Fantasy Mediums

[OverconfidentMagi]

Prologue
Loose Pages​

He made no sound as he slipped into the office, his hands guiding the door back closed without so much as a click. His eyes scanned the room. As always he thought it obnoxiously large. That wasn't to say the room was in any way grand or ostentatious, in fact the whole place was rather spartan in its lack of fillings. There was a couch and chair facing an unlit fireplace to one side, a long bookshelf along the opposite wall, a large wooden desk against the far wall, and each too-large wall was covered with various paintings of things he didn't care to see. But furnishings in this room felt like small islands scattered across a vast ocean. The walls and ceiling of this room were simply too far apart.

But that was simply his opinion, and obviously the person whom this space belonged to was of a different opinion. He made the odyssey across the office. No one had been in the room, so he'd likely find them outside. Sure enough, pushing open the glass doors behind the desk, he was met by the sight of the two individuals he had intended to find sitting out on the balcony.

One was an older man with thinning hair, slightly overweight from far too many years enjoying exotic foods. Sitting across from him was a Japanese woman who at first glance might appear to be wearing traditional geisha makeup, but upon closer inspection one would realize that her skin was in fact simply so pale as to appear white. She leaned back in her seat and laughed at something the man had said. He allowed himself a sly grin for having delivered a quality joke, and that was when the man noticed that a third person had joined them.

"Matathius!" The older man beamed as his friend stepped out onto the balcony. "Come and join us," he moved his seat around the small table to fit a third chair, which was immediately pulled across the balcony into the created space. As Matathius took his seat he eyes the pitcher of sickeningly pink liquid on the table. The man noticed this and opened his mouth, "It's pink-"

"Pink lemonade vodka punch," Matathius named the drink.

"How in the blasted nine hells did you know that? Sadako just introduced me to the stuff today." The other man shook his head. "I have to say it's quite sweet on the tongue."

The woman, Sadako, laughed again. "Paul my dear, of course he would recognize the drink, it was being served at the last party the students threw just the other night." She took a sip of her own pink-filled glass. Matathius nodded in confirmation of what she'd said.

"So since you're back I take it all of the invitations have been delivered?" Paul asked eagerly. He always did enjoy getting a sneak peak at the incoming class.

Sadako's glass slammed down onto the table. "Let's get on with this then," she said. She took a napkin from the table and tossed it into the air. It floated naturally for a moment, then something quite unnatural happened to it. It unfolded, creating much more material than could have possibly been contained inside that original paper napkin. It kept opening and folding and expanding for a few moments, and when it was done a large white bird, made entirely of paper, was spreading its wings and shaking out its newly formed feathers. Strangely, many of the paper feathers making up one of its large wings appeared to have been torn.

"Should only be a few minutes more..." She left the rest of her words unsaid as the first new student submitted their form. It began as a swirl or dust, which grew into charred scraps, shifting back from gray to white and pulling together into a single sheet and finally ended with the filled out sheet affixing itself to the paper bird's wing in one of the spots that had previously appeared torn. "Eager I guess," Sadako said, taking another sip of her drink before leaning over and re-tearing off the freshly re-affixed paper feather. As soon as she did, a new fresh paper feather unfolded to replace it.

"Pass that this way, let's get a good look at them!" Paul Marrane, none other than the provost of Salomonis Regis University, leaned over the table eagerly to see the paper as Sadako laid it down on the table. Matathius remained how he was leaning back in his chair, but he'd be able to see the paper even if they didn't specifically move it for him to look at.

Spoiler: First Page

Sadako's tipsy smile gradually fell as she read the page. Paul frowned and turned to Matathius, who'd been watching his two friends' reactions to this particular submission. The provost cleared his throat. "Well, she's certainly..."

"Completely blind," Matathius said. "A miserable failure of a person." As usual, he did not temper his assessment.

Paul's expression was hard. "Are you certain about this one? She seems quite high-risk."

"Selfish," Sadako whispered. "Selfish and full of pain."

"Yes," Paul agreed. "Who knows what sort of choices she'd make if given access to incredible power. I don't like the feel of this one."

Matathius was silent for a few seconds. "Your job is to teach and guide these students. All you have to do is make sure she makes the right choices." He stood and walked over to Sadako's summon. It lowered its head as he ran a hand over its neck. His fingers came away with numerous tiny cuts that would hurt in a moment. He pulled the next sheet from the bird's wing an handed it to Sadako. "And even if she does make the wrong choices, even an uncontrollable weapon can be placed in a way to be made useful."

Paul and Sadako both refused to look at him after he'd said those words. The two of them saw the students that walked through the doors of the university as people, lives still full of individual potential. But Matathius saw things a bit differently. It was only necessity that kept them from disagreeing with him. They needed all of the students they could find.

Spoiler: Second Page

A period of silence fell over the balcony as the trio read over the next filled out form. Paul poked the page with a finger. "See this is a well-adjusted kid!"

"You just like the bit about becoming a Broadway star," Sadako said with a smile. "I'm surprised there are kids nowadays who even know what the theater is for."

"At least the kid knows what he wants!" Paul skimmed over the page again. "Even if they never actually reach them, it's good for children to set goals for themselves. I say, you can't trust a person who doesn't want anything." He set down the page on top of the first.

Spoiler: Third Page

Matathius glanced at the name on the third paper to appear before handing it over to the others. Neither said anything as they read, and each seemed uncertain as how to address this student. Now it was Matathuis' turn to smile. "My thoughts exactly," he said. "It's truly remarkable to see someone so lacking be given the potential. It makes one wonder if he's all he appears to be."

"I hope that's the case," Paul said. "If this is how he sees himself..." He shook his head. "He could become a problem."

"Well, even if he fails as a medium, I'd still like to taste some of those custom blends he mentions." Sadako smiled as downed the rest of her glass. This meeting of the three most important people heading Salomonis Regis University truthfully didn't matter at all. The individuals Matathius delivered invitations to, so long as they accepted, would be allowed entry into the school regardless of the opinions of herself or Paul. It was just an excuse for them to get together and talk, and usually drink, about the incoming class before they arrived and Matathius disappeared for half a year again.

Spoiler: Fourth Page

The trio sat in comfortable silence while they waited. There was usually a short burst of submissions that came in right away, but after that it would take a while for the others to trickle in. But it looked like one more student had been quick to fill their invitation.

"I like her answer to the magic question," Sadako said. "Her answers in general seems rather confused though."

"That is kind of the point," Matathius replied as he took from the glass of pink alcohol he'd poured for himself. "To assess their reaction when faced with something strange."

Paul shook his head. "This generation truly doesn't care for gods," he said sadly.

Neither Matathius nor Sadako disagreed with his words.

Spoiler: Fifth Page

It was some time before the next paper appeared, by which point Paul had gone red in the face trying to match Sadako's inhuman ability to absorb alcohol. Even Matathius had lost some of his characteristic aloofness as his glasses drained. Such was it that they only noticed the paper having arrived when the great paper bird ruffled its feathers to get their attention.

Paul grabbed the paper and gave it a quick glance. "HA! A trick of the eyes he says! Oh he'll be in for a good surprise." He let the paper fall out of his fingers and looked up at the sky, just starting to dim as the hour entered evening. With a wave of his hand the entire sky shimmered and then erupted into a brilliant pink aurora, the same exact color of the liquid filling the glasses that the three friends clicked together in cheers.

Sadako picked up the page and looked at it. "Guess I'll have to install some bars for acrobatics. The pool should be fine as it is, it was just expanded three years ago." She tossed the page into the slowly growing stack.

Spoiler: Sixth Page

The next paper to arrive had barely reattached to Sadako's summon when Paul pulled it back off. He'd taken a pen from his office and started doodling on the paper bird, so he'd noticed as soon as the page had started to form. The bird had not cared for being drawn on, so it was glad to have a distraction to offer the bothersome person.

"This kid's got a superhero name," Paul announced to the others with a chuckle. He kept reading. "Does the Halfway House have a garage?" He looked up at Sadako. She was in charge of the Halfway House.

"No, not really. Why?" She gave him a confused look. The Halfway House was a closed space, of course it would have no need for a garage.

"I suppose I'll have to move the kid's car to the main campus for a while then," Paul said to himself, offering no further explanation. He looked back down at the paper, but found his fingers empty.

"'A meadow made out of cotton candy'?" Matathius read aloud and started to laugh. "This kid should cut down on the soda before sleep." He continued reading. "Finally, one of these dumb kids gives a good answer!" He handed over the page to Sadako.

She skimmed down to where he'd been reading. "Ah," she said simply. "It looks like you'll have someone to play video games with this year. I suppose that means I will have to replace the consoles and televisions that the students manged to blow up last year after all." She read the last section and then set the paper onto the pile.

Spoiler: Seventh Page

A gagging sound came from across the table, causing Matathius to glance over at Sadako. "Something interesting in that one?" he asked, though his voice didn't come off as being too curious. He just wanted to force her to say what it was so he could give his retort in the proper order.

"This kid's answer to the best memory question," she tossed the sheet towards Paul so he could read it. "He watched his brother be born. It's gross."

"Well, I suppose that is a bit unorthodox..." Paul conceeded.

"Is it?" Matathius took another drink and shrugged. "This world is so full of prudes nowadays. I remember when delivering a baby was something the whole family, or the whole village even, played a part in. Course you'd get slapped around by the midwife if you said anything inappropriate, specifically about the mother's you-know-what, but that was half the fun of it."

Paul stopped reading at that. "Is that how you got that bruise!? I swear, it took you far too many years to figure out when to keep your mouth firmly shut. But tell me, what exactly did you say about that poor girl? I may have to smack you around myself depending on the answer."

Matathius let out a bark of laughter. "You'd like to try. Besides, to some women what I said might be taken as a compliment."

There was a cough from the third person present. "Apologies for being brought up to value personal privacy," Sadako's voice was cold. "Where clearly others were less so." Paul went back to reading the rest of the form, but Matathius was still just staring at her with an irritating grin. "Back to the topic at hand, I simply don't see it as appropriate for a child to witness a birth, regardless of who it is being born."

"I suppose you're still set on the whole never having kids thing then?" he saw her sharp glare and let out another laugh.

Spoiler: Eighth Page

Paul reached over to the growing pile of read-through pages and pulled one back out. "Huh," he finally forced the other two to look over at whatever it was he'd found interesting now.

"Yes, I did notice that," Matathius said dryly before Paul had even offered to show the pages in his hands.

"Is it the watch thing?" Sadako asked as she refilled her glass. How she'd not passed out from nearly emptying the pitcher just by herself was a mystery.

"If you both already knew, why didn't you say anything?" Paul tossed the pages back onto the pile.

"It didn't seem important," Sadako replied. "So Matathius can geek out about watches with this batch of students, what of it?"

"I don't geek out," Matathius shot back, taking out the old-fashioned pocket watch from his pocket and placing it on the table. He sent it spinning around and around with a flick, then stopped it and replaced it into his pocket. The pitcher of sweet pink alcohol had been refilled.

"It's still strange," Paul grumbled to himself. "I thought kids these days just used their cellular phones to check the time. Don't those things have everything in them?"

Matathius shrugged. "More or less. A cell phone and a good multi-tool can get just about anyone through any kind of situation."

The three lapsed into companionable silence while waiting for the next page to come in. Paul broke that silence. "Either of you know what a hunger games tribute is?" Matathius shrugged again. Sadako shook her head.

Spoiler: Ninth Page

Seeing which page had arrived, Matathius rose first to take it. He hadn't personally scouted this one, so he was curious about their answers. He handed the page to Paul with an annoyed sigh. "Nothing useful at all. It's your Asian acquisition."

"Russian technically," Paul corrected.

"Even worse. You'd better set up a tunnel to her place. I refuse to walk all the way there."

Paul waved a hand. "Fine fine, just be sure to pick her up on time."

"Hikari-chan?" Sadako perked up upon learning of whom they were speaking about. "She's agreed to come? That's wonderful! Oh, I should make sure that the house is all wheelchair accessible."

"That won't be necessary," Matathius spoke up. The firmness which which he said that was slightly offset by the bright pink drink in his hand, but even still neither of the others argued against his stance. Sadako seemed unhappy with it but remained silent.

Spoiler: Tenth Page

Sadako read through the page, mood still soured by Matathius's stubbornness. This student had a sick sister. If he wished, Matathius could probably arrange to have her fully cured and outside playing within the hour. But that wasn't how he was. He didn't do good deeds just for the sake of helping others. It had to align with his goals. She considered him a dear friend, but there were things about him that she hated. It was made even worse that she knew he was right. She handed him the page without saying a word.

"Hmm... fresh? Always smells like dead fish and salt to me." He placed the page onto the pile without commenting any further.

Spoiler: Eleventh Page

Paul was lying with his head on the table when the next page came in. It was the man's own fault for trying to match Sadako. If Matathius hadn't been diluting his own and Paul's drinks with water the whole time, the other man would probably be suffering from rather serious alcohol poisoning right about now. It was a good thing the provost never attended any of the student parties. He'd never survive it.

Sadako skimmed through the page. "An artist? Well she's a rather boring person." She tossed the page into the air, somehow having it end up in Matathius's open hand.

"This one," he remembered the face of who this page would belong to from the name. "She certainly doesn't know how to market herself at all. What terribly boring responses she went with. I mean, to be a 'morally upstanding person', really? What sort of goal is that? Boring as hell."

"A simple 'I don't know' would be preferable," Sadako agreed. She hoped this girl was more interesting in person, or at the very least could become someone more interesting that her answers implied.

They sat and talked and drank out on the balcony until the sun went down and the air cooled, reading together each form as it came in. They finally called it just before the day rolled over. They'd gotten in about half of the total forms. The rest would likely come in over the next few days. But the ritual of reading the early submissions together was done, and now each person had to return to their respective roles.

Sadako stepped back out onto the balcony, having returned from helping Paul to his rooms. She wasn't surprised to see Matathius still there, now sitting on the stone railing with his legs hanging out over empty space. Despite having drained the majority of a very large pitcher of alcohol, Sadako seemed unaffected. Her pale cheeks weren't even flushed. She joined Matathius in sitting on the rail.

He waved his hand and spoke a language she didn't recognize, and the unnatural aurora filling the sky disappeared back where it had come from. Sadako had been surprised the first time she'd seen Matathius give orders to Paul's summon, but by now she was used to seeing it. Those two had known each other for a very, very long time, it was perhaps natural that their summons would become familiar with the other.

"This semester there are going to be a few rather... unconventional students joining your class," he finally spoke up. "When something does happen, and it will, it's fine to make Paul aware of it, but under no circumstances is he to interfere or come to the Halfway House."

Her eyes narrowed. "By unconventional do you mean they might break one of the taboos?"

"I'm not sure what it is just yet, but I felt something strange when I was observing a few of the recruits. Somehow I think I was the one being watched. It might be nothing, but just in case it is something, I don't want Paul stepping foot inside the Halfway House."

"Very well, I will tell him he's banned from the grounds when he wakes." Sadako bowed and then stepped up onto the rail besides Matathius. She threw herself off the edge and onto the back of her summon. The stark white bird stood out brilliantly in the night sky, and then its white plumage filled with darker colors and the whole thing vanished. Sadako's summon was quite something.

Matathius stared at the night sky for a while longer, then took out an old fashioned pocket watch to check the time. "I better get going," he mused to himself. He closed the watch with a click and simply vanished.

 

[OverconfidentMagi]

Chapter One
The Halfway House​

Isabella read for the thousandth time the contents of the piece of paper in her hands. It had arrived in the mail just like that strange acceptance letter. Still no addresses, just her name in red ink and that strange wax seal stamped with a star. The paper contained in the second envelope was just as confusing and nonsensical as the first.

Dear Ms. Isabella Thompson,

Thank you and congratulations for choosing to become a student at Salomonis Regis University. Classes will begin the morning of August 21st. In order to access the campus, you will be picked up from the address you previously provided at 1PM on August 20th. Note that you will be housed in on-campus dorms, so have prepared whatever it is you wish to bring with you. If you do forget something it can be arranged to pick up said items.
I hope to meet you in person soon.

Sincerely,
Paul Marrane
Provost, Salomonis Regis University

So had that crazy acceptance letter actually been real? If so she'd agreed to attend a school that she knew literally nothing about. She'd searched for information about it, but all she'd found was that the name translated to King Solomon University. From there... nothing. The school didn't exist according to the internet. And the letter said that she'd be picked up from the address she'd provided? The only locations she remembered giving was the city she'd been born in and the city she lived in. Not exactly specific enough to plug into the GPS. But whoever this was had already delivered two very sketchy letters directly into her mail, so she supposed it went without saying that they had her address.

It honestly freaked her out more than a little bit. It felt like she was about to be kidnapped or something. That was why, when she heard a knock on the door at 1PM on August 20th, she made her way to the door with one hand holding tightly onto the paper, and in the other was her cell phone with 911 already punched in. If something did happen, all she had to do was hit one button.

She peeked out the window and saw a man wearing a dark suit patiently rocking back and forth on his heels with his hands in his pockets. He wasn't particularly tall, with short brown hair and dark eyes. He appeared to be whistling something, but she couldn't tell whatever it was. She lifted her camera and took a quick picture. When she looked at the picture she'd just taken, in it the man was staring right at her with a warm smile on his face. Shit, caught. Isabella opened the door slightly and glared at the man. The man pulled out a piece of paper, the same type that the previous letters had been written on, and after scanning it for a moment asked, "Ms. Isabella Thompson?" She said that yes, that was her name, and he nodded and put the page pack into his pocket. She briefly saw that it contained a list of names, some with check marks next to them. "Have you packed your things?" he asked, and then he backtracked. "Oh my apologies, I am the person sent to pick you up to bring you to where you'll be spending the next semester."

She'd figured as much, noticing that the person hadn't really introduced himself. Her hand hidden behind the door was still ready to hit that green button. "Yes," she said, adding, "It's upstairs. I'll be right back." And with that excuse she closed and locked the door and walked away.

"It's your choice," the man spoke from the other side of the door. "If you've changed your mind about attending, it isn't too late to back out. Simply tear up that piece of paper you're holding, and I'll leave. You can continue with your life how it was before, or I can take you to your new school. The choice is yours."

A minute later the door opened again and Isabella stepped out dragging a worn suitcase behind her. She let the man take it, making a point of ignoring his smile. "So where are you actually taking me?" she asked. "Where is this Salomonis Regis University?"

The man looked her way. "Taking you? You've already arrived."

Isabella blinked, then blinked harder. The man was gone. She slowly looked around. She wasn't standing in front of her house anymore. She was now standing in the middle of a large grassy field. There was perhaps a dozen other people her age standing and looking around exactly as she was, and as she watched another person, then another, simply appeared out of nowhere, just as she had a second ago. There was a large stone building in front of the field, or more accurately the field was the building's front yard, and behind the building there could be seen a large tower of the same stone construction. Sitting on a plain wooden chair between the newly arriving students and that building, calmly reading a paperback, was an odd-looking woman. She might have appeared to be Asian, with her angular features and long black hair, but her skin was the most pale white anyone present had ever seen, perfectly white in fact. In a short time the entire incoming class of twenty-one students had arrived and was standing confused on the grass. There were a few who asked questions, but for the most part it was quiet, each person just as in the dark as the rest.

When the final student had arrived in the yard, the woman closed her book and rose. She was surprisingly tall and thin, with an age that was impossible to place. She might have been only a few years older than the individuals standing in the grass or decades older. She addressed the cluster, "Welcome students, to the Freshman Campus of Salomonis Regis University, though it is more commonly known by the name it was given by past students that passed through its halls: the Halfway House. I am Sadako Kasahara. I am in charge of all that happens on this campus, and I am the person who will be primarily teaching you while you are here." She raised a hand to delay the coming questions. "Now I have no doubt that you each are bursting with questions, but first," she clapped her hands together and two long tables covered will all manner of light foodstuffs appeared on either side of the chair she'd been sitting in. On the grass, a half-dozen white sheets appeared, each with a collection of utensils, paper plates, and napkins. "It is pleasant out. Let us have a picnic. There is no better way to get to know strangers than over good food." She picked up an apple from a plate and took a seat squatting down on one of the sheets, motioning for the others to hurry and get something to eat. Children were quite infamous for their bottomless appetites, and if history was anything to go by those tables would soon be cleared.

The whole surreal scene had Isabella even more confused and uncertain than she'd started. She fingered her phone, still in her pocket where she'd put it after making up her mind to go with the man whose name she still didn't know. She pulled it out. Instead of ready to make a call with 911 typed in, the screen showed a text, sent to her own number so that it showed up twice.

# Me #

me

Relax, you're safe : )

them

Relax, you're safe : )

She dropped her phone back into her pocket and joined the flow of students making their way towards the tables of food. She didn't know what to think anymore. Hopefully that woman had told the truth about answering questions.

 

[Aeshae]

"Hey, I'm home." Basil called out absentmindedly as he opened the door to the cafe. His sister Juniper was behind the counter waving at him. It was about nine in the morning, and Basil had just done his regular jog. It wasn't necessarily something he did to look more fit or to feel better. It was honestly just because there wasn't a lot to do when he wasn't working, and Basil just was a bit boring like that. Not a lot of money to spend on hobbies, so him and his siblings had to make due.

"Hey kiddo, you alright? You seem out of it." His sister called to him, a small frown on her face.

"Ah, sorry. It's nothing. I'm going to go shower." Before Juniper could call out to him, Basil was already making his way up the stairs. With a sigh, he closed the bathroom door and turned on the faucet. It had been about a week or so since he submitted that letter, and absolutely nothing. His worst fears confirmed, Basil already understood it was just a prank. The main issue at hand was that his family still didn't know the truth.

Basil tip toed back to his room, a towel around his waist and his hair still sopping wet. Luckily it was empty, as Hazel was probably off running errands for the store. Throwing on some jeans and a loose fitting navy t-shirt, Basil began to dry his hair. 'Maybe over dinner would be the best way? No, maybe like super casually. Yeah right. I could just make a joke out of it, like I was in on it? Ugh, that's stupid Basil.'

With a sigh, Basil removed the towel from his hair and glanced to his bed.
A man in a nice suit sat on it, smiling idly.
Basil stared back.

"Hello there, Mr. Hibiscus I presume? Have you packed your bags?" The man spoke slowly, sure of himself yet also speaking as if to a frightened animal. It was close enough really.
Basil fell on to his back, one finger pointed out. "Wh-wh-I don't-" He stammered, eyes wide and glancing all over the room. The window? It was locked and closed. The front door? Juniper would have surely said something otherwise. The man raised his hand, attempting to interrupt whatever sorry excuse for speech that was.
"Please, calm yourself. Did you not read your letter?"

With a tilt of his head, Basil stopped. "What letter?"

The man paused. With a shake of his head he sighed, muttering below his breath, "See, this kid is exactly how he is on paper. Gods help me." Looking at Basil, he smiled patiently again. "You should have received an acceptance letter, to that of Provost, Salomonis Regis University." Basil stared back. Well, there was a similar looking envelope he found in the mailbox, but he assumed that it was just a follow up prank. Wait, does that mean...

"Are you saying I was accepted?!" Basil practically jumped to his feet, eyes watering. What hope that was snatched away was instantly back. Panicking, Basil immediately lunged to his closet and sifted through it. Finding two acceptable duffel bags, Basil began throwing large amounts of clothes inside. "Just give me a minute to pack my stuff sir!"
Sure enough, within a few moments Basil had packed up every material thing he owned. While a little pathetic it fit all in two duffel bags, that was just life. While checking the zippers, Basil asked, "So when do I leave? Do I send my things beforehand and you guys pick me up or do I have to drive somewhere?"

With a knowing smile, the man answered, "Well, it's a little more niche than that."

"What do yo-" Stopping, Basil turned to look at the man but he was not there anymore. Nor was the wall, his bed, his house, nor his family. Hell, even his bags were gone. He stood in a grassy field, with a beautiful woman staring at him and... Others? Basil gave a quick glance around, noticing that there were other students there as well. A few... literally popping in, and all of them looking just as confused as he.

To the right of him, a girl with crimson hair looked around, looking lost.
"...It is pleasant out. Let us have a picnic. There is no better way to get to know strangers than over good food."

A great picnic practically shimmered to life in front of his very eyes. The woman sat herself down and helped herself to an apple. Basil was at an absolute lost for words, and was quickly panicking. Had he been kidnapped? Had the prank somehow spiraled out of control to this? Is he on one of those late night prank shows? Whatever the case, he decided he should probably play along and do as the woman in charge says. Truth be told, he hadn't had breakfast yet so food did sound appetizing. "When in Rome..."

In a few moments, Basil had set up a small plate of some fruit and a sandwich from the table. Looking at the small sheets provided for sitting, he chose the one with an occupant that wasn't the woman in charge. With a nod he sat opposite of a girl similar in age to he with a camera around her neck. Basil didn't really have words to say, as he was still struggling with all of this. The only thing he could think to blurt out was, "Did you get a weird letter you had to burn too?"

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Settled on one of the picnic sheets, Jesse poked at the edibles he’d gathered on a paper plate as he pondered what food conjured out of thin air would taste like. Like regular food? Like magic? Was it even real?

Twice in one day he’d been subjected to acts he could not explain. The first was he found himself suddenly “teleported” from the safety of his apartment to a grassy field of what seemed to be the front lawn of some place called the Halfway House. The second was when a lady who claimed to be their teacher magicked a picnic for them with a clap of her hands. If he had any doubts about the existence of unseen forces it was rapidly dwindling.

His “pickup” had said as much, but there was a difference hearing about magic and seeing it for oneself. Jesse didn’t know what to think. He’d gone along with the acceptance letter out of curiosity. If it was an elaborate prank, he’d meet the culprit and get maybe get a good laugh out of it. If not…well…it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Learning magic, that is.

For free.

Not the misdirection kind either.

Stabbing a cherry tomato with a fork, Jesse brought the fruit to his lips as he focused on the pale woman that greeted them with interest. Some kind of witch? Magician? Practitioner of the Arcane Arts? Was she even human? As someone who’d worked with stage props and effects in his highschool years, he’d seen the way magic was worked on stage. The effects of lighting. The use of wires and smoke. All an attempt to mimic the wild fantasies of authors and playwriters for the audience. Never, in his right mind, did he imagine he would find himself in a REAL Wizard of Oz scenario.

In fact, if he didn’t know any better, he would’ve thought he was still dreaming. Wouldn’t be the first time his dreams took on a fantastical direction. He did watch a lot of movies and plays in his spare time, after all.

“Tastes real enough,”

Sweeter than he was used to, but definitely a cherry tomato.

For now, he was content with silently observing his surroundings. Some students appeared to be confused. Others confident. Though, with some, it was hard to tell if they knew what they were doing or were simply going with the flow. One thing was for sure, Sadako Kasahara probably wouldn’t start talking until they were all settled so Jesse crossed his legs and stabbed another tomato all the while listening to the conversations around him.

 

[Demonsoul]

It didn't make sense. The school lacked a website which supported it being an smaller classical school. However it seemed to be able to freely give out full rides. Where did the school's money come from. It confused her, but she was accepted none the less.

She had just finished packing up. Three boxes of books, two full boxes of instant ramen, two suitcases of clothes, a case of toiletries, and a laptop. Quite a lot of items, but it felt like a necessity since she wouldn't have the chance to go back the whole semester. She sat on her couch, checking off things on her hands. She remembered to make sure the apartment would be paid for while she was gone. She turned off the utilities so she wouldn't be charged. Everything seemed to be in order.

The doorbell rang, exactly on the listed time of 11 AM. She swiftly answered it revealing a man in a dark suit. "Francesca Lockhart?" Her suspicions proved that this was the person to pick her up from school.

"I have my stuff packed up, do you need help with them?" Francesca answered immediately.

"That wont be necessary."

Suddenly Francesca felt rather nauseous and when her eyes opened she wasn't at her apartment any longer. She was standing in a field and one simple remark entered her mind: Was I drugged? As she looked around she saw students appearing out of thin air. I must have been drugged and this is a dream. It was the only thing that made sense. The nausea was clearly from motion sickness that she was prone to. She must be sleeping in a car they drugged her and stuffed her in. She must be kidnapped. It's the only logical solution. Well lets see how far this rabbit hole goes. She sat on one of the blankets but didn't eat due to her nausea.

 

[CactusJuice]

Spoiler: The pickup

Jacob Jones found himself lying in his bed staring at another creepy letter again. He read it one more time. It still had virtually no identifying information on it. Stranger still, he couldn’t find any information on the school. The closest thing he could find was the Clavicula Salomonis Regis which he believed translated to “Lesser Key of Solomon”. Named after the great king Solomon, it was “grimoire” on demonology. The thought caused him to shiver. Had he accidentally applied to some sort of cult? Some of the questions would have made a lot more sense if he had. Whoever they were, they’d either predicted he’d accept, or they knew he filled in and burned the previous letter somehow. His eyes widened. Did that mean they somehow knew what he'd written down? He couldn’t help but blush a bit and cover his face with his hands. Jacob could practically see it now; the head cultist reading what Jacob had written to all of his followers. “At that point it’d be better if they just killed me.” He groaned.

Jacob’s gaze traveled over to the packed backpack and suitcase on the ground beside him. It had all the essentials. His laptop, his DS, his headset, the chargers for everything he was bringing, and some snacks he’d packed. It also had a couple weeks worth of clothes and some toiletries. For some reason, he’d still packed. It was probably because he may or may not have gloated about being accepted for a full ride to that blonde bimbo without thinking. His father had overheard and had said he was proud of Jacob. It was something Jacob hadn’t heard for a long time, so he couldn’t let his father down. He did feel a bit bad about leaving so suddenly. His younger sister had actually been sent to school crying this morning. A small, sad smile formed on his face. She was one of the few people here that he’d actually miss.With the fateful time approaching, Jacob move his things toward the front door.

As 11 am approached, Jacob found himself pacing. If no one showed up at the door, it would be even worse than if a cultist had. He’d never hear the end of it from his step mother, and he could already see the disappointed look in his father’s eyes. He pulled out his phone. “10:59?” He looked out the window but saw no one. He looked back at his phone. Had he given them his number? Maybe they were running late. The clock changed to 11:00, and, as if on cue, a knock came from his door.

Jacob opened the door to find a man in a nice, dark suit. He didn’t look like a cultist to Jacob, but you never know. When he scanned the paper of names he had, the man stifled a snicker. "Mr. Jacob Jones?"

Jacob sighed and nodded. He got that a lot. His name was just another one of many things people used to make fun of him.

“I am the person sent to pick you up to bring you to where you'll be spending the next semester. Have you packed your things?" He asked.

Jacob reached for his bags but hesitated. He had no idea what or where this “college” was. This man could have all kinds of nefarious things planned for him.

Noticing this, the man added, “It's your choice. If you tear up that piece of paper you're holding, I'll leave. You can continue with your life how it was before, or I can take you to your new school. The choice is yours.”

Jacob found this a bit reassuring. If he was joining a cult, at least they seemed friendly. His mind wandered to what “continuing with his life” would be like. He would work his ass off all day just to be asked to to do more work when he got home. All his friends were gone, and he couldn’t even talk to his councilor anymore. The closest thing to a friend he had nearby probably WAS his little sister, and an elementary schooler wasn’t exactly the best person to vent problems to. Just thinking about it made him feel lonely, so he would do something he’d never really done before. His mouth formed into a thin line of determination as he slung his backpack over his shoulder and grabbed his suitcase. He’d take a leap of faith into the unknown. A few moments passed, and he realized he hadn’t actually said anything. “...I, uh, I-I’m ready.” He stammered as he stepped out the door. “So what exactly does this university specialize in teaching? Is it actually a certified school? Wait, where is it even?”

The man held of a finger to stop his barrage of questioning then simply smiled. “It’s where you are.”

It only took a blink for him to immediately regret his decision. He found himself in a field or rather a large front yard with about twenty other people who looked like they were about his age. Had he been drugged? One of the first steps to cult indoctrination was isolation. Jacob felt for his phone and pulled it out. He watched as it skipped forward two hours like it was updating to a new timezone. He quickly checked the date. Then he gave himself a pat down. Oddly enough, nothing seemed out of place except for this strange text message he’d received from himself. A pale, important looking woman than began to talk, and Jacob’s mind was filled with questions, but she stopped all of them with a raised hand. Before his very eyes food appeared along with some picnic sheets. He rubbed his eyes, but it was all still there when he opened them again. His school counselor had been wrong. Jacob started fidgeting with his hair, and a smile slowly cracked his face. She had assured him that people never “just snap”; she said there was always some underlying psychological cause. He began chuckling to himself. This earned him some strange looks and extra space from some of the other students there, but Jacob didn’t seem to notice them anymore. His mind was caught in a web of worry of his own making. Maybe the anxiety had been the cause but either way . . . “...the blonde bimbo finally did it. She finally pushed me over the edge!” That was his only explanation for this. He must have somehow developed schizophrenia or something even worse. Jacob couldn’t help but chuckle, because if he stopped, he’d probably cry.

Once he was chuckled out, Jacob slowly made his way over to the food. It seemed his sense of sight, hearing, touch, and smell had all been impaired, but, if he took a bite from this obviously not real food, maybe some discrepancy in taste would snap him out of it. He put a hand on his growling stomach. Not to mention, he was pretty hungry. He gathered a sandwich, chips, and some celery sticks on to his plate. Jacob sat down at a white sheet by himself not particularly wanting to seat himself next to the Queen of Crazy Kingdom. He took a bite out of his provolone and turkey sandwich. It tasted like it was pretty well-made, delicious even. He shook his head. “No, it’s not real. It’s not real.” He continued to mutter this to himself as he ate his meal. His strangeness kept most the other students from sitting near him.

 

[OverconfidentMagi]

One of the new arrivals was a young man who went by the name Isaac. He looked like he'd just rolled out of a messy bed. His unruly brown hair stuck up in all directions, and his dark eyes were hidden behind too-big glasses. His long-sleeved shirt was likewise too big for his thin frame, and it seemed to be a theme of everything on him. There had to be a good belt somewhere beneath that shirt for his shorts to not immediately fall around his feet. He looked around like all of the rest, turning to stare as each new person arrived. But he turned just a bit too quickly, always looking where a person appeared just a fraction of a second before they suddenly appeared without warning.

When Sadako called forth the food, he stepped forward and piled two plates with as much food as they could structurally withstand. He seemed completely focused on not losing even a scrap of the incredible amount of food he was carrying that he didn't look up once before suddenly sitting down on one of the sheets. Without waiting he started shoveling food into his mouth, his actions matching his appearance to give anyone watching the impression that he hadn't eaten much before right this moment. When he finally stopped to take a break to breathe, he gave a sheepish smile to the other person who'd already claimed a part of this sheet. It was an unusual-looking young woman. Not to say she was ugly, not at all. In fact most of the young men here would have called her quite stunning. What was unusual was her hair. It was white as snow, and not the dirty brownish kind of snow either. "Uh... hi," he said lamely. Noticing she hadn't gone up to get any food for herself, after a moment he gestured to his so-far untouched second plate, still piled high with all manner of food. "You should try some of the food," he offered. "It's really good, and it isn't every day you get magicked right into a picnic buffet. I'm Isaac by the way." The smile he put forth seemed a bit forced. He definitely came off as someone unaccustomed to socializing.

"Is anyone sitting here?" A much taller young man pointed at an unclaimed corner of the sheet that Isaac and the white-haired girl were occupying. He had an almost unreasonable amount of freckles covering his face and arms, with many more no doubt hidden beneath the plaid shirt he was wearing. The guy looked like he'd stepped out of any generic picture of people working on a farm, with one glaring exception: instead of thematically-appropriate cowboy boots, he was wearing plain sneakers. Somehow Isaac seemed even scrawnier next to this guy. But if he noticed, Isaac didn't show it, and the other guy had taken a seat beside him. He introduced himself as Collin Williams and seemed stuck on the word 'wild' when talking about everything that had happened up until this moment.

Another person decided to take the remaining corner of the sheet when Collin got up to grab more food for himself. He seemed to be taking the amount of food in front of Isaac as a challenge. The fourth person to sit down with them was a pretty blonde girl who introduced herself as Sarina. She'd sat down with a cup full of what seemed to be coffee and had politely shut down Isaac and Collin suggesting she try the food. If no one looked close enough to see that half the time she raised her cup to her mouth she lowered it without having actually taken a sip she might seem completely composed about everything that was happening.
( Demonsoul )


Despite his ravings, a person sat down across from Jacob. Like Jacob, his plate consisted of little more than a plain-looking sandwich and some fruits and vegetables. He had light blond hair and seemed well-dressed. He raised the sandwich to his mouth, then lowered it and pointed his gaze at the other boy. His blue eyes were cold. "You're being annoying. This is real." He went back to eating. A minute later, when there were a few less open places to sit, someone else joined the sheet where Jacob and the boy named Michael sat.

She glanced curiously between the two before taking her seat. She had short dark hair and red-rimmed glasses. When it was clear that the other boy was making an active effort to ignore her, she finally spoke up herself. "Why hello, yes it is nice to meet you. Strange day we're having, isn't it? Oh yes, I was also abducted and dumped in this place without any memory of how I got here. My name? Why thank you for asking, it's Maria, Maria Moores. I recommend trying the pastries, they're so good it's like they were made by magic." The stream of commentary cut off, and she returned to picking at her food as if she hadn't said anything at all.

"Michael," Michael said.

She smiled. "See, that wasn't so hard! What about you, what's your name?"
( CactusJuice )


Isabella looked at the guy who'd decided to talk to her. Well... at her, but whatever. "Yes," she decided to answer truthfully. Just from the fact that he'd asked it seemed likely that he, and probably everyone else here, was in the same boat she found herself lost at sea in. "No address, wax seal, lots of strange questions, rip off and burn if yes." She summarized her experience in short bits of words as she continued to stare around. She checked to make sure her camera's flash was off, then started to take pictures. Of the building, the tower visible behind it, of the tables of food, and when she thought no one would notice to mind, of the other people in the yard, including the strange woman who'd said she was in charge. When she took that picture, she jumped because the woman was staring right at her with a knowing smile. But she took the picture anyway. It was impossible to know if evidence of this all might become important.

As if an afterthought, she turned the camera towards the people sitting around her. There was the guy who'd talked to her, a guy who seemed to really like his tomatoes, and a girl who hadn't said anything after taking the remaining corner of the sheet. She seemed to be taking this whole situation even worse than most of the others. Or maybe it was the opposite, and everyone else was simply taking it too well. Isabella snapped a picture of each of them with three quick clicks.

"This might sound a bit strange," she said, "but do any of you remember how you got here?"
( Aeshae QuirkyAngel )

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Jesse smiled for the camera that was pointed at him. Never in his life had he ever considered himself camera-shy. Not when he was a child and certainly not now that he intended to be a star on stage. Though he did find the girl snapping an image of everything she saw amusing.

“How? No.” He replied to the redhead’s inquiry. Pushing at the tomatoes on his plate, Jesse continued. “The only thing I remember is the smug look of the man that sent me here.”

If he could explain how he’d gotten to wherever he was, it wouldn’t have been magic in the first place. He hadn’t drunk anything. Hadn’t even left his apartment. One minute he was questioning the stranger about the sort of things he would be learning at Salomonis Regis University, demanding proof, and the next thing he knew he was in a grassy field with a dozen others.

Turning to the boy the camera girl had spoken to, Jesse grinned. “She’s not the only who burned a letter, by the way. I did too. How the school managed to receive a letter I was certain I’d destroyed only adds to the mystery, don’cha think? ”

Racking his mind trying to come up with theories that would logic everything into place was far too exhausting and a waste of time, especially if the puzzle pieces refused to fit. Easier to just accept the things he saw in front of his eyes. Deal with things as they come. University hadn’t been a part of his life plans, but then, a becoming a character in some sort of fantasy setting hadn’t been a part of it either.

Adjusting himself into a more comfortable position, Jesse glanced toward the sky. Since everything turned out not to be an elaborate prank, he’d have to write a letter to his roommate once he got the opportunity explaining his situation. Wouldn't be good if the guy called the police. His boss would probably be annoyed if he suddenly stopped showing up after the first few weeks so that would have to be settled as well. Quitting was one thing, but he didn’t want to burn bridges. Ah well. He’d deal with all that later. Or maybe his pickup would.

 

[SoftSmile]

Spoiler: Pick up

Hikari was packing her things in her and her mother's room, sitting in her more refined wheel-chair that her mother had bought her just for the occasion of going into public. A long with the new blue clothing that her mother ' insisted greatly ' on wearing. She never wore it, because she feared it would be ruined easily from it's bright hue. Though, she supposed if it did happen she would just clean it. Pulchrin, the feline was sitting on her twin bed that was right next to her mother's identical one. He meowed for attention before she left. " Of course I would say goodbye to you, Babushka. " She spoke in Russian. She learned Russian and Japanese, a long with her frequent English classes. Hopefully she was able to understand the students at the school.

Then a knock at the door came. " One moment! " Her English had a strong accent to it, but it was understandable. She closed her small suit-case, kissing the feline and petting him one last time. She had already left a note on the fridge bidding her mom a happy goodbye since she had to work. All that in mind, she pushed the wheels of her chair forward until she was at the door. Opening it, she saw a strange man standing there-- One that you would usually get a bad vibe from before he stuffed you into his white van. Though, there was no vehicle. Strange? Hikari simply raised an eyebrow.

" Greetings, Miss Ai, correct? " She nodded her head at the sound of her name, and she knew that was a greeting. Her acceptance letter sat on top of her suitcase that was resting on her lap, she had been excited to go but sadly all that energy drained when she had to change herself into uncomfortable clothes. He looked down and saw her things already packed. He smiled and looked back down at her. " Are you ready to go where you'll be spending the rest of the semester? " She understood some of it, she knew it involved going somewhere so she simply said. " Yes. "

Then. She was at another place, she quickly looked around in confusion. Hopefully not all English schools operated like this, that seemed.. Impossible. No, wasn't this a magic school? She had almost completely forgotten. It seems other students were gathered as well, at least she assumed they were students. This was much better than a white van that claimed it had free ice cream inside. When everyone was retrieved a woman began speaking, Hikari didn't understand most of what she was saying -- Though she hoped she had caught the gist that she was an instructor here and these other people were in fact, students. Then, all of the food appeared.

Oh my mercy she had never seen this much food. It seemed the other students were grabbing what they needed and sitting down. Ah, yes, tables. One of her worst enemies, the act of moving from the wheelchair to the table so you could eat with everyone else. Tables and stairs. Evil. She pushed her wheels forward, going over to where the food was served. She grabbed a plate, and put a few items on it. There was no need to be greedy, she had eaten before she had arrived after all. Putting her plate on her lap, she began to roll away to a more secluded area. She would get to know her classmates later, they looked busy anyway.

So she ate the items from her plate with her utensils like she was taught, watching the students converse with each other with a stoic look. Yes, this was indeed going to be a long semester for Hikari.

 

[Psyche]

Skylar examined the letter with a slightly disturbed expression on her face. Someone was coming to her house on August 20th, at 12am? Currently she couldn't help but freak out slightly. The letter was way too shady and vague for her to feel comfortable in the slightest. She got accepted, to the most shady sounding university in existence, and someone was personally coming to pick her up? Fearing that it was some sort of stalker, or someone pulling a horrible prank she set up a camera outside so she can make sure it wasn't some maniac, and if she mysteriously vanishes without a trace the police would have some lead.

It was finally August 20th, and the brunette couldn't help but feel slightly uneasy. She thought back to last week when she had gotten the letter. She remembers getting into a fight with her mother, and then when she said she would never get anywhere in life- Skylar decided it was a great time to tell her she got accepted to a college. Granted, the two letters made her feel off. She saw how that calmed her mother's annoyance into something akin to excitement, she couldn't bring herself to say that she was 99% sure it was either a prank or something worse. So she had packed her bags, getting ready for wherever this trip is.

As twelve o'clock hit, she felt someone knock on the door. Feeling slightly uneasy, and glad at the fact that bother her mother and sister are out, she went to her monitor and checked the cameras to see a man in a suit. Seeing no weapons on him, and no shady vehicles, or any vehicles exactly. How did he get here? She shrugged it off, took her phone with her and opened the door, and she stares at the man, slightly uneasy. She sees him looking at the paper and says,

"Ms. Skylar Selene?"

The brunette gave a nod, she nods her head and sees him smile. "Do you have everything for the next semester?" She felt panic slightly rise, is she really going to go through with this? She gives a shaky nod and says, "Uh- yes? Give me a moment, the bags are in the den currently." Right before she almost slams the door, she hears him say, "If you've changed your mind about attending, it isn't too late to back out. Simply tear up that piece of paper you're holding, and I'll leave. You can continue with your life how it was before, or I can take you to your new school. The choice is yours." This was either the strangest, and kind kidnapper she has ever seen before, or she genuinely got accepted to a university. With that hopeful thought in her head, she said a quick thank you and went to go grab her bags, along with her phone that she hid in her pockets in case she needed to call 911. She let the man hold it but felt a little put off by his smuggish smile. She re opens the door and says nervously, "Alright, I am ready-" She steps outside her house and a thought hit her. She still doesn't see a car, or anything that signals any form of transport and finds herself asking, "How exactly do we get there?"

Right before she was about to take back her thoughts of going, she saw a grin on his face as he very simply responds with- "Magic".

That's how a moment later, Skylar found herself in an admittedly beautiful area, where it seemed to be a... picnic was taking place? Did that man drug her, or was this some very odd and specific dream. She felt panic settle in, and grabbed her cellphone, calling 911. She saw a text come through, assuring her she was safe but that did next to nothing to ease her worries. Maybe this was some cult initiation, or they were planning some demonic ritual? Skylar attempted to call the police, just for the line to turn up dead.

Chalking all this up to some sort of disturbing dream, or some really considerate kidnappers, or a prank gone awry, she decides to just enjoy it till it ends and whatever the harsh reality of this situation surfaces. The brunette takes a seat and serves herself a reasonable amount of food, wondering what exactly is going on.

 

[NyxDarling]

August 20th 1:00 pm, thats the date and time the next letter told him to wait, his parents none the less didnt work him any less. Work was a day to day thing in this household, fortunatley for him he was able to talk to his brother everynight about what the school might be like, and philosophize about whether or not magic is real and all that. Which was odd and somewhat difficult to do. Seeing as the conversation had to be done in sign language. At a rapid pace because henry didnt know how to calm down about the damned topic. Pushing his locks out of his brow, Atalis gently watched his brother feverently sign 'so what will you do once they get here tonight, and are you definitely sure you cant bring me?' Giggling at his brothers feverence on the topic, he lifted his palm and ruffled the boys ginger locks "well, I guess ill see what I shall do once they get here. Why worry about it until it happens. Take life head on yknow~" Henry didnt seem to like that response, maybe because Atalis purposefully left out the bits about Henry coming with him. Henry than pouted heavily and turned away from him, his back puffing out towards him in disdain. Atalis sighed gently "hey kiddo, I know you want to come. But you gotta grow up first! Than you can join me on this adventure. And just because it asked about magic doesnt mean this academy will have it" he tried to keep his town equal and calm, but emotion betrayed him as his ending tone trailed of with a sad quiver. He didnt like the idea of leaving his brother behind, his parents he wasnt so worried about. They would do fine without him...of course he hadnt told him about the leaving part. As he had grabbed the second letter before either of them has seen it. ' im gonna go to sleep, night bubba' Henry finnaly had turned to him and signed a goodnight, before giving him a quick embrace and sliding over onto the bed and pulling the sheets over his small frame. Atalis gave his little brother a rub on his back before standing and looking at the time. " well....damn...better start packing" he silently said to himself.

Packing was an odd thing to do, seeing as he had never done it in his life, he didnt have much. Clothes, and basic shoes. A couple books and a sketchbook. He didnt have a phone so he didnt need any electronics or chargers. He paused at his fathers pocket watch, his fingers shaking gently as he nimbly placed the memorian into his bag. Fighting back tears he chocked on a stone in his throat. Trying his best not to cough from the feeling of fighting tears " damn this is harder than I though. Gonna miss them all..." He chocked the words out before turning and heading out into the hallway, pausing once again to look right towards his parents room. It was their weekend so they were fast asleep still, lazy bastards. He chuckled at this thought before waving at their door and blowing a kiss that they would never know of. "Love you ma, love you dad" he whispered under his breath before heading to the diner and sliding himself into one of the many red lined seats, which honestly always hurt his back. Although this thought was quickly erased by a knock on the windowed door, which made him jump out of his skin. Standing tall he made his way to the door with his one and only suticase and backpack slung across his back. Although being rather clumsy, as he reached the door he slipped and fell face first before being able to reach out and open the door for the man awaiting him. "FUCKIN CHRIST" He hollered a little to loudly, before quickly and anxiously grasping the knob to the door. Opening it hurriedly, he was taken aback at first by what he saw. The man before him had almost amber brown eye's, deep and mysterious...almost captivating, his stance seemed odd and peculiar, to straight and fine tuned to really be human. But not odd enough to be called supernatural. "H...hello...are you here for uh...me?" He didnt exactly know how to phrase his words, his tone was oddly inquisitive and shakey at the same time "yes, I assume that means your accepting our offer to come to the academy" the man smiled a somber smile, his glance drawing up and meeting Atalis's gaze. Atalis took a step back, his whole being shaking with vivid oddness. "Yes" and within a second everything his world was changed. The man disappeared and the entire scenery changes, and once again he lost his balance, baffling forward and face first into a mouthfull of dirt, which in all honesty to himself the dirt didnt taste half bad.

Awkwardly he raised himself onto his knees look about the open glade of green, tree's o plently lined the immediate surrounding area. The other students didnt even come inro his vision at first, he was to impressed with the mass amount of nature. Being raised in a city setting made him used to the colors red grey and black. Rather than the vibrant greens and reds and browns he know saw before him. An accented voice drew his attention however, his head swivelling and registering the other 20-21 people in front of him. Whose attention he had most likely drawn from his rather overtly foolish entrance.
"Welcome students, to the Freshman Campus of Salomonis Regis University, though it is more commonly known by the name it was given by past students that passed through its halls: the Halfway House. I am Sadako Kasahara. I am in charge of all that happens on this campus, and I am the person who will be primarily teaching you while you are here."
it was all to surreal, everything felt to real to be real, you know like those vivvid dreams that you swear are real..but than you wake up. He slapped himself just to make sure, his palm whistling in the direction of his cheek, and cracking against his visage. The pain and heat of embarrassment was almost instant. "Well...its real...this is real" he baffled at himself as he stepped forward and past the rest of most of the students, glancing at the asian eccentric lady who was speaking, and then at everyone else around him, and than ate the food along the picnic blankets and plates. And before sadako said "It is pleasant out. Let us have a picnic. There is no better way to get to know strangers than over good food."
He had found his way to a scrumptious tasting pastrie which exploded with flavor in the back of his mouth, his eyes rolling backwards as his exclaimed loudly " god this tastes heavenly! Where was this made...who made it! Gotta learn the recipe" he proclaimed vivvidly, looking over at sadako for an answer.

 

[PastelBeauty]

The boats were scattered over the harbor like fall leaves in a pond. The colors were beautiful, random, bringing forth echoing memories from Klaus's childhood spent on the shore. He rocked back on his worn heels, hands deep in his jeans as he cast weary eyes into the fall onshore breeze. The boats bobbed on the waves, turning a little as they did in their chaotic dance. The fishermen were home long ago, as should he be; but he wasn't ready to cast this scene to memory just yet. He wanted it to be his present for a while longer, to fill his senses. The cold air brought salt to his lips, the cry of the gulls that wheeled overhead in their lazy arcs filled his ears and the pebbles shifted underfoot. No music could be finer for Klaus, the symphony of color, taste and sound could not be replicated on a CD or in a photograph. He would only move from the spot once the daylight robbed him of the scene, stealing the colors and replacing them only with charcoal.
The man that had come to pick him up had arrived and as quickly as he had appeared he was gone. Klaus was standing in front of a completely different scenery. Laid on the long oak table is an amount of food that on any other day would be expected to last several more months. Klaus craved the sensation of fullness and the richness year round. At the sight of the delicacies his mouth begins to water. There are pheasants and goose, a bowl of roasted root vegetables, creamy sauces with garden herbs and best of all there are fresh tomatoes. With the aroma of the food igniting memories we bow our heads and hold hands, then we thank God for this bountiful harvest, for each other and for the salvation he bestowed through Jesus Christ. After that we dig in with joy, piling plates and not minding our manners. Manners are not for feasts! And we talk, laugh, reminisce. Then between mouthfuls the students begin to tell tall tales…

Klaus always thought of "drowsy" as a soft word, like "blanket" and "hug." The chemicals in his blood feel more like a leech in his cranium, sucking his ability to keep his eyes open and his brain switched on. The world blurs like a painting caught in the rain too soon and this was all due to him eating warm food that didn't sit like the cold canned beans he had earlier. Without the complex workings of his conscious mind he looked so vulnerable and childlike, his breaths were even and calming, the expression on his face no longer stressed but relaxed. His eyelids fluttered, but he seemed too out of it to notice.
There's a kind of tired that needs a good night's sleep, and another that needs so much more. For Klaus, one became the other, starting out as the "one night kind" until one day it was ever present - like it once was a heavy jacket but became heavy bones. It was then he knew that being tired could be a wearing of the emotions too, that it can come together with a tired body, and become an ingrained part of a life that isn't lived, but survived, endured. He wasn't born for that and neither were others. We didn't come to be on a planet of such beauty and abundance to live like this, so drained, stressed, too thin to cope with life's storms and help others with theirs. When is the time for dancing, for play, laughter and long evenings of happy chatter? Because that is the medicine we all need: fun, friendship, good times.

Hopefully the tour of the Halfway house would begin and Klaus would be able to lay his weary head on a soft pillow. He would also get in contact with his mother later on in the evening, but for now he visibly shook himself awake. His eyes were tired, but he would make a valiant effort in listening to every detail about the Halfway House, the rules and regulations and what to expect in this first semester of this strangely unique university.

 

[OverconfidentMagi]

Lei took a deep breath, hands together in front of her, eyes closed. Hold. And breath out. Violent sounds and guttural words filled her ears, so loud. She breathed in again, and someone tapped on her shoulder. She breathed out, and dropped her headphones down to hang around her neck. She muted her music and looked up.

"I guess I should've just sat," an awkward-looking young man pulled back his hand. He seemed to have a problem with keeping himself still, Lei thought.

"Yeah, probably," she said simply. For some reason she felt sorry for the guy, but she had no idea why. He'd been the one to interrupt her few seconds of meditation to calm down. Why did the guy have to look so uncomfortable talking to her? She hadn't even done anything to him yet.

"The name's Delmar," the guy held out a hand. He was tall, but his arms and legs weren't muscled enough to look filled out. Lei thought he looked a bit like one of those waving tube-things she saw outside car dealerships, an image not helped by him still not seeming able to keep himself still for even a second. The pants and white shirt he wore made it clear that he'd dressed up. All dressed up, and for what? What was actually supposed to be happening here?

Lei stared at him until he fidgeted even more, then finally pitied him enough to take his hand long enough to shake it. His hand was sweaty. It was gross. "Lei Xu," she said, giving up any hope of being left in peace until her abductors were willing to hand out more information. She turned off her music completely but left the headphones around her neck. She felt it, like the obnoxious red Converse and matching beanie and denim vest, added to the cliche-hipster look she'd decided to stick to this week.

"So... you, uh, know anything about all this?"

"Nope."

"Oh... makes sense." Delmar decided that it might be more productive to search for answers on his plate and started to pick at the food he'd taken.

Another guy sat down opposite Lei, thankfully not choosing to attempt conversation. She looked him up and down. The dark hair and blue eyes were a nice combination, but he seemed to have no manners at all as he gorged himself on the food he'd brought with him from the table, so that was a solid negative. She was more interested in his sense of fashion anyway. If she took his glasses and scarf, it'd probably make her look that much better. But she wasn't sure she could pull off the scarf look - she'd lived in Cali, she probably would mess up trying to even wear a scarf normally, let alone fashionably - and of course she didn't need glasses. Still, he managed to pull off the look. If only he had better manners. Such a loss.

The last spot was taken by a plain-looking girl with black hair. Lei gave her one glance and dismissed her. Nothing fashionable to see here. She did pity the girl, but for once not for anything related to looks. Lei pitied the girl because it looked like Delmar was going to try and talk to her. As if right on cue...

"Hey," he spoke up, "I'm Delmar, that ball of sunshine is Lei, what're your names?" ( PastelBeauty Psyche )



"Miss Kasahara," a pretty young woman with wavy light brown hair pounced to be the first person to sit beside the mysterious older woman. It was never too early to get closer to the person who claimed to be in charge.

Sadako Kasahara turned her dark eyes on the student. "Haley Gardiner," she said after a quick mental review of the names and faces of this group of students. She was rewarded by the girl's look of surprise. "What is it my dear?"

Haley hesitated. She was impressed that this person she'd never met already knew her name. Was there something about her that stood out to the woman, or had she actually memorized the names of every single new student here? She hoped it was the former. "Uh, yes. I was just wondering. You called this the Freshman Campus. Where are all of the upperclassmen? Do they have their own campuses somewhere else?"

"After freshman year students are moved to the main campus for the remainder of their time with the university," Sadako answered. "Given the nature of what we teach, it's best to keep the inexperienced students separate from those who do know slightly more. It's mutually beneficial for both sides."

Haley nodded eagerly, as if understanding the woman's words completely. So there was just the freshman campus and the main campus then. That seemed like useful information at least. Not that her question had really mattered.

What Sadako neglected to say was the secondary reason new students were kept away from the university proper. It would be hard for them to accidentally, or intentionally, let slip information they couldn't have, such as the location and other secrets of the school. The Halfway House. Halfway to becoming a medium. Halfway to the point of no return.

"God this tastes heavenly! Where was this made...who made it!? Gotta learn the recipe."

Sadako turned to the boy who'd taken to sitting to her other side, whom had loudly complimented the éclair that had disappeared down his throat. She did hope the boy didn't choke. "I will pass the compliment on to the chef. I believe the pastries and deserts are mostly the work of Wetzel. He's a student two years your senior, so you might be able to find him and ask him for the recipe yourself at some point." She smiled at the boy, but her eyes caught someone else. "Oh dear, that won't do. Hmm... Haley." ( NyxDarling )

The eager to please girl perked up as soon as Sadako said her name. "Yes?"

"Would you please extend and invitation to Hikari for her to join us over here?" She pointed with her gaze towards the girl who'd seated herself a ways away, and away from the other students.

"Of course," Haley jumped up with a radiant smile and practically skipped over to the other girl.

Sadako had to resist the urge to let out a deep sigh as Haley moved away. That one was going to be a handful. Sadako would have to put up with yet another year of having a bothersome pet-student.


"Are you Hikari?" Haley stood tall in front of the wheelchair-bound young woman. Upon first sign that this was indeed the right person, she grabbed the back of her chair and forcefully relocated her to the edge of the sheet where Sadako sat sipping tea out of a paper cup.

"It is polite to ask first," Sadako raised a dark eyebrow at the enthusiastic Haley. The older woman's eyes sparkled as she brought her gaze up to meet the other girl's own. "So you're Hikari. It's very nice to finally meet you. Welcome to America." She smiled, then noticed that the girl hadn't filled her plate. "If you wish for more food, I can save you the trouble and bring it here." She fingered the pile of napkins in the center of the sheet, and the top three lifted and unfolded themselves, only to then refold themselves into origami cranes and start casually flitting around her. ( SoftSmile )

"Wow," came a single word full of unveiled wonder from Haley, causing Sadako's smile to deepen. Seeing the looks of wonder as freshmen were exposed to magic for the first time was what Sadako loved most about her role at the Halfway House.

 

[Psyche]

Skylar was eating her food, feeling slightly restless as she did so. She had a feeling everyone who is here, probably got the same sort of letter. In her mind, it made the most sense because they all seemed to be the same age, and were in the same room doing the same thing. The brunette had to admit she felt slightly out of place, she never was the best at approaching people. So she just sat there, picking at her food and mulling over the situation at hand.

All signs did point to this being an actual university, but the physics made no actual sense. Perhaps this was just a really odd dream, or she was drugged and this is the hallucination? If it was the latter, she had to admit everything did seem extremely vivid. How did they make the food appear exactly? She was slightly baffled at it, she saw nothing that suggested foul play. Then again she wasn't exactly paying her full attention to it being summoned, she was more worried about how they got here and why they are here.

She pinched herself, wondering if she would just wake up but... Nothing, she is still here. Now that doesn't dismiss the thought that this is all fake or a hallucination, but it did add another layer of realism to this whole thing.

The brunette thought it over slightly more, before giving up. Nothing made any logical sense, and seemed useless to even try. She can't form a logical reason to any of this besides being a dream, or a hallucination. Since both of them seemed increasingly more and more unlikely, she just gave up and trying to find it. Perhaps she will think it through later, or if she could more closely examine it being produced..

She decided to relax instead, and just poke at the food, enjoying the nice tastes of it, worrying over something that is not understandable will do no good. Besides, if this was a "Magic" school they have to have some sort of result to show.

That was until she felt someone speak in her direction, she looked up to see a young man. He looked like a hipster to her, but she thought it fit him. The brunette thought he seemed nice enough, and she slightly examines the other girl. To her she looked a little stuck up, but she never spoke to her before so decides not to judge her based on appearance. She gave a smile and replies with;

"Hello! nice to meet you both, my name is Skylar."

 

[CactusJuice]

Jacob was doing his best to tune out the other boy, but what he’d said weighed heavily on Jacob’s mind. He finished his sandwich, and his hunger was sated. Either he was too far gone for it to matter, or this was real. He wasn’t sure which option was worse. He contemplated this as he slowly munched on a celery stick. Jacob glanced at the boy who sat next to him. He considered trying to discuss their situation with him, but Captain Cold over there didn’t really seem interested. If he wasn’t crazy, then this guy had to be for willingly sitting next to him. Besides, talking to anyone here was pretty much accepting that this was his reality now. Another person eventually sat down next them. Jacob imagined the poor girl only chose to sit with them due to how quickly limited the seating had become. He elected to remain silent as he still tried to free himself of what he hoped was just a crazy dream. Captain Cold seemed to be ignoring her too. A few moments of awkward silence passed, and the girl seemed to grow frustrated. She eventually introduced herself and gave a description reminiscent of Jacob’s own predicament. Though he found it odd she mention pastries at a time like this, it did insert more doubts into Jacob’s mind. Captain Cold introduced himself as Michael, so, when Maria turned to Jacob and asked for his name, he felt pressured to give it. He sighed. “...I guess this really is real.” He muttered. Jacob then returned a nervous smile and a small, awkward wave. “Hi, my name’s Jacob. Jacob J- . . . just Jacob is fine.” His first impression was bad enough without revealing his stupid superhero name. “It’s nice to meet you.”


Jacob’s face went from an attempted friendly expression to a puzzled one as he considered what Maria had said. He could hear some of his other classmates wondering about how they got here as well. He slowly ate away at another celery stick. He had considered the possibility they’d all been drugged, but Jacob was from Pueblo, which was basically a drug hotspot, so he knew drugs tended to have at least slight differences in effect on individuals, so, if they had been drugged, some of his classmates should have still been knocked out when he came to. Plus, Jacob and his belongings had seemed pretty much unchanged. If he’d been knocked out, something should have been out of place, right? To top if all off, he had watched his phone change freaking time zones before his very eyes, so either someone hacked his phone and somehow timed it to go off when he looked at it or . . . Jacob could only come up with one other conclusion. He wasn’t that smart, so it was probably wrong, and it would likely make him seem even more like a wacko, but he thought he might as well share it with anyone who’d bother to listen. “...this will probably make me sound even more like a total nutjob, but I think we don’t have memories of how we got here because we were brought here instantly somehow. . . or at least, almost instantly . . . like the food.” He pointed toward the tables. “I didn’t think anything like that was possible, but that’s the only explanation that sort of makes sense to me . . . well at least it kind of makes sense considering the situation.” If these guys could make food appear, then why not people? It would also explain why the man who'd come to his door didn't seem to have a vehicle. The whole thing was pretty strange to begin with, so he hoped this didn’t sound too far fetched, but he was basically suggesting the school had access to some sort of scifi technology. He looked around at his classmates trying to discern how sane he sounded. Just in case, Jacob thought he would try lightening the mood a little. “You know, when I learned I’d been accepted to a school named after some sort of spell book on demonology, I thought I might have accidentally joined a cult, but I never expected them to actually have any crazy abilities to back it up.” He added with a nervous chuckle.

 

[SoftSmile]

[class=Notes]
//Circular Emblem//
[/class]



[class=tabsv] background-color: #938200; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 20px auto; width: 60%; min-width: 350px; line-height: 1; border-radius: 5px; text-align: center; [/class] [class=tabv] display: inline-block; width: 20%; font-weight: bold; font-size: 18px; color: #f9eb7f; border-radius: 5px; padding: 10px 0; transition: 0.2s; [/class] [div class=tabsv style="margin-top: -75px; margin-left: -10px;"][div class=tabv]Hikari
Ai[/div][div class=tabv]Interactions:
Sadako[/div][div class=tabv]Location:
Outside Halfway House[/div][/div]


Hikari was silent for the most part, she enjoyed the views of nature that she rarely saw in Norilsk, which happened to be a city based on industry. Her poor mother was dragged into that before she could even realize it. So, she would say the very least this rare view of green indeed made her day better. Though, her soft smile began to fade as a woman walked up to her. Social interaction, she knew she would have to partake in this -- She had hoped it wouldn't be so soon though. Then the woman spoke words she knew, it took a few moments to translate them in her head.

" Uhm, Yes. I am Hikari. " Her accent of Russian was strong, despite having a Japanese mother. Next thing she knew her wheelchair was being pushed, it was a pet-peeve of hers of people touching her or her wheelchair. So this obviously sent an almost immediate disliking of this rude woman. Now she was at the edge of a sheet with others, oh my did she loathe this. Then another older woman spoke. Oh yes, she remembers that woman. She was the one who claimed to be an instructor at the school.

She didn't understand the first words she said, though she did catch her name again in the next sentence which caused Hikari to nod her head lightly. Then she could clearly translate the words ' Welcome to America '. Yes, what a warm welcome it was, strange things happening all over the place and for random people you just met to touch your personal belongings that your mother had worked many over-times for. She knew one thing so far, as much as she hated Russia she could proudly say she hated America more. " What a rude woman. " She said under her breathe in Russian.

Then the older woman spoke again, something about more food. Perhaps it was because she had decided to not get enough food? She did hear that Americans did eat a lot, maybe it was because of their culture? She didn't want to be rude even though one of them just insulted her with their actions. So she calmly nodded her head in agreement about getting more food, hopefully she didn't become overweight during her stay here. She heard the obesity levels in America was rather high. Capitalists.

When the woman began to perform magic, she had to say she was quite impressed. She had never seen something like this before, though she supposed on her trip her that there would be more where that came from. Hopefully this adventure will prove to be one worth while.

 

[PastelBeauty]

Klaus had been stuffing himself with food from the banquet, in hind sight he thought himself to appear manner less, but he only ate like this due to lack of proper nutritional care. He would get anxiety when his sister was hospitalized and that anxiety gnawed at his insides like a rat gnawing on copper wires. Klaus bowed his head, cleared his throat, dabbed his mouth then finally cleaned his hands before offering his hand to Delmar, Lei and Skylar. "Apologies for my voracious hunger. I admit I have been careless in properly taking care of my health. It is a pleasure to make all of your acquaintances." He nodded politely to each person in question. Klaus likes the upscale of the soul that respects itself and others. When 'it', being the soul, speaks, it speaks in depth, requests politely, jokes tastefully and apologizes sincerely. Klaus tries daily to remind himself that your manner is the art in how to treat others. It equals your status, so the more your manners get elevated, the higher your standing. However, Klaus also makes a point to remind himself that there're those who embarrass you with their "morals" … and the difference is a point of great meaning. Klaus readjusted his thin-rimmed glasses upon his nose. He has the most wonderful eyes- they are blue, mostly, but darken to grey in correspondence to his mood. Klaus seldom smiles with his lips, but it is his eyes that shine instead, and it is this radiance that makes every man and woman who see it feel the irresistible impulse to smile too. This smiling of the eyes is the most sincere and pure emotion that Klaus would show, even if he didn't want to show it.

The eyes never lie- if there were but four words to advise one on how to understand Klaus's thoughts, those would be the four words chosen. Klaus's eyes drifted over to Lei, similarly how she had assessed him and dismissed him, he, in turn, assessed her. She was perceptive but callous, she judged and dismissed people, perhaps, to early? Or even wrongly. If one could know someone in just a few moments relying only on their clothes or by their temporary actions, Klaus didn't think he would enjoy her company. However, he decided to get to know Lei and give her the benefit of a doubt that she wasn't as shallow as she made herself appear to be. He wanted to be able to converse with someone who could see the cages of the mind like he could, if only figuratively. Klaus guessed that was the point of talking, to get what's in your head out there, to start ne lines of thought and hope they ripple out into our collective "pond." Klaus wanted to have a conversation where he felt invigorated afterwards instead of disturbed by the lack of mental flexibility people have sometimes. He took a sip of water from his glass cup.
"So, do any of you suppose that we will be toured around the Halfway House?" He spoke to the three, Delmar, Lei and Skylar.
OverconfidentMagi Psyche

 

[Psyche]

Skylar accepted his hand when he had introduced himself, and didn't find him stuffing himself troublesome. Having lived with a younger sister with quite the appetite, and complete lack of manners, she soon grew not to care too much about that sort of thing.

Thinking of her sister she wondered if she would be okay. The two of them were close, and wondered how she would be with her gone? Her sister, Stephanie, would probably be alright once she thought about it. They weren't rich, but were not short on money either, plus she had a lot of friends as well as mother to watch over her. Sure she might miss her, but she will live. Hopefully at least, although she does regret not giving her a proper goodbye, and just leaving in such a short notice.

She thought over his question. It would make the most sense for them to get a tour, especially if this odd place was in fact a college. The brunette had guessed that everyone here, besides the adults, are new here. It wouldn't do the best to allow people to free roam and assume they will eventually find their way.

"I believe we will, hopefully soon though. I am pretty curious as to where we will be staying for awhile."

She thought the Klaus guy seemed pretty nice, and didn't mind speaking to him. Thinking of that, she was curious as to what the curriculum would be like, considering the fact that this is a school is pretty obvious once she thought about it. The curriculum is about magic, and found it slightly ironic that out of all the possible schools she got accepted to, a magic one was the one she decided to attend. She wanted to be a scientist, and here she is in the land of make believe. Although, her interest was piqued on this whole thing. She wanted to know how the logics in a place like this works. If magic is in fact real, wonder what else is? She doubts it's like the magicians you find in a birthday party, pulling rabbits out of hats and trying to find someone's card out of their deck. It just didn't seem to fit this place in the slightest.

She took a sip of her drink, a glass of lemonade, and wondered how much longer it will be till the next set of instructions came through. She did enjoy relaxing scenery, but it made her feel slightly restless and uncomfortable not knowing much about it.

 

[hosaki]

I hope to meet you in person soon.

It turned out that that letter might have been speaking the truth. Belladonna had almost forgotten about it, but here stood a man in the living room who claimed to be from Salomonis Regis University.

Or this whole deal could be an elaborate ruse on the part of the debt collectors; they had come knocking recently after a missed payment and appeared to be rough and unscrupulous men. Yet if those men could break in without her noticing, they could certainly abduct her just easily if they so wished, without all of this pretty window dressing.

"Is there any way for you to prove that you are who you say you are?" Belladonna asked plainly.

The man frowned, mildly irked that this child was wasting his time in such a manner. And picking up a whole cohort of incoming students scattered across the continent -- simultaneously at that -- meant that time was of the essence.

"You should have received a letter notifying you of my arrival, Ms. Allerton. 1 PM, on August 20th." He flipped open his pocket watch to emphasize the time.

Mother must have hidden that letter too, Belladonna realized. She had been acting strange a while ago, throwing a fuss about that missing envelope even though she usually didn't care much for bookkeeping.

"One moment, please."

Belladonna padded into their bedroom to retrieve a worn suitcase, already packed with most of her essentials. Slowly, she removed a letter from within and placed it onto the dresser. The time to leave had come sooner than she'd expected. She felt beneath a stack of clothes in a drawer and withdrew an envelope. It was the entirety of her savings, accumulated from various one-off jobs and crafts projects. She held that weight -- what felt like the accumulation of her entire existence -- in her palm. Too light, really, but it had carried her hopes and dreams; parting with it felt almost unbearable.

The money would help her mother more than it would help her, Belladonna decided. She scribbled down a quick note to explain the cash and made phone calls to both Mary, their neighbor, and her grandmother. Mother, prone to neglecting life's practical realities, would need somebody to look after her in Belladonna's absence.

It was all very tiring. Not only the menial tasks she'd just performed, but the whole of her life spent caring for Mother and aiding in her fraudulent schemes, Belladonna realized. Now as she neared the tantalizing prospect of freedom, ten years of fatigue seemed to descend upon her at once, leaving her shoulders sagging and limbs heavy. Giving one last look around that room, dingy and wallpapered in a dirty cream color, Belladonna found it hard to muster up any real emotion.

"I'm ready to go now," she indicated to the strange man.

At those four words of hers, the man gave a mysterious smile, as if he were about to reveal a particularly interesting secret. Belladonna took a step back. Suddenly, she was all too conscious of their height differences: with her build, it would be difficult to fight the man if the occasion arose, which would only leave the option of trying to outrun him.

The man remained oblivious to Belladonna's change in mental state. He merely swept his arm out in a grandiose gesture -- yet what he was indicating exactly remained, at the moment, unclear to the apprehensive girl.

"Welcome to Salomonis Regis University then, Ms. Allerton."


Belladonna blinked and found herself standing in the middle of a field, utterly unfamiliar to her. People milled about, yet the man who had brought her here was nowhere to be seen.

"Brought" was the term, but she was unsure if they'd travelled any physical distance. The position of the sun failed to yield any answers, which Belladonna attributed to her own unfortunate "departure" from an indoor location rather than any fault in the science.

She sensed no irregularities in her bodily functions, so drugs were not the culprits to blame. Shaken, but unable to come to a plausible explanation for what had happened, Belladonna gravitated toward the only adult present, a woman calling herself Sadako Kasahara. Yet Sadako appeared uninterested in answering any questions at the moment; in fact, Belladonna thought the woman rather preferred to enhance the mystery of their circumstances, if the picnic foods she'd magicked into existence were any indication.

So Belladonna merely waited, and observed.

 

[OverconfidentMagi]

Collin, the large farmer-Joe-looking fellow, allowed himself to be interrogated by an overly curious Isaac in between mouthfuls of food. Turned out he was from Minnesota, and while he didn't live on a farm anymore, he had up till five years ago. When he'd cleared his plate he innocently turned the questions back on Isaac, causing the other young man to grow quiet. "I'd... rather not talk about it," was all he'd say. Collin supposed Isaac's life must not have been the best, so he dropped the subject. Though, that might not be the easiest topic to avoid when everyone would be wanting to talk about each other and themselves, meeting a bunch of new folk and whatnot. At least that's what Collin figured.

Isaac turned to look out at the other groups of people scattered across the grass. Between his hair and glasses it was impossible to tell that his eyes weren't simply moving from group to group, face to face. They were staring past those faces, watching the girl in the wheelchair. Her face was set, not showing anything she might be thinking, if she was even thinking of anything at all. Without moving his head, he watched as Haley approached and suddenly took hold of the chair without its owner's permission. He watched as Hikari and Sadako spoke, but of course he was too far to actually hear whatever it was they were talking about. He turned back to the other three people with whom he shared the paper sheet. Collin, Sarina, and finally Francesca. His eyes lingered on her just a fraction of a second longer, and then he excused himself and got up to see if there was any food left to be had.

Test Lecture Post, WARNING: is massive

A single sharp clap cut through the air and conversations. The yard suddenly grew quiet. The woman in charge of this whole show stood before the gathered class once more. "Students, if you would please pile your trash in the center of the sheets and then step back." There was a shuffle of motion as nearly two dozen young men and women rushed to comply with the authoritative edge to her voice. "You're likely confused," she spoke to them all, her dark eyes moving from one face to the next as she spoke. "After all, up until a few moments ago you were each safe and sound in the comfort of your own homes. Now you're here, with no knowledge of where this place is or how you came to be here. The whole situation is rather..." Her smile grew. "Exciting, wouldn't you say?"

She snapped her fingers, and the tables and any food that remained simply vanished as if they'd never been there at all, though the fuller stomachs insisted that they hadn't simply been an illusion. "I suppose it would be best if I began with the basics," she said with a sigh. All of a sudden the napkins and paper plates and cups and even the paper sheets and everything else on them lifted into the air and came together above the heads of the gathered students into the form of a large bird. It twisted in the air to rearrange the pieces that formed its body and then landed next to the woman who stood before them. "In case you were still uncertain, this is a rather unusual school." She ran one hand down the neck of her summon. "What we teach isn't a topic covered by most university curriculum." The large paper bird spread its wings and lifted into the air, flying around the top of the building and then disappearing over its far side. "In short, magic is quite real, and each of you has the potential to utilize it, at least the particular variety of it that this institution specializes in. Starting today, you are students of Salomonis Regis University, the number one school for up-and-coming young summoners, which is what you all now are." Sadako turned and walked towards the large front doors of the main building. From somewhere she procured another napkin, which tore itself into pieces as she tossed it into the air. Each of the small scraps folded itself into a tiny paper crane and flew off, one to each student." She looked over her shoulder at the young men and women. "Well, aren't you wanting to see where you'll be spending this semester? Let us get on with the main event: a tour." The heavy wooden doors seemed to open of their own accord, the new students not being able to see the paper chains pulling from the other side, as Sadako ascended the few steps up to them. As instructed by Matathius, there was no ramp up those steps, but she had instructed the paper crane that had flown off to Hikari to assist her.

Once inside the large building, Sadako stopped and faced the students. There was a large staircase leading upward, but also one leading to a lower floor. It would seem that in addition to the three floors aboveground the structure also had lower levels. Between these two stairs the hall continued all the way through to the other side of the building, where another set of doors was open and more greenery was visible beyond. "The Halfway House has five floors," Sadako projected her voice so everyone could hear. "This first floor is where classes and lectures will take place." She motioned to the first door to the right of the entrance. As with the front doors, it seemed to open on its own, showing that there was indeed a large classroom within. Oddly, the walls within were all smooth and white. Closer inspection would reveal them to be covered in paper. "The lecture room," Sadako said, rather unnecessarily. "Classes will be held each day from 9 o'clock in the morning to 11, and then you will be free for lunch and whatever else you wish until 3 o'clock, with this afternoon period of class lasting until 5. The morning block will consist of more theory and learning from the book, while the later block will tend to be more application of what you've learned. Classes will often not be held in the lecture room, but we will deal with that when we get to it. Oh, and do note that classes begin starting tomorrow morning. Do try not to oversleep." A mischievous grin crossed the older woman's face. "Else you may find yourself suddenly waking up in the classroom in your pajamas. Secondary warning: just in case you do happen to oversleep, make sure not to sleep naked tonight."

"Should we bring anything with us?" asked Skylar.

"No no," Sadako waved away the question. "Everything you require will be supplied by the university, and morning classes are lectures anyway. The topics covered will be transcribed and supplied to you during the lecture, so there is no need to take notes either."

She moved onto the only other door along the same wall as the lecture hall, closer to the back of the building. "Behind that door you will find the library. There are many books covering magic within, but please avoid too much unsupervised experimentation. I don't think this building could survive another... well never mind. Just know that the particular type of magic you each possess will be explored in the classroom setting in great length, so treat the contents of the library as more of a source of background information and theory. In relation to magic more than anything, to rush is to court disaster. But on a lighter note, we also posses a large more mundane collection. Fiction, non-fiction, classics, more modern genres, and as of a few years ago, a collection of comics."

A student spoke up, Francesca. "What required text books are there?"

Sadako waved her hand lazily, and the small paper crane that followed the white-haired student unfolded into a stream of pages, each falling on top of one another in a stack that quickly grew to nearly the height of her body. Black ink appeared on the topmost page that read: Magic for Dummies, Sadako Kashara. "Please have pages one through 394 read and memorized by the morning lesson," she said in a flat tone. But then the stack of pages collapsed into itself and somehow compressed back into the single tiny paper crane that flew around Francesca. "There is no textbook," Sadako answered her question. If you wish to learn for the sake of it, you may use the library or ask. Your lessons will cover what is practical in order to bring out and shape your magic." Sadako smiled. "And that also means that all assignments and homework will be towards the goal of learning magic. Not so bad if I do say so myself."

On the other side of the hall from the lecture hall and library was two more doors, with the closer one being a large pair of doors. These too opened as Sadako motioned towards them. "That is the cafeteria and dining hall. Breakfast hours are from 7 to 9, lunch from 11 to 2, dinner from 5 to 7. Outside of those times there will often be smaller snacks available. You are free to eat there or take your food anywhere else you wish. I only ask that you clean up any mess you make." She moved on to the next door. "And the last room on this floor is the lounge. Each wall has its own large television, and every available video gaming system you may wish to make use of. It also can be used as a theater, complete will the full sound setup. I can't say that I fully understand all of the things in there, but it's yours to use how you wish."

Sadako began climbing the stairs towards the second floor. She stopped and turned again, pointing to something just inside the front doors, along the wall with the cafeteria. There was a genuine payphone set into the wall there. "I nearly forgot. Due to how isolated this campus is, cell phones tend to not work very reliably. I imagine more than a few of you have already had a moment of panic about that. I do apologize for not addressing it sooner. You are free to call out to whomever you wish from that phone. It doesn't use coins, so just pick up and dial. If you wish for someone to call you back, the number is written on a slip of paper on the side of the phone. At least it should still be there, I haven't actually checked recently. I do ask that you wait to make use of it until after the tour, as I will not wait for you."

The second floor was simply a landing with a door. It was difficult for everyone to fit where they could see the small door. "The second floor serves a few different purposes. Its main purpose is storage. All manner of items and materials are stored on this floor, as well as simply being where things we couldn't fit elsewhere are kept. You'll all be free to spend as much time in there as you wish in the near future, but for now I ask that you simply leave it alone. And I assure you, there is no giant three-headed dog guarding a secret door to some magical artifact of unspeakable power in there. It's really just where things are stored. The second purpose this floor serves is a buffer between the parts of this building that I pretend to have some semblance of control over... and the third floor." She resumed climbing upward. "Come on then, it's time to show you all where you'll be sleeping."

Every wall of the third floor was covered by doors. "There are thirty rooms," Sadako answered the unasked question. "Plenty for each of you to have your own, but if you wish to share you are free to do so. Your things will have been placed in one of the rooms. I do not know which one, and there doesn't seem to be any pattern to whose things go where. Again, you are free to take the room your find your items in or choose another. We'll get back to the rooms in a moment." She walked to one end of the floor. There was a full kitchen setup. A long counter with not one but two sinks set into it, two large ovens, a bank of microwaves, a pair of toasters, a couple of coffee makers, and a large refrigerator. "I don't see you needing to use this stuff too often with the cafeteria having most of your meals covered, but it's here if you do wish to use it. If there are any ingredients you require, just write them down on a piece of paper and put it in this box." She indicated a simple wooden box with a slot in the top that seemed affixed to the wall next to the fridge. "They should be supplied within a day, should they be available. Now to the other side."

The group found itself on the far end of the floor, away from the kitchen area. There were five openings in this wall. The symbols next to some of the doors gave a good idea what was within. "These are the bathrooms and washrooms," Sadako explained. "The leftmost door is the female toilets, rightmost is for men. Second from the left is the female washroom. There are multiple showers as well as tubs for soaking, and a larger tub that can fit multiple people. Now before the boys' imaginations get ahead of themselves, the second door on the right is their own washroom. There's also the communal washroom." She indicated the larger opening in the middle. Rows of sinks along each side was visible, but the interior was hidden behind a bend as was expected. "Anyone can use this washroom. Its tub is much larger to accommodate." Sadako's face was a mask as she internally laughed at the kinds of reactions her words had on the students. Oh to be young. "You can also control the temperature of the bath," she added. "It makes for a wonderful hot tub in the winter." And with her piece said she walked over to the nearest room along the wall and opened the door.

"Each room is more or less identical, barring alterations by previous students that we missed. Those of you in the back don't have to worry about not getting to see inside, we'll all be walking through, so take a good look then." The room was quite basic, but felt spacious. "There's enough room to move a second bed in, but moving everything around is on you." Indeed, the room seemed symmetrical in shape. There was a large closet just inside each side of the door, and beyond that there was a bed to one side and a large desk opposite. But the feature that stood out most was the large glass door set into the far wall, beyond which one could see a small private balcony.

Sadako opened the door and stepped outside. There was a single chair out on the balcony, but few students even noticed this. The view from the third floor of what was behind the massive building was spectacular. Down below there was a perfectly maintained sprawling yard, with an area just below that had various types of flowers surrounding an ornate fountain. From above it was impossible to tell the shape of the fountain, but if one were to look at it from down on the ground they would see that it was a stone statue of a robed bearded man holding up a scepter. On his finger was a ring marked with the same star that had been found stamped into the wax of each student's acceptance letter. Water poured out of the side of the scepter down into the basin around his feet. The stones around the fountain area formed a path leading further on, where that single large tower, looking like something displaced from some ancient castle, that had been visible even from the front of the building stood in all its timeless glory. It was at this that Sadako pointed. "Our next stop," she said. Then she reached for something that hung from the wall of the building just next to the door onto the balcony. It was a stone, round and smooth, wrapped in a thin silver chain attached to the wall. There was a number carved into the surface of the stone. "This is the number of the room," Sadako informed the students. "When you claim your room, make sure to note the number. Now, what you'll need to do is hold the stone in your hand and give it a pull. No need to be violent, a gentle tug should do it." As if to demonstrate, she wrapped her fingers around the stone and, with a smile, gave it a pull. The stone clattered against the wall as it returned to where it had been hanging, and Sadako was simply gone.

The first person to dare approach the stone was Isabella. She wanted to take a picture of the stone and the chain too, and once she had, she took the stone and pulled just how Miss Kasahara had. Suddenly there was this pressure pushing down on her, but at the same time she felt somehow weightless. Oh God, she was underwater! Isabella flailed around, struggling to swim upward. Her lungs ached, the small breath she'd taken before grabbing that rock not lasting long enough. She panicked, felt herself starting to sink back down deeper into the suffocating depths. And finally, when she couldn't last any longer, her body gasped for breath. Air rushed into her starved lungs.

Sadako waited calmly standing on the sandy floor of this strange underwater place. Her black hair floated weightlessly around her face until she produced a series of paper strips that twisted to hold her hair out of the way. When Isabella was done drowning, the girl sank down to the seafloor a short distance away. She seemed in shock at being able to breathe perfectly fine despite feeling like she was underwater. What was more, her clothing, and even her hair that streamed out as if she was swimming, was completely dry. "Wh-what is this place? How..."

Sadako held up a finger. "I figured you'd have worked that out by now. Magic. It's all magic. Now let's wait for the others to join us so I don't have to repeat myself too much. Pay attention to them as they arrive, it might be enjoyable to see your peers in their less composed moments."

It took a few minutes, but eventually the whole class had assembled on the sea floor. There was nothing but sandy ground and clear water in every direction, with a circle of lighter water high above. Well, there was something: a short stone pillar jutting up from the sand next to where Sadako stood. "You all are now standing inside that tower you just saw. Formally it is called the Nexus, but students tend to come up with other names for it. Space within and around the Nexus has been altered by magical means. That is how you are all currently standing within the tower in upstate Pennsylvania and about fifty feet beneath the sea off the coast of the West Indies. You feel all of the effects of being underwater, but you're never actually in contact with the water. This place's rather fun, if I may say so, combination of spaces makes it popular with the students." She laid her hand on the stone pillar. From it hung doens of stones wrapped in silver chains. "From here, you can be sent to just about anywhere on campus grounds. Simply find the stone you need and give it a pull, same as before. The numbered stones will send you to the balcony of the corresponding student room. Don't worry about privacy, the glass doors cannot be broken through if locked, and you can always close the curtains. There are also other connections, as I said you can go just about anywhere on campus from here. I'll let you all experiment with what leads where in your own time. There are also other... Ah, it's Perez!"

A torpedo-shaped form moved silently through the water, moving around the group of students. "No need to panic, he's quite well behaved," Sadako reassured the young men and women who found themselves face-to-face with a 10-foot long shark. "This is Perez. He's a Caribbean reef shark that somehow found its way in here about a decade or so ago. He's been something of a pet to the students ever since. Completely harmless, so long as you don't wave a bleeding wound in front of his nose. Try not to overfeed him. There area number of upperclassmen and alumni that would not enjoy hearing that their favorite shark has died of diabetes." She raised a hand, scratching her nails against the underside of the large shark as it swam past. There was a sound like she was scratching a piece of sandpaper. "Just be careful when you go to pet him. Shark scales are rather course to the touch."

"Where was I... oh right, other locations you can access from the Nexus." She pointed towards the circle of light high above. "That leads to the top of the tower. I'm sure you'll figure out what to do there, as well as the other places the Nexus may spit you out. For now let us continue on." She looked for a particular stone until she was able to locate it. "The one you want now has a fountain on it. Alternatively, one with an open door will send you to the front door, which is also fine." This time she went last, pointing out the correct stone for the students to take. Sadako had experience with students just grabbing random stones in previous years' tours, and she didn't feel like having to track down students today.

When she arrived, the majority of the students were standing around the fountain they'd seen from above on the balcony, with some others making their way through the main building to join the group after having arrived just inside the front door.

"Who is that? . . . is it Solomon?" asked a student, Jacob was his name.

Sadako smiled at the question. "Why yes, that is correct. While not quite the same as what we teach here, Solomon was one of the very first humans to make use of summoning magic. This statue honors him, as does this university's name. Expect him to be mentioned frequently if you decide to peruse the library's books on magic. Very few humans have been able to say they reached heights of magic anywhere close to where that man stood."

Sadako led the students back inside, this time taking the stairs downward. The space that opened up beneath them was massive, even larger than the entire main building. She stopped on the stairs once the entire room was visible. "I think this is far enough to see everything," she announced. "Besides, the stairs down take far too long. If you want to explore the basement floors for yourself I suggest taking the Nexus." To the left of the space was a large, like small whale habitat large, pool. In the corner behind the pool was a closed of room. "Water training," Sadako motioned towards the pool. "And that sealed off room is where means to coax more stubborn magic into making itself known is stored. It's also the one place on campus you are not allowed without my own supervision. I cannot stress enough, do not go in there unless I have given permission and am with you." The back side of the room was taken up by an unreasonable amount of sand. "For making sand castles," Sadako said with a smile. The entire wall of the room to the right seemed to be natural stone, complete with shelves and even some caves in the upper portion. "Rock climbing," she again gave a simple answer. The rest of the room was split between looking like a generic school gym and fake green turf. "This entire floor is meant for training," Sadako explained. "At least when first learning magic, it is important that your body be able to deal with the added strain using magic places on it. So yes, that means you will spend plenty of time on physical exercise. For the most part I will leave how you go about this to each of you, but if you are struggling, I will step in. I am known to be rather demanding in these cases, so it would be in your best interest to take the initiative before it comes to that."

"If you will recall, I said that the Halfway House has five floors in total. This floor is for physical training, the one below it is for training with magic. It is rather unremarkable, simply a large arena-like space build sturdy enough to handle whatever forms of magic come flying out of each of you. As with everything else, you are free to explore it in your own time. Have I forgotten anything? The rules! I failed to go over the rules. There is really only one though I suppose: don't kill each other, at least not without getting permission first." Sadako's face gave away no sign of humor, her smile only reappearing after an almost uncomfortable stretch of moments. "Aside from that room down there and my chambers unless invited, you are free to go anywhere on campus grounds. Outside of class times and other scheduled meetings, you are free to use your time here doing whatever it is that you desire." She stared out over the vast training hall, then without any kind of warning, Sadako leaned back against he railing and let herself fall over the side. Halfway to the floor, that paper bird from earlier formed beneath her, and the pair glided down to the floor. From the bottom of the long staircase down, Sadako called up to her students. "This concludes the grand tour. Your are free to roam and explore, or otherwise do as you please until class begins tomorrow morning." She reached for the chained stone affixed to the railing at the bottom of the stairs. "Oh yes, the wifi password is regardingdemons. No space. There should only be one to connect to, but it's solomonswisdom you want to connect to. If you need me, my rooms are behind the lecture hall. Simply knock." She searched her mind for anything she might have forgotten, but there wasn't anything. And with that she pulled on the stone and vanished. The large paper bird lifted off the floor and flew towards the students, breaking apart into a storm of individual scraps of paper to pass by and through the group of students on its way up the stairs. The group was suddenly left unsupervised.

There was a click as Isabella took a picture of the training room below.

 

[SoftSmile]

[class=Notes]
//Circular Emblem//
[/class]



[class=tabsv] background-color: #938200; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 20px auto; width: 60%; min-width: 350px; line-height: 1; border-radius: 5px; text-align: center; [/class] [class=tabv] display: inline-block; width: 20%; font-weight: bold; font-size: 18px; color: #f9eb7f; border-radius: 5px; padding: 10px 0; transition: 0.2s; [/class] [div class=tabsv style="margin-top: -75px; margin-left: -10px;"][div class=tabv]Hikari
Ai[/div][div class=tabv]Interactions:
Multiple[/div][div class=tabv]Location:
The Tour[/div][/div]


The loud noise practically awoke the disabled woman from her daydream of slapping the other woman who touched her wheel-chair. She then looked where the noise was coming from as the woman began speaking loudly. After a few words were said, which she could only understand it as a command from her tone and the ' Please ' put along to it; the students began to bustle their items into the middle of the sheets. How unsanitary. Though, she supposed that was what was asked from them so the complied the same. Of course she didn't move from her spot, she just chunked her few food items into the middle of the sheet with a good throw.

The woman continued speaking, with all of the student's eyes glued to her. Next thing Hikari knew more magic was happening, but now it was more expected than exciting, after all this was a magic school. She assumed that with all these new introductions the tour would be started soon, and Hikari dreaded it. Just one look at the large building indicated that this school had steps, a lot of them. She just hoped that there were ramps, lots and lots of comforting ramps with good angles so she wouldn't fall over at the end of it-- Which happened plenty of times for her to be scared of the thought.

The birds that seemingly originated from the paper flew across to each of the students, her own fluttering in front of her. She didn't know what that specific type of bird was called, but it had wings and could fly so it wasn't wrong to call it a bird, was it? The only place with large flying insects was Australia that she had heard of, very strange creatures there. The doors began to open as the woman announced the tour would begin. Yes -- She knew that word, best English speaker of 2018. She congratulated herself as she rolled forward after a few people walked in front of her to see they were climbing up..Stairs. With no ramp in sight the woman began cursing under hear breathe, in what seemed in two completely different languages.

The crane then went under her wheel-chair, the pesky thing. Unfolding noises were heard and then she was lifted up. Oh no, she did not want to be transported like this everywhere. Not only did she feel like she would fall out of her chair with no way of getting up, she was falling a bit behind as the crane slowly moved up the stairs with the rest of the group. Very casually she kind of floated where ever they stopped and listen to the English words of the woman. Hikari was just looking to the ground with a hint of shame, she was definitely going to get kicked out of this school. She could barely understand the words she was saying so she just zoned out and hopefully the crane would take it from there. Though her ears caught on to the numbers she was saying. Suddenly her head lifted up again, yes! She could understand that, those must be the times.

She listened to them closely and hoped to remember them, she couldn't exactly ask just anyone where and when her classes were. They then carried on to more extravagant rooms, one with food and she had heard the word library as the woman gestured to a door. Oh my! She had never seen more than just a bookshelf that was stocked with books, much less an entire library. Hopefully all these things would make up for the no doubt horrible time she was going to have socializing and generally just moving around the place. It seems there was also a lounge in place, which was excellent. The woman had spoke some other words that she sort of caught onto, games? Such as chess and solitaire, what a wonderful thing. Hikari had only played solitaire with a set of cards she had only made by herself.

They then began to go up, yes..More stairs. Why do these Americans need so many steps? Aren't they meant to be obese and lazy, how can they even stand this much exercise? That was what she read anyway, maybe it was propaganda? Or perhaps this school was only different because it was a magical school? A few seconds of just levitating up the stairs behind the students casually walking up them in front of her Sadako stopped. She pointed what seemed to be a pay-phone, sadly she didn't think to pack any change with her -- She always talked to her mother and there was no need for a mobile phone. ( They couldn't afford it if they wanted it anyway ) Maybe she wouldn't be able to call her mother for the entire year until she got a hold of another student's change? Sadako continued explaining it, though she couldn't understand those words just ' doesn't ' and maybe a few others that got jumbled up in her head too much to translate them.

They then stopped on the second floor for some reason, as Hikari didn't see anything particularly interesting. They then went up to the third floor, which seemed where the disabled woman would be spending most of her time. Rooms, along with a kitchen -- How much did they need to eat? Then there was the bathrooms, the signs gave her a good hint of what was what, along with the fact that she had made sure she knew basic necessities in English. Following along Hikari barely noticed that the crane was now beside her rather than being a personal transport, maybe it decided to take a rest?

They entered one of the rooms, which was the largest bedroom she had ever seen. It was almost as big as her entire home. The students piled out on the balcony leaving Hikari barely out of the balcony opening. Oh, how terrible this was. Then the students gasped for some reason, she couldn't see over all of those people. This, of course, frustrated her to no end. It seems after a few long moments the students began to file into the balcony further-- How was there even enough room for them? When a few were left she had seen why, great they were disappearing from thin air -- Fabulous. They seemed to be pulling on a rope and then just vanishing, so it seems when she was one of the only ones left she begrudgingly rolled to it and gave it a good yank.

Where in great spirits name was she? It seemed to be underwater-- This made her instinctively hold her breathe and clutch onto the sides of her wheel-chair. Looking down she could see the others waiting semi-calmly for the last few students to arrive at the ocean floor of all things. Her body relaxed, her emotionless expression returning as she took a deep breathe which didn't come to her surprise when she wasn't breathing gallons of water. Landing haphazardly on the sandy floor, her wheels stayed firm on the ground from then on. She then looked in the directions the others seemed to jerk their heads toward as the woman spoke excitedly.

A shark..Wonderful! Not much can convince her that she wasn't on some kind of drugs right now, perhaps she was kidnapped by that strange man and she'll wake up soon to a strange place to be humanly trafficked. No such luck in this situation, as the woman pet the shark and kept that same irritating smile. They then followed on by teleporting again, which made her head hurt rather much. In the same building -- More stairs. The crane had to assist her..Again.

More water, more warnings, things that Hikari didn't want to focus on right now. Not that she would be coming down here much unless she happened to fall and tumble down into this useless area. She could tell she was not going to be able and honestly did not want to use this area. She could do just fine with her brains alone, and she knew it. Sadako explained more English nonsense and then left the group unsupervised. She looked around and then spoke up. " Not a very.. Diverse group. " Though, she doubted anyone could understand her -- As she didn't know the English words in the last half of her sentence.

She let the crane go below her as she went back up the staircase hoping to remember where the rooms were located leaving those socialites to their own bidding. She will admit, it took awhile to get there and searching all the rooms was a bit coarse on her mental state, but after finding her belongings she snatched them up and moved to the room closest to the kitchen in hopes that many people wouldn't use it as often they did the staircase. Of course, this meant a room was stationed in front of her own. She grumbled as she opened the door and laid her things down. There seemed to also be other belongings here.

It was a backpack, and it seemed to be stuffed with a few electronic items rather than most of the usual things. She had to admit, her curiosity got the best of her as she began to unzip it. A laptop, she had never seen one before in real life, a small device? What even was this? She studied the DS, with a confused look. Then there was a headset and several clothes and a charger it seemed? It probably wasn't right going through the things, she was just curious what life this person could've lived. Maybe they lived in a mansion?! Hikari had heard that laptops were very expensive, no less whatever that smaller device was. Then a few toiletries, studying the clothes this was definitely a male's belongings. Coming to her senses with the fact she quickly stuffed the items back into the backpack rather quickly and sloppily. It didn't fit as well when she had taken them out! Oh no! Go in! She was stuffing the poor thing, practically sweating. CactusJuice

 

[CactusJuice]

Spoiler: Jacob's Reaction to the Tour

Jacob nearly jumped out of his skin when a loud clap yanked him out of his theorizing. He didn’t exactly love the thought of leaving a pile of trash on the ground, but he didn’t dare disobey the mysterious woman. This was obviously no ordinary school, so the last thing he wanted to do was immediately get in trouble. The woman, Mrs Kasahara if he remembered correctly, had called their situation “exciting”, but the only thing it “excited” in Jacob was a migraine.

When he watched her snap the food away, he felt a slight twinge of regret. He wished he’d eaten a bit more. It was ok though; he packed some snacks in his . . . wait. He looked around. Where was his bags? They were nowhere to be found. Panic began to creep its way into his eyes. He’d had everything in those bags, or at least just about everything that was important to him. Just imagining having to save up for a new laptop made Jacob groan.

Mrs Kasahara’s speech brought him out of his thoughts. This school was obviously unusual. In fact, despite only having been on the grounds for less than half an hour, Jacob would say “unusual” was putting it lightly. However, when she said magic was real, Jacob was still a bit quizzical. He looked around to see how his classmates were taking it. For the most part, they all seemed far more composed then him. To be fair, the magic thing did kind of make sense, or at least it was the only way he could make sense of any of this. This is what it must have been like for a caveman seeing lightning for the first time. The one thing he didn’t understand was why he had been chosen; there wasn’t anything special about him.

As the tour was announced, Jacob found his eyes resting on the young woman in the wheelchair. His gaze shifted from her to the stairs in front of the entrance. She didn’t seem too pleased with this development, and Jacob wondered if she had a plan to get over them. For a moment, he considered asking her if she needed help, but then he watched one of the magic birds carry her up and over the steps. He blinked in disbelief. I guess you don’t need ramps when you have magic. He shook his head in amazement and followed. It was probably for the best anyways; he would’ve likely just made things awkward. Chances were, she’d just be another one of the many girls in this class that he’d never talk to.

Mrs Kasahara showed them the lecture room. He took careful mental note of the times she mentioned. After Mrs Kasahara mentioned possibly being brought to the class room in your pajamas, Jacob quickly set an alarm then and their with a horrified look on his face. He had already tanked his first impression with his classmates, so the last thing he wanted was them to have another thing to make fun of him for, and maybe he could at least make a good first impression with their teacher . . . if she hadn’t noticed his little break down

When shown the library, Jacob figured he’d probably spend most of his time in there; though he’d probably end up reading more comics more than books, but that might as well have went out the window when the lounge was shown. His eyes practically sparkled with excitement. If he was lucky, maybe he’d find a time where he could hook up a game system to the theater. He only hoped that no one else here was much of a gamer, or, if they were, that they were at least as geeky as him.

He followed with the rest of the group up the second set of steps. When the payphone was pointed out, Jacob half considered gunning for it to dial 911, but he figured that wouldn’t end well. He’d just sound crazy, and, if their mysterious teacher was to be believed, he’d like to have a chance to at least try using magic. The phone was the only thing on the second store that really interested Jacob. The thought of storage rooms full of magic, and possibly cursed, items gave him the hebejeebies; it seemed liked wandering around in there was just asking for trouble.

Jacob followed up the third set of stairs. His breathing quickened a bit. Man this school really liked stairs. He was starting wish he’d gotten a magic bird to carry him too. When they were informed about the rooms, Jacob found himself worrying about his stuff once again. What if something had been broken in transport? Worse, what if someone decided to help themselves to his things? He began nervously fidgeting with his hair. On the brightside, he was probably getting a room to himself. No one would want to room with the nervous breakdown guy, right?

His attention was drawn to the kitchen. Maybe he could win some of his classmates over with his cooking. Mrs Kasahara soon directed their attention to the washrooms. Jacob thought it was odd that the boys' and girls' washrooms so close. When she mentioned the center one being communal, his mind got a little carried away. His face reddened, and he could almost feel steam coming out of his ears. He shook his head. Jacob didn’t plan to ever set foot in there. It would probably only be filled with guys anyways.

The bedroom they walked into earned a nod of approval from Jacob; it was definitely an upgrade from his old room. On top of that, he wouldn’t have to worry about being nagged. He followed everyone out the balcony and gazed out over the railing. The view took his breath away. Now THIS felt like magic.

Jacob was so caught up in the view that he hardly noticed their tour guide’s disappearance. It was only the noticeable reduction of class size and increase in space that finally got his attention. After watching a few other students pull the stone and disappear, he assumed they’d all been instructed to do so and followed suit. Almost immediately, Jacob felt his breath taken away once again, but this time it was far less pleasant. His attempts to swim toward the surface were futile, so he was eventually left clutching his throat going blue in the face.

He gazed up at the sunlight reflecting off the surface of the water. Was this really how he was going to die? A few more bubbles escaped his lips. It almost made him want to laugh; this was such a lame way to go out. His lungs felt like they were about to burst. Jacob slowly lowered his hands and closed his eyes. Well, at least he didn’t have to worry about finals. He finally let out his last bit of air . . . only to quickly breath some back in.

What? He blinked and looked around in bewilderment to some of his classmates’ amusement. Magic. Jacob face-palmed and shook his head. He just wanted this day to be over before he could embarrass himself ag- holy mother of Jaws! Jacob found himself face-to-face with a shark nearly double his size. He froze in place suddenly realizing how good drowning sounded. Mrs Kasahara’s reassurances did little to quell his fears. He was far too happy to pull the next stone and get out of there.

Once outside the fountain, he was able to more closely study the statue within it. To Jacob, he kind of looked like your standard, wise, old-timey wizard like Gandalf or Dumbledore, but the ring on the statue looked . . . familiar. He squinted at it. "Who is that? . . . is it Solomon?" He wondered aloud.

Soon they were traveling across more stairs, but they went down this time instead of up. Despite this, Jacob just found himself dreading the return trip. He looked around the odd training area they'd been led to. He doubted he’d be down here very often . . . even if he probably should. Then again, he really didn’t want to see what Mrs Kasahara’s training regiment looked like, so maybe he would take some time to come down here every now and then.

After carefully noting the wifi password before they were left alone, Jacob was undecided as to what he should do next. He heard the young woman in the wheelchair mutter something but was unable to make it out. Then she swooshed off on her paper crane; it actually looked kind of fun. As he watched her ascend the steps, a thought hit him. He should probably head up to. If he moved quickly, he could be one of the first to claim a room, and he’d be able to check on his things. He hurried his way back up the multiple sets of stupid stairs.

After eventually climbing his way back and unsuccessfully checking a few rooms for his items, Jacob found himself accidentally walking in on a familiar face. I really should start learning my classmates' names. But now was not the time. From his perspective, he’d basically just walked into a random girls room unannounced. He slowly edged back toward the entrance hoping she wouldn’t notice him, but then he stopped when he noticed something. It seemed she was frantically trying to put something back in a bag, but the item and bag looked familiar too. “...that’s my bag.” He blurted out. Jacob reddened slightly and waved his arms frantically. “S-sorry, I didn’t mean to accuse you or anything, but I’m pretty sure that’s my stuff.” He noticed she’d had his DS out and pointed towards it. “Did you, uh, want to play something?”
SoftSmile

 

[SoftSmile]

[class=Notes]
//Circular Emblem//
[/class]



[class=tabsv] background-color: #938200; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 20px auto; width: 60%; min-width: 350px; line-height: 1; border-radius: 5px; text-align: center; [/class] [class=tabv] display: inline-block; width: 20%; font-weight: bold; font-size: 18px; color: #f9eb7f; border-radius: 5px; padding: 10px 0; transition: 0.2s; [/class] [div class=tabsv style="margin-top: -75px; margin-left: -10px;"][div class=tabv]Hikari
Ai[/div][div class=tabv]Interactions:
Jacob[/div][div class=tabv]Location:
Rooms[/div][/div]


Hikari was startled by the sudden intrusion of another, she looked over with a worried expression. Of course -- She couldn't understand what the boy was saying but she assumed it was something on the lines of accusing her of stealing. She just had to help with all those brutal Russian lower-class stereotypes, didn't she? Then he spoke again with what she perceived as a stutter, was the man really scared of a small woman in a wheel-chair?

She had translated the apology in her head, well most of it. Then he pointed to the small electronic device. She looked at it again, holding it up to her face and inspecting it. It took her a moment to register his words..Play? " What is this? " The woman asked in her own tongue and it took her a few seconds to realize that, yes in fact people did not speak Russian in this terrible school. So she thought for a moment before saying something again. " What is it? " Her accent was still hoarse and very audible but understandable for native English speakers.

She looked curiously to the man, looking him over for a minute. He was practically a walking disaster-- Unpoised and most definitely unrefined. It would be good to have a native English speaker with her at most times. Plus, perhaps he wouldn't be a complete burden. After-all, she didn't want to watch him undoubtedly fail multiple times with all the other students laughing at him. Maybe she could help this poor sack of potatoes.
CactusJuice

 

[CactusJuice]

Jacob was taken aback for a moment after he heard Russian come out of the woman, or at least he thought it was Russian. It could have been Ukrainian or some other lesser known language he hadn’t heard of. All he knew is that it sounded kind of angry. Considering she was holding his DS, it made him a little nervous.

He nearly let out a sigh of relief when she repeated herself in accented English. He really shouldn’t have been surprised that they had some foreign students; they were at a magical school after all. What still did surprise him was that she didn’t know what a DS was. The little gaming device had practically single handedly gotten him through his childhood, so he was all too happy to share his love of it. He smiled.

“It’s a Nintendo DS or DS for short. You can play games on it. Let me show you.” His previous nervousness practically vanished. Jacob had never been particularly good at talking to cute girls. Sure, in theory they were no different from talking to anyone else, but they made him nervous . . . Well, more nervous, but video games were another matter. He grabbed the seat from in front of the desk in the room and used it to sit down next to her. “You can play all kinds of games on it.” He began rummaging through his bag for his games. “Like action, adventure, fantasy, strategy, puzzles, and so much more!”

Jacob pulled out the container for his games. He then singled out his copy of Sonic Generations.

“Why don’t you try this?” He figured it would be best to start with a simple classic. He also had simpler games like chess or Tetris downloaded on it, but he thought those could get old pretty fast.

Not wanting to take it from her, he leaned in close and inserted the game. Then he quickly leaned back reddening slightly; he had been so excited that he’d hardly considered her personal space. “Sorry about that.” He muttered before instructing her on how to turn the DS on and start the game. If she was still interested, he’d definitely be willing to show her some of the other staples of other genres like Zelda, Fire Emblem, Mario Kart, Super Smash bros, or Dragon Quest. Honestly, he could spend the rest of the day introducing her to the wonderful world of the Nintendo.

SoftSmile

 

[SoftSmile]

[class=Notes]
//Circular Emblem//
[/class]



[class=tabsv] background-color: #938200; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 20px auto; width: 60%; min-width: 350px; line-height: 1; border-radius: 5px; text-align: center; [/class] [class=tabv] display: inline-block; width: 20%; font-weight: bold; font-size: 18px; color: #f9eb7f; border-radius: 5px; padding: 10px 0; transition: 0.2s; [/class] [div class=tabsv style="margin-top: -75px; margin-left: -10px;"][div class=tabv]Hikari
Ai[/div][div class=tabv]Interactions:
Jacob[/div][div class=tabv]Location:
Rooms[/div][/div]


She listened to the other student as he diligently explained the device with a splendid vigor. Her brain couldn't translate it, everything was too fast and she was far too embarrassed from getting caught snooping to think clearly as she normally did. Her face didn't show any of this emotion though, as it stayed solid and in place as Jacob inserted some sort of cartridge with a small picture of a creature on it. How odd.

She looked up to him with a skeptical expression. A single eyebrow raised but the same small scowl that seemed to always be plastered on the young woman's face. She looked back to the DS as the black screen lit up with a cut-scene intro. What were those creatures, how did this device function and what was it's purpose? She looked around the device again, seeing the intro screen with those horrible blue creatures she clearly read ' Press start '. Thank god she could read this language.

She pushed the bottom button which was labeled start, and was quite surprised when the screen changed again. More words at the bottom.. ' New game '? ' Continue '? She supposed since she knew that this was her first time and new meant first, she clicked the start button again. It soon went into a loading screen type thing with this robot next to English words. She was not going to read all of that. Apparently, she didn't have to as the game soon started.

There was the same creature standing there that had been shown at the title screen. She looked up to him questioningly. " What do I do? "
CactusJuice