Well, it seemed the fight was over, and the teacher didn’t seem mad so maybe this was a normal way for monsters to act? But it wasn’t like other monsters were tearing their spines out all around the room, which was the sort of thought that brought her neatly back to square one and left her brow crumpled. Perhaps she could ask the teacher then! Teachers existed to answer questions. The paper girl paused however when she caught the teacher’s name, Dracula. Like, Dracula Dracula? She had read about him in a book once, but she had thought it was just a fiction book. It was old anyway, the pages were thin and fragile from years of use. It was a nice book.
Hanashi’s attention was soon pulled away from the fights and the vampire lord and pulled to the center stage. She listened intently as the headmaster introduced himself and went over the school’s rules, which all seemed very straightforward. Hana perked up, however, as the opening remarks drew to a close and the spirit on stage asked them to move to one side of the room or the other based on their crests. She looked down at her own shirt for a moment — blue, hers was blue — before she stood up.
Hopefully there would be more nice people like the one who had gifted her the paper in her house. With that hope high in her heart, Hanashi moved to the right side of the room.
//... into the dark she stepped, but never did she feel free of the gaze...//
Seph tried to ignore all the chaos and commotion. It made her extremely nervous that school life was going to be exceptionally rough. She was relieved when teachers appeared and ecstatic to meet them. Seph loved school and loved learning. She hoped the teachers would bring her a since of peace and calm her anxiety.
Seph jumped at the crack of thunder. She looked up from her book, eyes widened with fear, as a ball of light radiated on stage. As the ball of light became a person and they began to speak, she calmed and her fear began to dissipate. She listened intently as the headmaster spoke. Once the headmaster finished, Steph looked down to see what color she was wearing. "Red, I'm red...Soltice..Cool"
She closed her book rather loudly and began to look around for other house members. Seph joined other members of the group. She looked at each member and gave them a big smile and waved. "Hello, it's nice to meet you," as her voice shook nervously.
Seph hoped that they would like her. Would she fit in? Would they be nice?
The other girl whispered something to her mouse. Oh jeez, she was complaining about some weirdo who just approached her out of nowhere, wasn't she? Augh, she really should've just kept her stupid mouth shut. Stupid stupid stupid. May as well just--
Cailet. Her name. That was her name! Someone else told Eve their name! Like, a friend thing! Nonono, as in, like, as peers, not just because they have to! And she had a mouse called Algernon (that was a book, wasn't it?), too. Wow, this was a first! Eve sat there, stunned for a moment before the bright flash on stage and a crack of thunder shocked her back to reality. Their headmaster appeared from thin air, addressing the hall. He had a speech that Eve was a little too shaken to fully absorb, but she got the most of the message. Don't wander off, houses, blue and red uniforms. She looked down at her own uniform (Was she even wearing it right?), and the tie was clearly red under her soft light. When she looked up, she noticed Cailet gathering her things to assemble-- Eve hadn't given an answer to her question, was she being rude? She didn't want to be rude. She grabbed her own bag, and stood up to join her.
"Uh, ah. Mm. Yeah. G-going together, that'd be good. Sorry. A-about your last question I mean. I'm new here, too. Not the knitting. I-I mean I haven't tried knitting, though." She dusted her skirt off, just so she didn't look weird standing around.
--
Gathering at the right side of the hall, someone was already waving at everyone. Not wanting to potentially be rude again, Eve tried greeting her back.
"Hey."
Ohh no, that sounded way too curt. But it'd be awkward to tack on anything else now, uhh what to do, did she mess up already? No no, she just had to steel herself.
"..."
She blanked out! Now everyone was gonna think she was rude and weird and ohh jeez what she wouldn't give to disappear right now. Holding her bag against her chest, she did everything she could to make herself smaller, up to and including accidentally literally shrinking away from everyone a little. With her uniform now a size too big, everyone definitely thought she was weird, now.
He wasn’t the one who started it, she’d been the one aching for a fight. He’d just let her throw the first punch. Sullyvahn was ready to give her another lash to compliment the first, but the teacher gave out his sentence. Or rather, Dracula (at this point he was only half-surprised that the father of all vampire stories was a teacher at this school) declared that their fight would continue, tonight. School-sponsored fights, that was certainly surprising, but not unwelcome.
With a flick of his wrist Sullyvahn snapped his spine, the vertebrae interlocking and becoming rigid. He placed it back within his neck and raised his head back to where it belonged. The faint smoky tendrils that leaked from both his head and neck reached out for each other as Sullyvahn firmly replaced his head, any signs of separation vanishing as he cracked his neck. He didn’t respond to Dracula, but turned the feral child.
“Dul go h-olc ort, Ainsley.” With a small smirk he stepped away, his attention dragged to the stage by a loud crack that put his whip to shame. A spectral figure appeared and Sullyvahn felt a twinge in his back. A spirit was the headmaster, which rounded out the weirdness factor. Sure, why not, a millennias-old specter was in charge. He laid out a couple rules and mentioned houses. Sullyvahn looked down at his tie and saw the blue color, heading to the right of the room. He glanced around, looking to see who else was adorned in blue. There was a seemingly normal girl, and Sullyvahn let out a groan when he glanced in Ainsley’s direction and realized that the only red on her uniform was the scarlet slash he’d given her.
Darn. It seemed like Cailet was on her own as far as scarves for Algernon. Actually, given the look he was currently giving her, maybe it was best just to drop the entire idea - even if she thought he would look kind of cute. He was his own mouse, though, and she guessed that meant that he could wear whatever he wanted - or not, as the case might be.
Did students with fur have to wear uniforms? Obviously Algernon didn't, but would that change if he were sized differently? Was that discriminatory, or was she just vastly overthinking this?
Algernon squeaked at her, confirming that it was definitely the second. At least Eve had come with her over to the group they were supposed to meet. It was nice not being the only new one there. Some of the others seemed to know each other already - a boy and two girls who'd been sitting together. Another girl had joined them too, one carrying a large book that Cailet peered at, trying to read the title. Books were certainly easier than people, even if they did end up resulting in having a weird mouse on your shoulder.
She was considering what to say when Eve opened with 'hey.' Since that had been Cailet's best option, she was now uncertain about how to follow it. Eve was shrinking back - no, she was actually shrinking. That was neat - if she shrank down enough, could she be best friends with Algernon, too?
Algernon didn't think so, but he didn't really seem to want to make friends at all. Cailet put a hand on Eve's elbow in a way that she hoped was calming. It worked with goats, anyway.
"Um, hi." Another excellent start at conversation, that was. What was next? Well, be polite, Cailet supposed. That's what her mother would say. "I'm Cailet and this is my friend Eve. And this is Algernon, who is sort of a mouse."
Damn it, new people made him nervous. He should say something, shouldn't he? The new students were greeting each other, it was only fair he said something.
"Hi." Aaron said, with a quick wave. C'mon, he could do better than that. "Welcome to Wimbleton, I'm Aaron, these are Nell and Eden. Nell's sister, Ellie should be here somewhere. She's a ghost."
The three girls seemed to be more nervous than he was, it calmed his nerves down. The brunette had introduced herself as Cailet, and Eve was the glowy one. He didn't catch the girl with the blue hair's name "What do you mean, sort of a mouse?" He asked, curiously inspecting the animal. He hadn't payed attention to it before, but now that he was looking at it, it was obvious it wasn't an ordinary mouse, though he couldn't pinpoint how he knew that.
"Yea, go feck yerself too," Ainsley replied, not entirely sure what the boy had said - but the intent was pretty obvious. For good measure, when he turned to leave, she stuck her tongue out at him behind his back.
"Stupid school," she grumbled, poking at the tear in her midriff tenderly. "Stupid school, stupid fecking students, Stupid fecking teacher."
A duel? At night? Awfully dramatic, wasn't it? Still, she was already rearing to settle the score. Least that teacher didn't suffer a pansy.
As the headmaster announced the houses, Ainsley glanced down at her tie, then - with an audible sigh - in the direction of the gathering Equinox members. Of course Headless Hapless was part of her group. She glanced over towards Aisling.
Seph's heart palpitated as her body became warm and her cheeks flushed red. "Oh, no" thought Seph, " I forgot to tell them my name. They all told me theirs and now I look strange. What do I do?"
"I'm Persephone. Nice to meet you." Seph blurted out in a rushed manner before looking toward Cailet. She could tell something was off about the mouse but still thought he was cute. "I like your mouse!"
Her face flushed even more, as she realized how random and strange that comment might be. She gazed down at the floor trying to recover from the awkwardness of the situation
“Why, hello!” Hanashi said, with a fair amount of cheer as the dullahan made his way over to her side of the room. There were others! That was good she was starting to feel like she had been left out to blow on the wind with how empty her side of the room felt. And it didn’t seem like he was hitting people with his spine anymore so this was a great time to say hello! “It’s nice to meet you, are you also a new student? I’ve never really been to a school like this before so I’m excited to see what it’s like.”
The paper girl smiled, that seemed like it would be a fine introduction! She thought she heard something about European fairies not liking names once, but it was one of those vague half thoughts that she wasn’t quite sure where she had gotten it from. So, names were best left out, probably!
//... into the dark she stepped, but never did she feel free of the gaze...//
Dracula stood silent for a moment, allowing the students some time for greetings. When they were all gathered by his side he said:
“Follow me.”
The vampire didn’t look back to make sure he was being followed - it was always fun when new students got lost in the castle during the first week, and weren't found until the corpses started to smell. He turned right and went up a couple flights of stairs, stopping by the entrance of the Equinox quarters.
“This is where you’ll sleep, shower, shit and spend your leisure time when you’re not taking classes.” He said, opening the door that led to a beautiful room plastered in wood, with blue and violet furniture.
“The dorms are upstairs, boys to the left, girls to the right. For creatures without gender, just pick an empty bed.” He turned to the students with a stern look on his old, wrinkly face.
“I opened the door for you this time. Before you leave, submit your Given Name to the door, and it’ll ensure this to be a haven for the remaining of your existence. If you attempt to enter without submitting to the room, severe pain will be inflicted to the one who dares to trespass.” The last words brought a smirk to his lips. “Welcome to the house of Equinox.”
She seemed alright- or, at the very least, she had enough people around her to help her out. People in her house, Aisling noted. Her own house was different. Whatever. She turned around, only to be startled by Ainsley, who had somehow managed the impossible (or, rather, piss-easy) task of sneaking up on her whilst she was distracted.
"What, you fecking colourblind as well as illiterate?" She gave a wry smile, "I'm Equinox, same as you."
For a moment, the smile seemed to... well, it became almost more... no, no, that was stupid. It was just funny that she was in the same house as Ainsley- not... not anything more.
"Ugh, looks like the Brainless Buckaroo's with us as well. Grand."
She frowned.
"Best hope we're not competing academically, otherwise our house is absolutely fucked."
Post by xXxStitchesxXx on Dec 19, 2022 18:12:07 GMT
Nel watched the new girls with mild interest. In particular, she found the girl with the mouse very interesting. The mouse sat perfectly on her shoulder, and just as before, its eyes looked… not quite right. Meanwhile, Ellie had drifted away to look out the window once more. When Aaron brought her up, Nel tilted her head toward the window he had drifted away to. “She’s close.”
Meanwhile, Ana had made her way over to the group of students. She waved her hands outward, circling them at the wrists, then quickly dashed them outwards again. A light dusting of sparks faded out across the area as they found themselves to be in a room decorated in golden and red hues. All of the furniture was the kind that looked fluffy and cozy.
“Good day, students. I am Madam Anastasia, and this is the Solstice common room. I hope none of you mind that I brought us the quick way. Older students will be expected to help younger students find their way around, the same way you were originally shown. The boys corridor is to the left, and the girls is to the right. Please remember there are strict rules about going into the wrong corridors. Please make sure that you submit your names to the front door on your exit. The tower is guarded by strong magic, and I wouldn't want anything to happen to any of you should you forget to do so.” She paused for a moment, allowing everyone to catch up to her. She waited an extra moment for any questions before continuing. “The door has a slot on the side. Simply submit your name on a sheet of paper. The door will recognize you from then on. Now, then. I hope your stay with us this year will be excellent.”
And to those Gods I will speak bluntly, We have an accord if you ever touch or harm him Please rest assured, you may not fear a man, But by the end to a woman, you'll kneel and plead Because I'm more than my mom taught me to be.
"I imagine the uncivilized types are," The Erlprinz replied, hooded gaze still rapt upon his sketches. The chamber as a whole had almost been entirely captured, now, save a few minute details of tapestry and lighting. His hand worked quick to shade the borders, casting the picture in a shadowed vignette that gave the image a claustrophobic air to it. "Which is certainly the category we seem to have found ourselves amongst. Unfortunate for us, and fortunate for them-- they have a fresh crop to try and drag down to their level." A bit of disdain crept into his voice, at that, but he kept his tone as reserved as possible. His head turned once more to the girl, a slow pace present as to give ample warning of his shifting horns. "I do hope you resist the temptation to engage with them. For your sake."
Fortunately, a teacher seemed to have intervened. Finally. It had taken the administration long enough, he imagined, given that this was meant to be a gathering off all students; the Erlprinz could not have possibly imagined what had taken them until now to do something about the belligerent pair, but he supposed it was better late than not at all. And what a choice to stop the fighting, as well-- none other than the Count, or so the prince imagined. Father had told him stories about the man, before he had sent his son away; stories of great terror the man brought, of the scourge he represented.
And now he was a teacher at an academy, breaking up fights between prepubescents. How... humbling.
The Erlprinz supposed he could sympathize with the Count's position, all things considered. After all, he had been sent here to learn leadership skills, according to his father. And for good reason-- it appeared the leader of this school was in dire need of some sort of aide. The man came out practically half-dressed in his robes, after all, as if that were still socially acceptable. Antiquated customs, the prince supposed, considering the man had been dead for much of his actual existence. The school spirit's explanation of the house divisions further confirmed that this academy was about as anachronistic as one could find. Not even father's donations could buy competence.
Equinox and Solstice, as they were called, each had their little descriptors. The prince stayed put, as neither were appealing. Besides-- he'd tossed his uniform aside before he'd entered, and had surely forgotten the color upon the cloth by now. Rather than make an ass of himself and guess, he'd remain where he was. His drawing wasn't yet finished, after all, and the two halves of the room were already filing out without him. The Erlprinz would fall in, eventually-- but for now, it was certainly more appealing to root himself in the auditorium and enjoy the solitude.
[googlefont="La Belle Aurore"] Wow, this was great! There were all sorts of interesting people here. "It's nice to meet you, everyone. And, um..." Cailet looked around, but did not see a ghost - although maybe the ghost was right there and she just couldn't see the ghost. Was it rude to look for her?
Algernon squeaked, and nudged her to the proper direction with his nose. "And Ellie. Wait, you can see ghosts?" A squeak, and a shuffling. "Oh. So they have to be close to this side. Wait, why can you see ghosts?" Another squeak, somehow weirdly ominous. "No! We talked about that. No eating people, even if they are ghosts! How does that even work, is it just-?" Cailet shook her head, quickly and firmly. "No. Nope. We do not eat our classmates."
Thankfully this weirdness was definitely and totally covered by the introduction of the other girl who'd come over. "Nice to meet you, too, Persephone. I like your name. I mean, not in the 'I'm going to steal it and eat your soul' way, in the 'it sounds nice' way. Am I supposed to say that? Maybe I shouldn't have said that. Algernon says he likes you too. Well, he doesn't, but he should. He's just shy. Anyway, I like you." Anyone who liked mice could be a friend in her book. And Persephone had a book, too, so they were obviously off to a great start - or at least they would have been, if Cailet hadn't said anything about... well, everything, really.
Oh, good, a teacher. Maybe that would help. The teacher apparently had learned the value of not saying anything stupid, unlike Cailet, and there was just a weird gold sparkly bit and then they were... somewhere else, and she was... mouseless?
There was a sense of a blorp, and a vague darkening, and a brief thought of too many teeth, and then he was back on her shoulder. Maybe it said something about Cailet that of everything happening here today, she didn't seem to find that weird.
The teacher was speaking now, going over some rules about the dorms that seemed pretty simple - girls on one side, boys on the other, don't go into each other's dorms.
Wait, did that mean Algernon had to go into the boys' dorm?
He gave her a long-suffering and somewhat exasperated squeak. Apparently in his opinion, this matter was already settled... and she supposed it wasn't like he had any interest in the girl students. Of course, she didn't have any interest in the boy students, but her mom assured her it would happen eventually. Cailet wasn't so sure, but she supposed her mom was probably right. Even so...
Well, never mind. Cailet wondered if Persephone would be willing to share her book. And Algernon, she guessed, would be fine in the girls' dorm since there weren't any girl mice, and even if there were... well, the only thing Algernon had ever done with other mice - boys or girls - was eat them, so she guessed maybe there wasn't a problem there. She took refuge in taking one of the sheets of paper and a pencil, writing on it very neatly:
Apparently the mouse was the monster. Was Cailet simply it's host or was she something other than human? Aaron thought it might be rude to ask, so he kept quiet.
Without much of a warning, Madam Anastasia teleported the group to the Solstice's quarters. It hadn't been his first time teleporting, he should've gotten used to it by now, but it still made him a bit nauseous. He payed half attention to the professor's words - words he'd heard it a million times by now - and sat down at the nearest couch, pulling his phone out of his pocket and scrolling whatever the trendiest app was.