Fire Emblem: Crestfallen | IC

Laila Bellwood
Mentions: Sherry ( @Luminosity ), Alexander ( @Demon Shinobi ) , Lapis ( @Jessica2477 )


After she mentioned someone running past the carriage, Laila watched as Sherry moved towards the carriage driver and started shouting something to whoever it was ran past the carriage. It seemed like she knew that person too, which made Laila worried a bit more regarding how much she will manage to fit in if people would group up together from knowing each other before.

Before she could worry too much about it, the carriages arrived at their destination. She almost jumped out of the carriage as it came to a halt, stretching her entire body properly and taking in a few deep breaths. It was certainly good to be standing on the solid ground again. Only after a moment did she look up and started taking in the incredible view that was the monastery. It looked smoother than any of her adoptive dad's best made weapons, and even gave her a feeling that it would be impossible to take down.

Being led through the inside, Laila caught eye of the smith. While he eyed everyone in the area, she gave his tools her full attention. They were better quality tools than what she had used back home, and it seemed like he was working on, if judging by the size and shape, a short sword's blade. It wasn't shining in any manner yet, but it was certainly clear to her that there a lot of care put into the blade so far.

As they stopped in a courtyard, she turned her attention to a woman, who stood alongside 2 others in front of a couple of beautiful mahogany doors. The woman standing at the front began welcoming them all, introducing herself and giving some simple background and the reason behind the existence of the monastery. It felt both scary and exciting to Laila. Upon hearing the fact that they were hosting all of the royal seats in Musentia, she couldn't help but feel a bit more scared than before. It felt like a confirmation of her earlier fear. All the royalty would just band together and leave her alone.

Except maybe for Alex, who was standing in front of her. She briefly tapped on his shoulder, offering him a smile and a thumb up as further show of gratitude for earlier. At least, Laila hoped he would understand that was what she meant to convey.

The Dean of Students would continue talking, introducing the professors, before diving them into their houses. Sherry was noted to be the Red Chimera's house leader. Laila's glance moved towards the back of Sherry's head. She hoped the girl's 'full of herself' attitude would change with the responsibility in her hands. As the list of members were noted, Laila couldn't help but feet a drop of sweat going down the side of her face. So many heirs to houses. And suddenly there was a mention of her in the Chimera list. If there was any comfort, it was that at least she already knew two others within her house.

Professor Talbot, who had quite the charming appearance, started to lead them in a tour of the place. While trying to stay close to Alexander, another girl approached her, who spoke to her in a friendly voice and offered her hand. Taking in the extended hand with a rather firm handshake, Laila returned the smile "Nice to meet you! Yeah, it's Laila. You're Lapis, right?" She released her grasp over Lapis's hand, moving to walk alongside her. She could still see Alex's back of the head in front of her, but she was sure he wouldn't mind if she didn't clung to him. As a royal, he probably had his own friends to catch up with.
 
Parthenia Harland Ciran
Mentions: @Psyker Landshark @Jessica2477 @Luminosity @Solace

Before long, it became obvious that the carriages were all reaching the town proper. Ahead of them, the towers of the town walls crested over the horizon, followed by the tall church spires nestled safely behind them. It wasn’t much long after that they reached the monastery, an impressive structure that, while Parthenia had seen drawings and paintings of back at home, could only be fully appreciated in person.

Unlike the others, Parthenia was not too restless; after all, her family estates were only a stone’s throw away compared to most others, and so she took her time to stretch and tidy her clothes before finally stepping out, probably to Theodoric’s displeasure. Proudly taking the lead among the three from her carriage, she noticed that Sherry had fallen in with her and Theodoric, but it semeed her gaze remained fixated on the monastery’s admittedly impressive architecture, so she decided to forego an immediate greeting and let the princess be for the moment.

Unfortunately for her, she had noticed that Maelys had in fact made it to the monastery intact. She made a small sigh at the scene, playing it up a bit, before shaking her head, taking the loss in stride as she turned to Theodoric. “I guess I owe you a bottle of the good stuff, then, Teddy.” She was a little annoyed at herself for taking the bet, but it was actually impressive that the man had run all the way here.

Soon, her attention shifted to the notice the townspeople had taken of them. Seeing a good distraction from losing the bet, she shrugged off the attention on herself and the rest of the column of nobles. Instead, she kept a look out at the crowd, taking the chance to see if she could catch any interesting characters to take note of. When she caught the gaze of somebody, she shot them a brief smile before continuing her little scan up until they passed through the monastery doors.

Led on through inside the courtyard, Parthenia made sure she stood up near the front to get a good view of what were likely to be the academy’s notables during their stay there. It didn’t take too long to divine their identities; listening to the headmistress’s spiel, she felt Sherry squeeze in between her and Theodoric. “Have you considered moonlighting as an opera singer?” Parthenia took the opportunity to lean in to her ear and whispered, recalling the shriek on the road that had followed after Maelys. Making a friendly joke as a greeting, unfortunately for Parthenia, Sherry didn’t have to wait long to get back at her.

Parthenia’s little smirk towards her twitched as the redhead shot a sly glance on the announcement of her appointment as house leader. Parthenia had put a lot of hope on becoming house leader, and had many fun plans to do once she was, but these hopes and dreams had been unceremoniously crushed by one Iris Calandre. Quite the unfortunate setback, really. With Sherry as the leader, the house administration could either be amazing, or a complete drag; Parthenia couldn’t decide which.

Nudged by Sherry, she kept a straight poker face, still looking at the dean while she craned her head towards Sherry, taking on a rather convincing inflection of a loyal servant. “Yes, house leader. Your will shall be done.”

She kept this poker face until it was abruptly broken by the news that the other professor was out with a hangover. Suddenly greeted by Maelys, she had to compose herself from her fit of giggles to address the wayward noble. "Long time no see, Maelys! You owe Dory a bottle of good wine."
 
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Theodoric Branden Marlon
Mentions: @Luminosity @Astoria @Solace
Of course he'd known Parthenia didn't like to gamble. That was why he'd made the bet. Petty, to be certain. But at least somewhat deserved considering the nonsense she'd put him through over the years. And as they stepped off the carriage, he noticed he'd won the bet, in fact. Maelys was exhausted, but here and on his feet. Impressive. It seemed Pleaides's heir had been training hard since the last time they'd met. Thanks to him, Theodoric would be looking forward to that wine.

However, even as he began to look over the monastery's impressive architecture, his feeling of victory was soon cut short by another old friend. Theodoric wordlessly gave Sherry a nod as she fell in step with himself and Parthenia. His gaze passed over the various locals that had stopped to stare at the new students. He disliked the scrutiny, but it would have been unfair to fault them for it. The least he could do was endure a gaggle of onlookers and their unwanted staring.

He halted with the rest of the students as the cardinal and her men appeared, beginning to address them. Theodoric quietly nodded at Cardinal Calandre's words. What the woman said made sense, though his previous instructors had already taken his instruction a step further in that philosophy. A battlefield wasn't the same as a dueling circle. The tactics one would find unacceptable in a formal duel would be the difference between life or death in a real battle.

Theodoric was shaken out of his thoughts as the cardinal continued on with two very important announcements. First, that all ten heirs of the Divine Heroes would be in attendance at the academy this year. Interesting that the flower of Musentia's nobility were all around the same age this generation. Though what Iris said next was far more pressing at the moment: Sherry was to be his house leader.

For a brief moment, Theodoric wondered what exactly he'd done to offend Yhirel so that he'd be cursed to have Sherry have some kind of actual authority over himself.

After that moment, he composed himself mentally, facing facts. This shouldn't have come as a surprise. Even with all ten heirs to the Heroes in attendance, Sherry was the only one who was safely guaranteed to be next in line to rule one of the nations. The First Seat of Cretus didn't possess absolute authority in its own nation, and there was no guarantee as to who would be the next Speaker of Mordlind. Best to give leadership experience to the one heir everyone knew would be a ruler eventually.

Theodoric began to cope. Despite the risk to his patience and sanity, perhaps having Sherry be the house leader would be a good thing. She'd begin to accumulate leadership experience in a less weighty role, where her mistakes wouldn't be as great and where she didn't have the authority to order anyone executed yet.

He closed his eyes, sighing as Sherry began to practically gloat. Despite what he'd just rationalized, he still internally despaired.

"At this point, that next bottle of wine would be better received sooner rather than later." Theodoric murmured to Parthenia, shaking his head as she immediately tried to foist the conditions of the bet off onto Maelys.

"Maelys. A pleasure to see you again after so long. Don't take Parthenia too seriously, she's attempting to weasle out of repaying me."

At this point, he couldn't even be that gobsmacked when he heard that their designated professor had been drinking all last night and was indisposed with a hangover. If he'd known Sherry would be in a position of leadership last night, he'd have drunk himself into a stupor too. In private, of course.
 
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MENTIONS: @Solace [Mael], @Astoria [Parthenia], @Psyker Landshark [Theodoric]
Parthenia's reply brought a greater smile upon her lips, but the approach of yet another noble spurned the grin from her features. Maelys was another noble that rustled her feathers, especially after the stunt that he pulled on the way to the monastery. His tone with her only made her huff at him, crossing her arms in front of her chest and cocking his head up at him. She had noticed how he looked at her during the introductory remarks and how he reacted when she was announced to be house leader of the Red Chimeras. "Maelys." She greeted back as she glared. "It was like you to run off and do something idiotic. You're lucky you didn't get in trouble."
"And you two," Sherry turned to Doric and Parthenia with disappointment. Her arms fell back to her sides as her angered expression softened slightly. "You actually bet on that spectacle? And with alcohol, no less. I expected better from you, especially from you, Dory. I think I could maybe forgive the three of you... if you take me out to eat!"

Her gaze went to the front of the group again, noticing that the professor was leading them deeper into the monastery. The whole of their group was chattering to themselves and they were lucky that Professor Talbot didn't mind it. At least there was one less thing to be embarrassed of...

MENTIONS: @Solace [Mael], @Rouge Rogue [Leonid], @Psyker Landshark [Theodoric], @Jessica2477 [Lapis], @Nim [Laila], @Astoria [Parthenia], @Demon Shinobi [Alexander]
The professor patiently guided them through the monastery, only stopping in specific areas when he had something to explain. He talked about the library and its multiple tomes as their numbers were stuffed into the narrow corridors, about the training grounds and how many of their ancestors honed their skills upon its very sands, about the mess hall and how many stories were passed among the academy's numbers as they ate in the past. "Your parents and even your parents' parents probably stood where you stand right now!" Talbot had told them as they huddled in the dining hall. "In fact, the Academy's greatest and youngest house leader of the Red Chimeras, Farfalle Roose Pleiades, was one of the most popular attendees of the dining hall. They say that he had the best and rarest stories to tell."
History was something very dear to Professor Talbot as far as Sherry could tell. It was an important subject when it came to learning. How else could the people of Musentia learn from their mistakes?
"And here are the dormitories," Talbot announced as they entered a large wooden building. It was two floors tall-- Sherry wondered where her room would be. The place was well-lighted and smelled like wood and some sort of incense. "Students reside on the first floor while faculty resides on the second. We don't separate by gender, but there are washrooms designated for girls and boys on opposite sides of the halls."
"Excuse me," sounded a tempered voice from behind Sherry. She glanced at the boy from over her shoulder, recognizing him as Victor Rampes Keryth. "But are the students not separated by status?"
Talbot nodded. "They are, in fact. Commonfolk reside near the entrance of the dormitories, while the nobilty's rooms are to the back. That being said," the professor pulled out a scroll from his robes. "I have the living arrangements right here. I'll hang it up on this bulletin board for all of you to see."
The cluster of students watched as Professor Talbot pinned the parchment to the board. Sherry stood on her tip toes, peering over Mael's shoulder as everyone sought to look at the board:

Laila MaelysVictorSherryAlexTheodoric


Lapis MarcusNamiraParthenia LeonidFrancetteAriel

Sherry didn't look at the entirety of the parchment, but what she did notice was that her room was right next to Alex's. Great.
"You all have ample enough time to fix your rooms in preparation for the year," stated Talbot as he pulled away from the students. "Well then, I'll leave you to it. I expect you to get enough rest-- you young ones always seem to forget that getting enough sleep is just as important as studying and practicing your skills."
Sherry let out a scoff as Talbot walked away. Why did she have to sleep right next to Alex's room? And wasn't Leonid that one boy who suddenly became heir to House Sylmare? At least Parthenia was close by... "The rooms are so close to one another... I swear by Yhirel's name, you all better let me sleep at night!"
 
Theodoric Branden Marlon
Mentions: @Luminosity @Astoria @Demon Shinobi

Theodoric only barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes at Sherry in response to both her proclamation and her damned pet name.

"A harmless bet isn't some sort of moral violation. Relax already before our illustrious house leader makes a fool of herself on her first day." He shot back at Sherry as they walked. "And take you out where, exactly? As far as my father and..." A brief pause. It just had to be today, of all days. "...Gwendolyn told me, there isn't that much to do in the town surrounding the monastery."

The conversation cut off for a moment as Theodoric's attention turned to the room assignments. Well. This wasn't awful, at the least. Good thing he wasn't placed next to Parthenia and Sherry. Perhaps he could have some peace and quiet in his off hours. As House Keryth's heir asked his question, Theodoric glanced at Victor briefly, his expression unreadable. He hadn't thought it would matter quite so much, in all honesty. In a situation like the Officers' Academy, there wasn't much to be gained in stratifying by class. They were paying the same tuition, having the same education, and under the same restrictions all students were bound by.

Shaking his head, Theodoric turned his thoughts back to the living arrangements. He'd be situated next to Alexander's room, with two of the girls from the Falcons across from him. His gaze turned to Alex. Right...Alexander had been House Raveleth's heir, as he recalled. Or one of them, at least. Something to do with his status as a bastard and his trueborn sister's incompetence. As someone who'd been thrust into the role of heir, Theodoric couldn't quite see why others would clamour so much for the responsibility, but perhaps that was because he simply couldn't measure up to Gwendolyn. He couldn't relate. Unlike some of the others, the choice of heir had been clear in his house.

"Alexander," He gave his hallmate a brief nod. "You'll have nothing to concern yourself with from me. I'm not particularly loud, I've been told." Theodoric stepped closer, lowering his voice out of earshot of the others, especially Sherry. "I hope Sherry hasn't given you too much of a hard time. I know she's somewhat...excessive to deal with."
 
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LAPIS ZUVAL

Interacting with: @Nim

Mentions:


"Yes, Lapis." She could feel that Laila's hand was calloused, definitely a blade wielder of some sort. "Let's both have great experiences here~"


After her introduction to Laila, Professor Talbot began to lead the way for a tour around the Monastery. Lapis was intrigued by all of the sights and listened to each piece of information given to them intently. However, what caught her attention the most was the academy's library.

Her eyes seemed to twinkle at the sight of the rows and rows of books ready for the students' use, Professor Talbot's words seeming to fade out as Lapis looked around. Right away she could see at least twenty books she wanted to take and start reading cover to cover. The academy's selection also seemed to have different history books and stories that Lapis had never heard before. The titles alone enchanted her to the point where she almost asked the Professor to be left there for a while.

Still, she steeled her desires and walked away. She'd be back later!


The tour ended at the dormitory, where it'd been explained that the students had the 1st-floor while the faculty had the 2nd. The area was co-ed, which was fine by her though a very new concept. She hadn't grown up with any siblings except during her time at the Zuval house, but that had been short-lived and something she barely remembered.

Well, it shouldn't be that bad. As she thought, nobility and the commoners had been separated, leaving Laila to be the only Red Chimera near her.

She looked towards Laila and offered her a smile, "A shame that Fate has separated us from the rest of the Red Chimeras, but I don't mind. All I do is read so I'm certain I will not bother you."

With that, Lapis was making her way to disappear from the crowd. "I'll be heading towards the library; if you or anyone else needs me, please let them know I'll be there!" She told Laila, trusting that the smaller girl would inform their House leader if Lapis was truly needed for anything.

Lapis had just been reunited with the love of her life after days of rereading the same stories and talking to nobles whom her father had tried to make arrangements with. She would definitely have a chance to get acquainted with her classmates later.

With that, she walked-or rather, ran- away from the group, hurrying along back to where she had seen the library to lose herself in the world of tomes and stories.
 
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Parthenia Harland Ciran
Mentions: @Psyker Landshark @Luminosity @Solace @Rouge Rogue

Parthenia shot Theodoric a sour look, her half-serious attempt at passing off her newfound obligations stopped in its track by her childhood friend. She knew that it was a futile attempt regardless, but nonetheless found herself thinking where exactly she would be procuring a reasonable enough bottle of wine to begin with. That was a logistical problem she would have to think of… later. As for Maelys, he was a noble that she wasn’t quite as intimate with as Sherry and Theodoric, but certainly found him the most amusing of the three. Like Sherry, however, she still took some issue with some of his more… casual mannerisms, especially when it came to a formal setting.

Her attention was taken back by Sherry’s offence at their bet, which, as the loser, she found herself quite agreeing with her new house leader. She quickly put in her own word. “I have to say, Sherry actually has a good point. Dory knew I didn’t like to gamble, yet you pressured me. How ungentlemanly of you. You should be the one taking us out to eat!”

It was a great pivot, if she said so herself.

Looking forward, it seemed like the professor was giving them an impromptu tour of the monastery, and the topic soon came to the room assignments. Unlike some of her peers, Parthenia didn’t care much about where or who she was placed next to. Even if it was an issue, it appeared most of her friends were a mere stone’s throw away if she wanted to pester Theodoric or Sherry during the night. Looking closer at the parchment that professor Talbot had pinned to the board, she noticed the heir to house Sylmare was her neighbor; like Namira, her flanking neighbor, he was a noble that was a bit of a mystery to her. He had only shown up onto the broader stage only in the past few months; a son, apparently secreted away until mere moons ago. Parthenia knew little to nothing about him, and it made her curious. She would have to chat him up at length when she found the chance.

For now, greeting her soon-to-be neighbor would be a suitable substitute. Parthenia scratched her cheek as she looked at the small gaggle of students. The only problem was, she had no clue who this man actually looked like.
 
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Laila Bellwood
Mentions: @Jessica2477 (Lapis), @Luminosity (Sherry), @Demon Shinobi (Alex)


As the professor kept showing them the monastery, telling them more about what he clearly thought were important and historical parts of the monastery as well. Laila's curiosity grew a bit at the mention of a former Red Chimera house, Farfalle Roose Pleiades, due to the mention that he had man interesting stories. If a former student managed to leave such an impression on a professor, she wondered what it would take for her to leave a similar impression.

When they arrived at the dormitories, Laila watched with growing worry and contempt towards one of the boys, who asked specifically if the status did not dictate where they resides. And to her unfortunate surprise, Professor Talbot said it was. He then took out a parchment and stuck it a board, allowing all the students to take a more proper look at where they would be staying. But Laila was already feel a bit down at the fact they separated by status. That was no way of having the nobility that were full of themselves learn a bit of humility. It only served directly to their ego's, separating them this way. At least, that was Laila's opinion, but she kept it to herself, as the professor then told them they now had time to fix their rooms and to get proper sleep, before leaving them.

Taking a more proper glance at the living spaces charts, Laila saw she was directly across from Lapis. At least, she was close to one person she met. Moving her glance across, she spotted that Alex and Sherry were next to each other, almost near the end. For a brief moment she felt saddened by the distance, but she realized the distance shouldn't matter, if they were to be friends.

Lapis started talking to her, mentioning how she apparently felt similarly about the situation, before reassuring her that she won't cause any noise "Oh, I won't cause much noise either. I'll probably only use the room for sleeping and storing my things. My hobbies aren't ones I consider to be good to do indoors." She said, as she thought about the mess she would make if she started to carve wood in her dorm room. Before she could start a more proper conversation with Lapis, the girl mentioned she will be going to the library, and then left. Laila slightly raise her eyebrows. A bookworm for a dorm neighbor and friend. That will certainly mean quiet times.

She turned around and looked at the group of students that started to stick around each other. So many of the nobility stuck to each other, and she suddenly felt a bit out of place due to it. After looking for a moment, she managed to spot Alex and Sherry among the crowd, and slowly made her way to them. Once she was next to them, she tapped on Alex's shoulder, looking at the others that were around Alex and Sherry that she didn't know in silence.
 
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Leonid Hector Sylmare
mentions: @Solace , @Astoria , @Luminosity

The Monastery was just as grand as the storied told, and at least twice as big. It might’ve been in part due to its location atop a hill, but Leon felt himself absolutely dwarfed by the structure and all it represented. He’d never cared for religion or believed in any other gods than coin and bread - and yet for a year to come, he was expected to mingle with devout believers as if he somehow belonged among them.

Would they sense his lack of faith the second he set foot inside? It was a terrifying thought. The lengths people had gone to build the monastery in the first place... A heretic within its holy walls was unlikely to walk out on his own two feet.

Idly, Leon wondered if Mael believed in God.

He heard the guy call out to him a little distance ahead, finger pointed up at the hill. He was shouting something about a race.

... Right, stupid question.

--​

Leon couldn’t remember what had possessed him to run up the hill, or whether he’d done so before his adversary. From the moment he reached the monastery’s doors and a dozen eyes turned on him, he forgot just about everything he’d ever known of anything.

It took a moment until he remembered how to breathe again.

Once he did, he was quick to find a walking rhythm among the rest of the students. He stuck to the back of the line, partly as to not stick out, partly because he was fairly sure he reeked of sweat and uncertainty. It was an incredibly uncomfortable feeling to have your every step followed by a wide-eyed flock - even if they meant no harm. After all, to a thief, being seen spelled the beginning of the end. It was what brought on the rest; the captures, the chopping of fingers, the lashings, the beheadings. An unseen thief was one that lived another day.

Leon felt like he’d died five times by the time they finally reached the courtyard.

--​

The first thing Leon learnt at the monastery was that people sure liked being long-winded.

Never one for speeches, particularly preachy ones, Leon struggled to look like he was paying attention. Ideals, battlefields and a prosperous future for Musentia - none of it really concerned him. All he cared about was where he would sleep the night, and whether or not food would be provided in the morrow.

He heard his name and made a mental note of ‘Red Chimeras.’

Then he was nudged in the side.

"In case you didn't know, that's you."

“Why, thank you,” he offered in the most sarcastic tone he could muster. Even then, he wasn’t sure if it was enough for Mael to catch on, “I was afraid it might’ve been another Leonid Sylmare. We’re a dime a dozen.”

As the list of names kept dragging on, Leon started to wonder whether he should’ve been familiar with more of them. He could pick out a familiar house name here and there, but twice as many breezed right past him. Sherry Grimdall was not among the latter. The future queen of Galbia - he’d gotten a beating if he’d been unable to memorize that much.

Just his rotten luck to have a princess for a house leader.

As the long speech finally petered out, Mael gestured for him to follow. Unsure what to expect or where else to go in the sea of unknown faces, Leon obliged. Mael was a peculiar noble, and that was nothing but a benefit to him anyhow. As long as he stuck by the guy’s side, he was bound to look normal in comparison - and more likely to be forgiven a few etiquette-related mishaps, even.

Besides, annoying as the guy could be, his stupid babbles were a refreshing break from what he’d come to expect of nobles. Perhaps the friends he was approaching would be similarly minded.

... They were not; Leon could tell as much with a glance.

So by the time Mael reached his companions, Leon had already side-stepped into the crowd and vanished.

To mingle, he’d say if asked about it later.

In all honesty, he was trying to do anything but.

--​

The tour around the monastery was much more interesting than the speech about its history, that was for sure. As they walked the expansive corridors, Leon started to craft a mental map of the place. He took note of every nook and cranny that could one day act as a hiding spot, and scouted out the best ways to reach high ground. By the time they reached the library, he knew a dozen ways to get to the roof and back. And only about three were ridiculously precarious.

"Your parents and even your parents' parents probably stood where you stand right now!"

Doubtful.

Leon looked around the dining hall. As rich as his family had been according to his father’s tales, he doubted any of them had ever broken bread in a place like this. Well, perhaps one of his ancestors had - the one he had to thank for the crest that brought him here.

The mention of rare stories piqued his interest - but the one time he wanted to ask a follow up question, the teacher was already moving ahead.

Just as well.

Their last stop was a wooden building with two floors. Their living quarters - dormitories, as the teacher put it. Surprisingly, the faculty resided in the same building. Unsurprisingly, the rooms were separated by status. It simply wouldn’t do for blue-blooded nobles to find themselves sharing space with the common folk! Or something. Whatever, he was annoyed - and so, the pompous brunette who’d been so very concerned about the matter might just come to lose an important item or two before the semester was over.

You know. By accident.

And with that, the tour of the premises was officially over. The respectful silence that had hung over the group broke, and chatter budded here and there. Leon peered at the room assignments. He seemed to be surrounded by girls - one of which was the princess herself. Great. At least Maelys was far away enough; Leon doubted he had the patience to deal with his antics in the middle of the night.

The nobles around him were already engaged in conversations, many of which seemed to involve the amount of noise they would or would not make. Leon glanced back at the names on the parchment, and found himself at a loss. He’d done well enough to remember the names of many heirs and their respective houses, but the fast pace of his education had left little room for actual visits. Ergo, he knew no one. The amount of faces he could connect to names was very limited. Abysmal, the pessimistic might say.

Well then.

Whose face looked the most like ‘Parthenia’ or ‘Francette’?

... Hrm. This would... need some craftiness. And luck.

There were a few girls standing around near the opposite wall. At least one of those two better be among them.

Leon threw a glance in that general direction and chuckled. “Considering I was kept a successful secret for almost two decades... yes, if nothing else, I promise I’ve the ‘keeping quiet’ thing down to an art. Rest assured, my room will be silent as a grave.”

And if he guessed wrong and neither of the girls were among the ones he addressed, his room might’ve just as well been one, too.
 
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Mentions: Psyker Landshark (Theodoric), Astoria (Parthenia), Luminosity (Sherry)
"Hehe. So you did witness greatness, after all."

The noble looked between the trio with a long smirk, the corners of his lips curling up to his eyes. Mael crossed his arms together, his expression glimmering as a breathy sigh exhaled from his weary figure. It had taken a moment for the boy to hearken to his distant recollections of Theodoric and Parthenia; it had been almost a decade since he'd last seen them, but a warmth swelled within his chest. No matter how little their memories may have been, they were not the same as the wandering faces who simply drifted through and away, nor were they of the false niceties that surrounded the round table conferences in Solitaire. It was those things that were all so forgettable and disingenuous. Perhaps, had it not been for his birthright and the Path of Pleiades, he could have grown to be close friends with them and the rest of the children, but it was here now that Mael stood on his own feet, without the domineering authority of his grandfather. Better late than never.

His toothy grin briefly sauntered into an expression of unease, his features flinching like he suffered an injury as the boy turned towards the voice of the red-haired noble.
"A little fun is harmless after some odd days on the road," Mael shrugged, his eyes looking in her direction but through Sherry. Listening to her speak with the other two, he could see that she had hardly changed since their last meeting, which was quite worrisome in his opinion, unlike Theodoric and Parthenia. To make matters worse, she was his house leader, meaning that he was practically forced to approach her for the next year. Good grief. "Ah, yes, my stories can wait. I've a friend to introduce! If you may, sir!"

It had been that moment when Mael realized that Leon had gone missing, prompting the boy to scatter frantically among the crowd of students as Professor Talbot led the tour around the Irinduil Monastery. The boy hardly listened to the professor, his attention only briefly refocusing at the mention of the Old Roose. He had known that his grandfather attended the Officers Academy many decades ago, like almost all nobles, but the old man's apparent reputation surprised him.

Mentions: Nim (Laila)​

His mind wandered enough for the tour of the monastery to come to its conclusion, finding himself within the sea of nobles and commoners alike as they flocked the bulletin board. Standing taller over a number of the students, he could see that Victor and a 'Laila Bellwood' were his neighbors for the year. There was no doubt in his mind that Laila Bellwood sounded like a girl's name, but given the packed circumstances, it wasn't exactly a helpful deduction. "Laaaaiiilaa!" he tried calling out for his quarry, but seemingly to no avail.

"Hogwash! Preposterous!"

The explicitly loud curses of the insufferable Victor Rampes Keryth drew Mael's attention, the other boy only a couple of footfalls to his right as the noble seemingly fumed towards the posted living arrangements. While Parthenia may have been more acquianted with Victor because of their families' pact of solidarity, Mael only knew a handful about the latter. House Keryth had been particularly tied to the Church of Yhirel since its inception, with many legendary physicians and apothecaries representing their bloodline's history, and Victor was the next name to be added to that tree.

Approaching the distressed noble, Mael could see that Victor stood a number of inches taller than him; taller than Theodoric, even. Yellow, snake-like eyes seemed to cast daggers as Victor looked down on him. "Care to have seen a Laila Bellwood anywhere, roommate?" he realized the consequence of his question only after asking. The name must have belonged to a commoner.

"Pleiades," Victor's expression narrowed with disgust, raising a finger to poke against his shoulder. "You should be searching for your pride after that harrowing display, this afternoon. Not for some commoner wench who doesn't belong in the same building as us."

Maelys drew a sigh, bringing his right arm behind his head in a lazy manner.
"That commoner is also my neighbor. It is a noble's duty to 'socialize with their future citizens', after all," he responded in an exaggerated, mocking manner, seeing that a number of students have now laid their eyes on them. "Have some manners, Vic. Lose that, and you'll find that a 'commoner wench' is the only gal that'll take coin and title to deal with you."

In an instant, the boy felt the finger at his shoulder clench into a fist that tugged on the coat of his uniform, pulling Mael about a foot away from Victor. "Is this some kind of twisted joke?" his assailant howled, lacing his angry words with spit as Mael stared blankly. "You damn mule--"
 
LAPIS ZUVAL

Interacting with:

Mentions:


Ocean’s Gray WavesDestined to SeekLife Beyond the ShoreJust Out of Reach. Oooh~ I must read this! And this! And this! Ahaha~ I feel like I’m at home again!” Lapis quietly exclaimed to herself, trying not to disturb the other students lingering around the library.

Upon walking in, Lapis had told herself that she would only choose one book to check out and would get through it before she came back and got more. While she did succeed, she had done well for about five minutes until her self-promise had been long forgotten. One book turned to three, then five, and now it had become eight separate books that Lapis was carrying around, all of them she was very intent on reading. She had also asked around regarding the town’s markets and if they sold any books of interest. A young man who frequented those markets answered her question and even gave her the names of a few titles, all of which she wanted to see for herself. Hopefully, her room’s bookcase would be able to carry the weight of Lapis’s many purchases over the month because she would not be satisfied with just the five that had occupied her attention for most of the carriage ride.

Lapis walked down the rows of books, gazing over what the vast collection of what the mahogany shelves held for her eager eyes. History books, art books, stories from renowned authors, books relating to urban legends and anthropology, alchemy books, books on entomology, today’s weapon technology, and even magical tomes from beginner to advanced. The blue-haired woman was incredibly happy to see that she would be able to continue her magical studies on her own time; which meant more of an excuse to come back!

She set her books down to the side for a moment and looked through the magical tomes, nearly climbing up the shelves as she reached for three particular ones that caught her attention.

Fire, thunder, and blizzard.

Lapis had already mastered wind magic, but there were still so many spells that she only had an idea on how to use them, but not the experience to properly wield it. If she could master at least one of these, then she could not be too much of a burden to her classmates.

Maybe one of them held some sort of proficiency in magic as well?

...None of them seemed to have any signs of magic usage, now that she thought about it. All of them had the muscle definition of blade proficiency, but… None of them mentioned having magic experience.

Or at least, if they did she didn’t hear it. The nobles did have their own conversation and Lapis was not one to eavesdrop. Well, not eavesdrop on purpose.

If none of them could help her, then at least she had her professor to teach her!

Lapis walked back to her stack of books and added the three, making the stack all the heavier. If this continued, she would surely begin to struggle…

Eh, she needed to build her muscles anyway. The exercise would be good for her!

She carefully picked the stack back up, deciding to leave it on a nearby table so that she could search a little more freely. Lapis would be quick though; she wouldn’t want to come back and find one of her selected books missing!

She looked through the shelves again, coming across some familiar tales she had read in the past.



The Binding Blade. The story of a redhead noble named Eliwood and his friends Hector, a boisterous yet lovable man who enjoyed the thrill of battle, and Lyn, a woman of the plains who rejected the life of a noble.

This one Lapis had thoroughly enjoyed from beginning to end and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good read. She thought the plot flowed well and was relatively fun to see the trio get through their problems.

Awakening. The story of a valiant yet somewhat of a doofus prince named Chrom and a mysterious tactician named Robin, whom Chrom found asleep in the field. This one was actually a bit heartbreaking to read, mainly because Lapis related to the characters’ children from the future. Not the war, but the death of a parent. For them, it had been the death of the people they hold near and dear to them. For Lapis, it had been the death of future love or emotional connection she could have had from her biological parents.

She could feel the memories trying to resurface but quickly shook them from her head. That was a tale for another day.

Lapis finished Awakening mainly because she wanted to see the end of Grima. The love and support Lucina received from her biological parents was something she envied. However, if given the choice, Lapis would not change a thing.

What happened happened. Only time would tell if her father would snap out of it.

Besides, Lapis loved her adoptive parents completely. They gave her what her father didn't, and for that, Lapis would go through that pain again and again if it meant having them in her life.



And then there was the Fates trilogy. While the books were not the worst, they were very by the number and formulaic. Corrin was far too stupid to be the main protagonist and everyone bowed to him for no reason. Even the version of the story where Corrin was female, the story was just… horrible. There was no tension, no nothing.

Lapis did enjoy some of the characters, but the ones who should have permanently died didn’t and thus made the story much worse.

Ugh. She really wanted to like Fates, but the story was just not something she could recommend in good faith. Sure other people might really like it, but Lapis was certain that it would be a title that aged like cheese.

A book came to mind; one she had been searching for a while. Her orange eyes sparkled at the thought that today might be the day that she finishes the story she remembered so long ago but could never find again.

Lapis searched the bookshelves again, quickly scanning through each title. She jumped up to try and see the higher shelves, bend all the way down for the lower ones, and maneuvered in any way she could that kept her from putting her feet near the books again.

“Rescue… Resentment… Restless… Ah!”

Lapis quickly snatched the book from the shelf, looking at it in disbelief.

Requiem.



It was the story of a beautiful knight by the name of Beatrix Havenbrook. She and her band of mercenaries were traveling to find a hidden treasure somewhere within the nation. From where Lapis had left off, the group had managed to kill a three-headed beast and recruit Velita’s brother, Khirel, into the group. However, the copy within her family’s library had been smudged and damaged due to someone being careless with ink, leaving it illegible. The day she saw she couldn’t continue it; Lapis had been so incredibly heartbroken that she cried about it for nearly a week.

The book itself was rare, so much so that every library the blue-haired woman had visited within The Mordlind Concorde did not carry a copy.

But now, here it was, in her hands. She could finally finish the story she longed to read the ending to.

She would not waste any more time!



Lapis quickly rushed back to the table where her large stack of books awaited her. She plopped down in the chair, got comfortable, then opened Requiem to the page she had left off and continued. Judging by the amount of time it took for her to read the page and flip to the next, she would surely be finished with the book before bed.
 
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MENTIONS: @Psyker Landshark [Theodoric], @Solace [Mael], @Astoria [Parthenia], @Rouge Rogue [Leonid]
"It's not like you have to take us out to somewhere extremely fancy. There has to be a teahouse or bakery in town," Sherry added onto what Parthy said, a crooked smile coming over her lips. When Mael chimed in about having the right to have some fun on the road, she rolled her eyes at him. She didn't even notice the way that he looked right through her. Still frustrated with him, she set her hands on her hips and gave him a pout. As house leader, she had to make sure that he kept a proper head on his shoulders. Yet... she wasn't sure if he would even listen to her. Would anyone? Oh well, she would just have to instill her opinions in them if they didn't want to listen the first time. Just as she was going to open her mouth to chastise him again, he left her side and disappeared into the crowd. Damn him...
Sighing, she decided that she should try to find those who would live closest to her. Sherry knew of Leonid, somewhat. He was one of the newest members of nobility within Musentia, along with the sudden heir to Sylmare. She peered through the crowd, trying to see if she could find the noble. It was only when said person spoke up that she was able to find him. Well... he was just as ragged as she imagined. Huffing, she set her hands on her hips, sending a scrutinizing glare his way.
"It better be, lest you want me tearing down your door in the middle of the night!" she grumbled at him, finding herself somewhat grouchy now. She wasn't used to dealing with all of these people at a time. In Grimdall, there were times when she had to meet with other members of nobility, but they were usually old and proper. This was a completely different story.
The hectic bustle of voices sprung into a crescendo. A small crescendo was occurring in her vicinity, and of course as house leader, she decided she had the right to investigate. Pressing through the crowd, she found herself face to face with a squabble between Mael and the brown-haired noble that had spoken up before-- Victor. The House Keryth boy was snarling at the other, his voice a savage howl that made her wonder what exactly Mael had done to upset someone so soon.
"What do you think you're doing?!" she snarled at Victor. She wanted to grab his coattails and tear him off her housemate, but she didn't want to run the risk of getting in deep trouble just yet.
The boy's dagger-like yellow eyes turned towards her. "This doesn't involve you, Grimdall."
"Oh ho, I think that it does. You have your filthy paws all over one of the people I'm responsible for."
"And?"
"Son of a-- I'll show you and--"
"That's enough."
Sherry's glare wavered towards the other person that had approached. Francette stood a few feet from them, her expression one of boredom traced with slight annoyance. The noblewoman's presence drove Victor to curse under his breath and release his hold on Maelys.
"You need to control your house members, Francette," Sherry growled.
The other girl glanced lazily at Mael. "I could say the same regarding your own house members, Sherry." When Sherry opened up her mouth, Francette raised a hand. "There's no need to argue. We can settle this tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Sherry deflated a little. What was tomorrow? She didn't want to seem stupid and ask her.
"Yes, tomorrow. Before he left, Professor Talbot told us there will be a practice battle between the Red Chimeras and the Green Falcons at the Verdant Crest."
The Verdant Crest. That was a grassy field in House Sylmare's territory. It wasn't far from the monastery at all. What surprised her was that she didn't know about this at all. Did she somehow miss it? Or were the Red Chimeras excluded from the announcement? "Very well. We'll settle this tomorrow."
Francette simply stared at her, blank-faced, for a few more moments before she turned to Victor. "Come on, Victor."
Sherry watched as Francette led a begrudging Victor away from Mael. The girl remained silent a few moments. There was going to be a practice battle, yet they didn't even know their professor. The same could be said for the Green Falcons; while they met Professor Talbot, he hadn't held any lectures. She guessed that the practice battle was just to get their feet wet. She heaved a hefty sigh, pushing her index finger into the ridge of her nose. "Tell me, Mael... why do you always get into trouble?"
 
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Laila Bellwood
Mentions: @Solace (Mael) @Luminosity (Sherry) @Demon Shinobi (Alex)


Before she could wait to see if Alex had given her any kind of response, Laila heard someone call out to her. At first, she couldn't quite see who it was that called out to her, but one thing she knew for sure. She didn't know the voice, and she didn't know anyone else within the place. So if someone was looking for her, she had no idea why that would be.

Trying to look through the other students, who appeared to be mostly ignoring her, it was hard to tell at first who it was that called out to her. Until she heard her name, this time her full name, be brought up in a question. Laila felt even more surprised that anyone would bring up her full name like that. Following where she heard the question come from, she came across a couple of other students that appeared to be going head to head over something. One of the two said the other shouldn't be looking for someone who didn't even belong with them. The other mentioned being a neighbor of that commoner, and then stating that a commoner wench is the only person who will deal with them. While his first remark had been a kinder one, the latter felt like a jab into her respect.

And then things turned from bad to worse. A struggle between the two started, and all Laila did was watch. Why should she step to help either side? neither have really given her any reason to do so. And then Sherry went past her, stepping in to stop the whole ordeal. Another girl came up, and the house leaders exchanged some remarks about each other's houses, before the other house leader mentioned a practice battle. Laila swallowed a bit, watching as the other house members walk away, and then Cherry began to scold the boy that was left with her, apparently called Mael.

Slowly approaching the two, she looked at Mael for a moment. Laila hadn't heard the entire exchange, but what he said wasn't exactly the best first impression in her book "I saw you were looking for me. I'm Laila." She said, before raising a finger to stop him from saying anything just yet "Before you go saying something you shouldn't, thinking someone like me would deal with someone like him," she gestured in the direction Victor went "Is a blow to my own respect. If they treat me with arrogance, they won't get squat from me. And I know a lot more people who are just like me when it comes to nobles. Now, I heard you mention to him that we were neighbors?"

Looking towards Sherry, she gave her a concerned look "I also heard about the practice fight. To think they'd do something like that already." She muttered, low enough for just the two next to her to hear "I mean, it isn't really surprising I guess, but I figured we would at least have one proper day to rest. But I guess one proper night is all we get." She wanted to add a remark about showing up to that stuck up noble, but knowing Sherry was from house Grimdall and not knowing the background of Mael, Laila decided it might be best to keep that kind of remark to herself for the time being. It was one thing to stand for her own, but it was another to start going at others in a similar kind of manner. It would basically put her in the same standing as that guy. And that thought made her shiver slightly.
 
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Alexander Zephaniah Ravaleth
28th of the Traveler Moon, Divine Year 781
Interacting with: @Luminosity @Psyker Landshark @Nim @Solace

Alex had ventured to spend the rest of the ride in relative silence, enjoying the scenery. Or he would have if not for Mael's little jog. He briefly considered joining, but was quick to shrug it off. He'd have plenty of time for exercise later after all. Plus, he wouldn't have wanted to leave Laila on her own with Sherry. Still, they arrived quicker than he'd imagined. Perhaps he'd misjudged the travel time. He could always serve to work on such things.

All else considered it was a rather quick ceremony, one which Alex had nary an objection. Until, that is, he heard that Sherry would be House Leader. All else considered, it was probably a good choice. He knew she wasn't so much the entitled princess that she couldn't fight. He respected her strength. "Welp, guess we'll have to hope the princess is a better house leader than she is conversationalist. Do try not to let all the dust on the battle field distract you," he said calmly, uttering the second part in little more than a whisper as he passed her by and the group began to tour their new homes for a while. Of course he wouldn't just tell her that he did have a bit of respect for her. He couldn't afford for her to get any bigger of a head than she already had. Plus, reminding her of the carriage ride was fun in and of itself.

Regardless, as time and their tour went on Alex couldn't help but exchange tentative glances with some of the other nobility. He didn't know many, if any of them. Though one in particular kept making eye contact with him. It was, ugh, Namira. He had to force himself from saying it out loud. He tried to keep his mind off of his half-sister, but seeing her already forming a clique with house members, and friends left him annoyed as they shared little snickers and shot brief looks in his direction. As if he didn't have enough to deal with. The sheer frustrations left him more than a little quiet for the rest of tour. He felt bad that he hadn't engaged with anyone, Laila in particular as she'd remained fairly close to him thus far. He'd have to make things up to her.

However, before Alex could make the attempt he was approached. Theodoric gave him a fair greeting. "Oh, no worries there bud," Alex said to Theodoric as he placed his hand on the young man's shoulder in an act of familiarity generally saved for closer friends then fairly newly met acquaintances. "I'm no stranger to a bit of difficulty. Besides, I most definitely got under her skin more than she got under mine." He thought about Theodoric for a moment. What did he know about the guy? Surely Namira would know quite a bit. In truth, Alex could have done a bit more to try and learn about some of the individuals he'd be interacting with, but he couldn't help wanting to enjoy some of the more special aspects of meeting and becoming friends, or even just acquaintances with someone in a natural way. It was something his mother always told him not to take advantage of. Learning about a person beforehand could create unwanted, or unnecessary biases. "Oh, and I'll do my best to make living with me as bearable as possible. Though I may enlist you're help to mess with our illustrious house leader on occasion," he added with a little smirk and chuckle.

Plus, he was more than a little annoyed with how things went back home ever since he'd joined House Ravaleth. There were so many rules. At least here there would be more leniency, to an extent. Still, as a noble named Victor began to complain, typical, about being houses with commoners, Alex couldn't help but get visibly annoyed. He'd already effectively given Laila a bit of an unplanned cold shoulder. That is to say he hadn't given her much attention despite thinking she might have been his only friend for the moment. And the way this Victor guy referred to her, a commoner wench, was a few syllables off from how Namira and her crappy friends and even bitchier mother referred to his own mother. He growled under his breath. "Excuse me," he said to Doric as he began to walk toward the sound of the small altercation, fully prepared to start an all out brawl. Luckily, Sherry had him beat. The situation was sufficiently de-escalated and it seemed as though Laila had a much better time standing up for herself now. He smiled. Although it was possible she was misunderstanding something.

Alex shook his head, calming himself. He realized, perhaps a little too late that he was upon the small group. "Well said Laila," he announced his presence to her so as not to startle her as he put his arm around her. "Although based on what I have seen and heard of Mael, I'm sure he meant no ill will. I mean, he probably wasn't referring to you specifically in his comment as the other jerk was." Alex smiled, much more naturally and warmly now as he looked at her. He didn't want her to feel as out of place as he assumed she had. "Right, pal?" he asked as he turned his glance to Mael, still smiling, though one more of confidence than one of warmth. He didn't wanna present any ill will to the heir of House Pleiades.
 
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Theodoric Branden Marlon
Mentions: @Demon Shinobi @Nim @Luminosity
Theodoric took Alex's friendly shoulder pat in stride, simply nodding back. The mention of getting under Sherry's skin and future petty slights against her elicited a brief smile from him.

"I just may take you up on that." Doric started to say before a commotion off to the side attracted his attention. Victor's lact of tact grated on him as much as it seemed to grate on Mael, though Doric winced at Mael's parting shot, hoping that neither of their commoner classmates were actually in earshot. He doubted they'd take well to that, no matter what Mael actually meant. At least Sherry was cognizant enough to stand up for Mael, though the mention of a practice battle between houses intrigued him. Right...he remembered Gwendolyn mentioning that the last time she'd returned home.

Before he could think too deeply on that subject, Theodoric blinked as one aforementioned commoner stepped into the fray. And lo and behold, what he'd feared had come to pass. Mael was going to have to scrounge up an apology, it seemed. Still, he walked over as the Green Falcons stalked off, shaking his head.

"Victor's been developing somewhat of a swelled head these past few years. There's a reason we've not spoken much." He murmured quietly to Sherry, Mael, and Laila, offering Laila a brief smile and a nod. "Theodoric of House Marlon. A pleasure. Don't let him get to you. While you're a student here, none of the other students have any standing above you, regardless of nobility." He paused, jerking his thumb behind him to point at Sherry. "Except Madam Grimdall here. And only nominally." Doric jabbed verbally at Sherry with a smirk before looking back to Laila. "Besides, wouldn't it be unfortunate if Victor suffered a black eye and a broken nose during the practice battle? Yhirel only knows he could use a humbling."
 
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For all the names that Parthenia knew, if Leonid didn’t speak up, she probably would have never found him unless she made a small announcement of her own amongst the crowd, to look for him. She was almost tempted to do that, too, had he not preempted her. The dark-haired boy hadn’t explicitly introduced himself, but considering that he was the only person that was supposedly hidden away for nigh on two decades, the eccentric sounding noble had all but outed himself. Having her target, she strolled towards him.

“Considering how proper and plain some of our fellow peers are, I can’t help but to feel a bit disappointed by your little proclamation.” Tugging on the sides of her dress, she gave him a small curtsy. “Leonid, I take it? A pleasure. I’m your new neighbor. Parthenia, from House Ciran, but you can call me Parthy, if you’d like. Looks like we’re to share two sides of a wall.”

She spoke freely and almost casually; considering the fact that he was her age, had raced Maelys down the road to the monastery, and having caught on to the subtle cues from his speech, Parthy thought he didn’t seem like the type to worry too much about formality or tradition, so she took on a casual affectation that she thought would endear her the most to her new dormmates.

With his mysterious background in mind, Parthenia was going to probe him about himself, but she was quite rudely interrupted by the rising sounds of an argument, which she turned towards. To the least of her surprise, it was the voice of one Victor Rampes Keryth, a noble that she knew well. It seemed like he had picked a quarrel with Maelys, which, too, was all a rather big surprise. Parthenia had known Victor since she was a little girl, but had always thought he was little more than an insufferable, pompous fool. If there was a single person who could make a real mountain out of a molehill, it was Victor. What was he complaining about? Having to dorm with commoners and Maelys, apparently. Honestly, it would have been pretty entertaining, if, as a fellow peer of Mordlind, he wasn’t making Parthenia look bad by association.

It wasn’t in her best interest to get involved, so she was content to watch the hullabaloo until Sherry broke through the crowd, almost predictably flying into a near-rage herself. Parthenia’s face twitched as she realized that she might have to step in after all and pull Sherry and Victor off of each other if things got worse, but thankfully, somebody else stepped in. Surprisingly, it was another familiar face; Francette Luralei, heir to House Luralei, and now, apparently, the house leader of the Green Falcons. Parthenia mused, with some amusement, that the entire kerfuffle just now reflected quite poorly on Sherry. On the first day, no less. She would have to rub it in her face later.

As Victor was led away, she leaned in to him, throwing some plausibly deniable shade his way herself. “I sympathize with you, Victor. The fact that I have to dorm with somebody without so much as a lick of class as well, the very thought, it makes me despondent.” She gave him her brightest smile, before turning around to join the conversation with Theodoric and the others behind her.

“Don’t bloody him too much. He’s right across from me, and I’ll never hear the end of his moaning if you do,” she said, in half-jest, before introducing herself to Laila, and Alex as well. “Now, I wonder what sorts of strategies Sherry has come up with for tomorrow. It’s rather early for a practice match.”
 
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Mentions: Luminosity (Sherry), Nim (Laila), Demon Shinobi (Alex), Psyker Landshark (Theodoric), Astoria (Parthenia)​

Mael felt a seething hatred render from the other noble's gaze as Victor unwittingly released the clenched fistful of his collar, tossing him a few steps back. He brought a hand up to wipe his face of the stray slobber of saliva from Mister Keryth, their glares never disconnecting from one another as they were separated by their house leaders. His brow suddenly narrowed, an almost bewildered look on his face from a particular sight; though, by the time his eyes blinked for the second take, Victor had already disappeared beyond the crowd. I could've sworn... Where two perfect rows of teeth should have been... Those weren't ordinary teeth.

The boy found his train of thought come to a halt when Sherry turned to him with the usual disdain, causing Mael to cross his arms together in her general direction. "I could not allow the name of my fellow house member, and neighbor, to suffer offense, commoner or not." He did not see the problem in butting heads with such a back-handed, primitive opinion; if commoners could not challenge the status quo, then who would? Even then, he did not consider the importance of his status to serve as a pillar for his arguments. He would have done the same for any friend, would-be friend, or stranger... it was one of his grandfather's many lessons, albeit omitting the selfish sentiments about empowering himself to claim a higher position.

His attention perked upon being caught unaware from a shorter girl with blonde hair meekly approaching them, his eyes quickly studying her features as she introduced herself as the Laila that he was looking for. His mouth hung partially open as some of the girl's words flew into one ear and out of the other, both of his hands suddenly lunging forward like a bird of prey snatching its meal to catch her hand.
"Aren't you just the most precious thing!!" Mael exclaimed in absolute jubilation towards the girl before realizing his action, quickly releasing her hand as he brought an arm behind his head. "A-ahem, I apologize, but you must understand! Twas not my intention to insult you as Victor did, but rather, rebuking his primitive ideals with his own expression of speech!"

Half a smile rose from his lips as Mael felt his cheeks flush slightly from the sudden attention that followed, seeing yet another person bring themselves into their circle. "Precisely, Alan!" he gave a thumbs up towards the newly arrived noble from House Ravaleth, affirming their statement as it was now Theodoric and Parthenia who joined them. Minus Leon and several other names from the earlier announcements, he saw that a greater portion of the Red Chimeras were now assembled together, looking towards each of them individually before turning to Laila. "Perhaps it is my love for theater and acting that has made my expression too convincing. But please, allow us to begin with a new slate!"

Placing his left hand over his heart, he politely bowed towards Laila. "I am Maelys Ernst Pleiades, but please, call me Mael," the boy's smile dissipated, his face contorting into an agony-stricken expression as his stomach growled loudly in a violent manner and his hand fell down to it. "... and I am starving! May we have an honorary first meal as the Red Chimeras?"
 
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Laila Bellwood
Mentions: @Solace (Mael) @Luminosity (Sherry) @Demon Shinobi (Alex) @Psyker Landshark (Theodoric) @Astoria (Parthenia)


Before either Sherry or Mael could respond, Laila heard a voice from behind her, which was soon accompanied by an arm being placed around her. Laila just felt herself begin to slightly blush, being completely unprepared for anyone from a more noble standing to do anything like it. She half thought that, at most, they would make shake hands with her with the tip of their fingers. Yet Alex came, gave his own opinion on things, and had his arm around her like it was a very casual thing to do. Quickly afterwards, Theodoric from house Marlon came and introduced himself, trying to calm the spirits down as well.

As she began to worry if perhaps she gave off the impression of being too rough on Mael by taking a more defensive position, Parthenia from House Ciran came and introduced herself as well, before pondering on what Sherry will do in the following day's upcoming fake battle. Laila had actually began to forget about it for a moment, before Mael caught her attention again.


From how it looked to her, Mael jumped and grabbed her hands with his, calling her a most precious thing, before backing away a second later and then explaining, like others, that he meant no ill feelings. Feeling as though her face was probably turning very red from all the sudden attention and touching that was going on, she let Mael introduce himself and nodded lightly. Slipping away from Alex's arm, she looked towards Mael "Laila Bellwood. And don't worry, I try to not keep initial impressions stick, unless people just straight up tell me to go back to the barn I came from." She said, taking a step back from the rest of them. The last thing she had expected was to suddenly be in what felt was the center of attention.

After realizing Mael had mentioned food, Laila felt what could only be described as her own stomach responding to the suggestion. After the rough travel and barely having any appetite for the majority of it, she felt like she could eat a 5 course meal and probably still have room for more "A meal sounds like a good idea," She said "We could discuss our strengths and weaknesses over food, help Sherry make a more proper strategic decision, instead of going in rather blindly."

Moving away from the previous occurrence allowed Laila to begin calm down a bit. It also felt as though her face was slowly stopping from being so warm, along with her managing to focus more on the topics she switched onto. The last thing she wanted was to stay flustered just because some things she didn't expect suddenly happened.
 
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MENTIONS: @Psyker Landshark [Theodoric], @Solace [Mael], @Astoria [Parthenia], @Rouge Rogue [Leonid], @Demon Shinobi [Alexander], @Nim [Laila]
Sherry scoffed at Doric's words as she nodded half-heartedly in agreement. Victor had been a bit of a hot-head lately. When he was younger, he was more tolerable, but it seemed like his pedigree was catching up with him. More people started to gather around them, one of them being the blond girl Laila. Well, she was a lot more talkative than before. She seemed almost as hot-headed as Victor. Crossing her arms, Sherry listened to the conversations around her. Despite her gathering annoyance, she couldn't help but feel like they were... a good enough bunch. They had Ravaleth, Marlon, Ciran (whose words had drawn a "See? She understands my frustrations!" from Victor, who was quickly dragged out of the vicinity by Francette), Pleiades... and one or two others that weren't there, on top of a commoner.

"I think Victor would look better with a few scars on his face. Maybe we could break his nose. I think it's too pointy," Sherry stated in a matter-of-fact tone in reply to Doric before turning to Parthenia. "Oh come now, Parthy. I believe his moaning should be much better than being forced to hear him talk to his reflection every night."

"And you..." she turned to Maelys. "Your thoughts were honorable. You should be grateful I came around when I did, though. I expect an act of gratitude at some point in time. As for now," she inhaled, then exhaled. "I am also rather starved. Like... Laila said, we should discuss some strategy over some warm food..."

---

And that is exactly what the Red Chimeras did. They ate and began to talk about the impending battle, but soon enough their conversations would drift elsewhere. Nevertheless, they ate, filled their bellies, talked some more, and dispersed. Soon enough, night came and went, and a new dawn had fallen upon their inexperienced heads.

The cycle of waking and eating happened once more. Breakfast was rather heavy, probably to energize the students and prepare them for their first day. This time the Red Chimeras and Green Falcons intermingled and she found herself sharing a meal with Marcus, who unlike Victor, had tempered his passionate emotions and was much more mellow than he was the last time she saw him. Instead, he was even-tongued and courteous, even going so far as to compliment her for achieving the role of House Leader. Thank Yhirel he was actually decent... unlike some other people.

After breakfast, the Green Falcons and Red Chimeras dispersed once more, this time gathering into their separate groups and heading to class. Sherry had arrived at the Red Chimera's classroom along with some others, only to see that the desk at the very head of the room was empty. She tipped her head to the side, peering at the empty chair and barren desk. "Either the professor's late or we're early," she stated to the nearest person, somewhat disappointed. "This Juno person didn't even show up to our orientation. I suppose hoping to be taught at least a little bit of strategy before the battle later today is out of the question? What a disappointment."


 

Parthenia’s face changed as she deliberately raised her eyebrows, responding to Sherry’s retort. “You know what? You’re right. That would probably be better, now that I think of it.” She made a gesture of winding her arm, as if to warm up to hit somebody. “Save me a few hits then, will you?”

Making a few more dramatic gestures, she then nodded at both Maelys and Laila. “A fantastic idea. I’ve heard good things about the cuisine here.”

-

The food had measured up to Parthenia’s expectations, and she ate well. Thankfully, despite dorming across from her, her sleep was not disturbed by Victor praising his own face in the mirror during the night, at least, not initially. Dinner, and then the delightfully thorough breakfast the next morning ended up being an excellent chance to fully catch up with Dory and Sherry, and her other old friends, as well as mingling and getting a better impression of the other ladies, lords, and commoners that were now part of her family in the Red Chimeras.

Now that their morning meal was over, Parthenia was also looking forward to meeting their assigned professor. Since the majority of the meal was spent comingling with the Green Falcons, the only proper opportunity to talk real strategy in a huddle was now. But once again, it seemed the professor was missing, and she shared a look with Sherry, before helpfully offering an explanation.

“I don’t suppose she got drunk again and is still hungover in bed?”

She shrugged, putting on an amused face, but privately, she was as disappointed as Sherry. She still wanted to get an impression of this Juno, but it seemed it was declining by the hour, even before she met her.

“Let’s discuss strategy amongst ourselves, then,” she offered. “What were all of your impressions of the Falcons earlier? If we can get an impression of their skills and the weapons they prefer, we can assume their composition and plan accordingly.”
 
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