As much as she would've loved to say 'yes', in some way that the two could understand which might take some effort, she didn't want to take the meal of another person when she had nothing to give in return. As such, she shook her head at his offer before turning to the girl when she began to speak.

The girl first talked to the boy, who she addressed as 'Jules'. Amelia had to guess that was a nickname for the boy, since it didn't sound remotely like a boy's name. The girl said she needed food, real food, and looked at Amelia for what Amelia had to guess was some form of confirmation. Amelia bit her lower lip and nodded slightly in response before the girl continued while her birds mimicked her words rather loudly. The girl brought up that café would be open soon before offering to buy breakfast for both Amelia and 'Jules'. Amelia wasn't one for charity but she knew if she didn't get something in her stomach soon, she wouldn't do very well once they got the school. So she once again nodded before getting up, waiting for one of the two upperclassmen to lead the way.

@c3p-0h @Fumari

[c3p-0h]

Aja nodded along dutifully to Ziya's speech, pretending it didn't completely go over her head. She looked back at Aella, and quirked the corner of her lips up into a smile.

"There you have it," she said. "If you ever have questions about classism or the economy, he's the one to go to. Ziya's sure to have opinions to share. Personally, most of it's lost on me."

---

Jules pouted when Lars implied his sandwich wasn't real food. It was too! He unwrapped one end and took a hearty bite out of it. Unfortunately, he almost choked on it when he tried to swallow at the same time she offered to buy them food. Lars wanted to get breakfast with him. She was offering to pay. Wasn't that something people did on dates? Pay for each other's food? Was this a date? Did Lars want to date him?? Jules was still coughing, trying to clear his windpipe as his mind spun around in circles. He suddenly felt very very warm.

When his lungs stopped spasming long enough for Jules to control himself, he opened his eyes to see the blonde girl standing up and nodding. Oh, right. It wouldn't be just the two of them. The whole point of this was to make sure the kid didn't starve. Deflated, (but also kind of relieved, because Jules had no idea what he'd actually do with Lars on a date) he pushed himself off of the sofa to stand next to the girl.

"Cool," he squeaked out in a hoarse voice. He tried clearing his throat again. "I think I'm actually good without food. Got myself a killer sandwich." He wanted to smack himself for that stupid pun, but pushed onward. "But yeah, let's get you something," he said to the girl. "I'm Jules, and that's Lars. Tituba. Best house there is. You're what, a first year? Not gonna lie, that's the worst. I mean, that troll they make you fight's a real piece of work. Only two students got dismembered last year though, so I think it's slowing down. Senioritis. Real shame." Jules hung his head low and shook it back and forth in a show of disappointment. With that, he turned on his heel and started leading the way to the cafe. "Oh well. To food!"

[Rina]

Hearing a familiar voice, Phoebe turned around and saw Dor. Although a bit of a womanizer, Phoebe liked him at least on a platonic level. If he grew up a bit more and acted more maturely, especially with other girls, she could see him making some girl in the future pretty happy but until then he was a bit of a lost cause. "Well you better change your story of me not being there." Phoebe said with a sly smile, taking a once over look of those nearby to make sure no one was overhearing their conversation. "I might just need an alibi in case Tituba's Quidditch team start to ask who kicked off the pranks between the houses this year. Things are going to get pretty interesting, or rather radiant, once the captain comes down to the Tomb." Phoebe said as she took a glance back at the stairs, half wishing that he would come downstairs so that she could see the look on the captain's face but besides a few first years apprehensively entering the Tomb, there was no such luck.

"As for my summer, it was pretty good. I got to spend a lot of time with my aunt. We spent a few weeks over in Hawaii which was quite a blast. I'm hoping to visit again one day in the future. What about you? Were you up to anything during the break?" Phoebe said before a loud bellowing yell was heard from one of the rooms above. Unless something else that she didn't know of was happening upstairs, Phoebe had a feeling that the festivities were about to kick off. With a look of amusement written on her face, Phoebe continued before Dor could speak up. "We might as well find a seat with a good view of the stairs before you catch me up on what you were up to. I promise you this, you won't want to miss this."