you can't write me up on this [closed]

(note: this thread will be moved when the proper board is established )
Mally  Redgrim  Olwen  Scribe

     Inhaling deeply through his nose, eyes closed as he felt the electromagnetic energy around him, Mavek felt his hands fill with a last warm orb. His mind reached to the edges of his perception, and he heard the loud crack of a lighbulb's filaments exploding outside of the door of the Student Administration Office as the soft glow of his newest light reached behind his thin eyelids. He would have to get that replaced. With an airy sigh, the wind escaping his throat unmarred by vocal chords that did not work, Mavek opened his eyes, lifting his hand to push the weightless light up towards the ceiling where countless others lie. 

     Though it wasn't quite necessary, illuminating the room himself had a few purposes: first, the soft light of hundreds of orbs felt nice on his eyes, and Mavek had found that as he aged, he became more sensitive to bright sunlight. He speculated it was because the Quelths, his mother's people, were most likely deep-sea creatures. Second, most students were fairly impressed by it- a dark room peppered with tiny lights subtly mimicked a full night sky, and as he could somewhat control how the orbs lit and what colours they were, he could mark patterns and constellations in some imitation of the sky. Third, and this was a more recent use with the invention and prevalence of personal devices, the lights were partially powered by electromagnetic energy, which meant they drained phone batteries and interfered with electromagnetic waves. For this particular event, he was most focused on the first two- his light sensitivity mixed with that of one of the students made personal lighting ideal, and since his assistant and tether Ida would likely need to speak for him, Mavek wished to assert some sort of power over the students from the start to ensure that they didn't find him weak. Although, he realized as he paced the length of the long table where he would soon be sat at the head of, his writhing, tentacled hair would probably be intimidating enough. 

     Pulling his pocket watch from his waistband, Mavek checked the time, eyes shifting over the hour and minute hands as he looked up towards the door. Hopefully the students would be coming soon- especially the one who Ida had been sent to escort. 

     He could feel her a not so far away, and as he called to her mind it was as if he were there with her, knocking firmly on the door of Nathaniel Morosec. "This is Ida Moon, I'm here to take you to the House Leader Orientation," she called through the wood, and as Mavek pulled away from her mind, the echo of her words filled his mind as he watched the doorframe, slightly ajar. 

     "Nathaniel Morosec? We should go immediately," Ida called again, another, softer knock reverberating against the wood. She stepped back and cleared her throat, folding her arms behind her back. She wasn't quite sure why she had been picked for the job of an escort- although she was strong and fast, she had no powers other than her tie to Mavek's mind. But he trusted her, and that she was thankful for, so she had taken the job with enthusiasm. Hopefully he would answer, their travel would be swift, and then they would make it to the meeting before any other students went and tried to talk to Mavek without her. Hopefully.

     Zak Jumped as his alarm rang off, pencil marking a deep scratch into the paper he had been writing on. He hadn't slept much that night- perhaps two hours, maybe three- and had spent most of the time writing letters and drawing tiny, dark figures in the margins of his journal instead of writing. Every time he slept, dreams granted him no solace, and when he was awake, he felt sluggish and tired. Hopefully the orientation would have something caffeinated.

     Turning off the alarm, he stood up slowly, grabbing the jacket that was slung over the back of his desk chair. The school's halls were always so cold in the mornings. He slipped it on and grabbed a few things off his desk- his journal, a pencil and eraser, the letter that was invisible to all but him somehow, and his phone, still blaring its 10:30 alarm. He turned it off as he approached the door out of his room, holding his belongings close. All of this would be gone and in his new room by the time the orientation was over, he realized, giving one last look to all of his things before he quietly closed the door.

     It didn't take long to reach the Student Administration Office- it was a room Zak had passed by numerous times but had never quite realized was there. He had never really seen anyone in it, either- as he approached the beveled wood door, he pondered what it would even be like inside. He held his fist to the wood, nearly knocking, before finally noticing that it sat slightly open. Quietly opening the old door, he peered inside before stepping into the strangely lit room, orbs like stars hanging down at various heights. He half-closed the door behind him. "H-hello," he said quietly, noticing the Assistant Headmaster pacing away from him. He had a class with him the year before and was familiar enough, but the careful writhing of his tentacles always unnerved him.

The young woman still found her victory incredibly shocking. Her opponent had worked so hard to advertise the advantages of having her be the house leader, yet Olwen had still triumphed. On the day she received news of the success, she had  taken the letter, laid on her bed, and took a winner's nap. It had been a couple days since then and the intensity of the situation had grown. She was nervous, afraid of failure and worried that something would go wrong. Every time she fell into this state of despair the reassuring words of her dear friend Nathaniel popped into her head and whispered kind encouragement. She hoped he was right. 

Today was the day and each step towards the office made her heart beat echo even louder throughout the halls of Foresta. Her feet stumbled often in the over-sized tennis shoes making a soft squeaking sound. Of course, this was the only part of her outfit that had been underdone; in an attempt to look nice for the whomever was waiting behind the office door. As she rounded the last corner, she noticed a familiar face walk into the room she was headed towards. Olwen hurriedly fell in behind him and found herself staring into dozens of little bright lights. It took her a moment to notice the tentacle man sitting at the desk on the other side of the room though he didn't seem to scare Zak so she didn't worry about him. "Good morning, sir," then she turned to her conservatory friend, "and hello to you, again."

Olwen found herself a seat near the back and awaited the arrival of the other house leaders. The open seat beside her was silently claimed for her male counterpart, Nathaniel. Ever since the night at the coffee house she had been looking forward to seeing him again. Memories of the secrets they had shared made her face blossom. Her right leg began to bounce as she patiently watched the door. 

Annoying. The damning sun had dawned only a few hours earlier, but the school mandated that the vampire must leave his room. There would be a chaperone to safely escort him through the uninhabitable zone, but it would be a trivial thing to kill him if a single one of those humans ever got the notion to. Even if they had good intentions, a single mistake could end him by accident and after a series of poor experiences he didn't particularly trust the staff, let alone their competency. So not only would Nathaniel have to trudge through the day tired and half asleep, but he would be utterly defenseless the moment he left his room.

He wasn't tired for lack of trying to sleep, either. Nathaniel had attempted to rest the latter part of the night away, but his body refused to comply. The vampire had spent most of the early morning hours laid awake with nothing but a ceiling to stare at, and he had studied it intensely. They promised him a new room after today, a much larger one not that he had any plans for the new space, but it would be private and would lack the possibility of natural light entering. At least that would be something to look forward to.

A knock came at his door and Nathaniel groaned, but he had made himself ready long in advance. If nothing else, he was no slouch and he intended to be prompt and punctual whatever the cost. Ida Moon spoke to Nathaniel through the door so he took one last look down at his body to double check that he was properly dressed for the occasion, not that he ever wore anything that couldn't qualify as business-casual, before he answered the knock at his door unenthusiastically.

"Then let's go," he said simply. The vampire had nothing more to discuss with the woman and he was in no mood for delay or small talk. The only thing on his mind was getting this orientation over with so that he could go back to sleep, so he would dutifully follow his chaperone through the secret tunnels that Mavek Ivors had informed him of, but otherwise Nathaniel would pay her no mind. The existence of these tunnels could prove very useful in the future but the assistant headmaster had been clear that he was never to speak of them and Nathaniel wondered why that was. Were they used for something else? Transporting secret objects? Does the entire staff know about them? Why necessitate secrecy if they're merely an alternative path for light-challenged individuals? The possibilities seemed endless, but those prying questions could wait for another time.

After they completed their secret trek via Ida's guidance, Nathaniel arrived at the Student Administration Office. The dimly lit room was a comfortable environment for the vampire, and he genuinely appreciated the decor. He was somewhat concerned that he might become too comfortable because the desire to sleep was already evident in his body language, but at least the assistant headmaster had shown some consideration for him. Nathaniel's eyes adeptly adjusted to the dim light of the room to take stock of the current participants, most of whom he had yet to meet.

Ida Moon was in front of him because she had guided him safely to the room. The flat-chinned tentacle-haired man dominated the room with his height, and Nathaniel suspected this was the assistant headmaster he had minced words with a few days prior in writing. Some other human he had yet to meet was already seated, and he wasn't Adrian, so by order of omission Nathaniel concluded that this must be the new leader of Pyxis, Zak Crowe. Nathaniel bore no greeting for any of the three because his tired eyes had met Olwen's.

"Morning, love," the vampire greeted his friend with a genuine smile. The very sight of Olwen Lithisia appeared to turn Nathaniel's mood around completely, his sluggish demeanor replaced by a newfound energy. They hadn't spoken since the Coffee Central not for any lack of desire, so he was too tired to smoothly play off his excitement to see her despite the somewhat formal occasion. The seat next to her was open and it made sense for the Lyra leaders to sit next to each other anyway, so he took it gracefully.

"The lighting here reminds me of where we met," the vampire spoke to Olwen in a hushed voice so as not to disturb anyone else. A pseudo-night sky had been formed, through a means Nathaniel did not yet understand, but somehow this one felt more lively than the ball room they had met at. The decor was actively controlled, and again through order of omission it was an educated guess to assume the assistant headmaster was behind it.

"Do you think he controls it with his brain-tails?"

    A rare occasion to have others of import awaiting her arrival within Foresta. Classes and smaller events hardly garner the same need for poise and presence; though, certainly such things had become expected of her over time. Such is her consistency. Not much has called for Cecilia Vega's presence in any official capacity ever since she arrived at the school. Make no mistake, it certainly brought about a strange sort of ostracization. Really, the poor girl could only ever truly be herself in solitude. Too much image to uphold, reputation to consider, and awe to instill.

    This is why the young political adept, though successful only by merit of lacking competition, spent her entire morning preparing her conduct, appearance, and overall regal air. Three hours of tedious, careful, precise and well-practiced ablutions later and she deemed herself presentable. Such is the skill needed for a sightless, blind, unseeing child to reach the level of grace required of an upper class individual to make others doubt their own clout.

    So, it is with an overbearing sense of distaste that she would find herself knocking on Adrian Mackenzie's door at ten in the morning, failing to rouse him from his sleep. She may very well be capable of finding the office on her own, she has had plenty of time to familiarize herself with every step of the academy, but the agreement was to arrive in tandem as a united front!

    "If you make us late, you insufferable oaf, I will give you no moment of peace!" 

---

Saturday, March 12th at 10:54 AM


    "Look, it was faster this way, right? No way I'm holding your tiny baby hand." A male voice, incredulous and exasperated, drifted in through the slightly ajar door from the hallway. Although the words that followed were pitched lower, as if largely to himself, they were still clearly audible, "The things people would say..."

    "¡Me sueltes ahora mismo, cabrón inmundo!" Another, much younger, and higher pitched voice half-screamed over the other, followed immediately by a harsh thump. "Ow, ¡mierda! ¡Zoquete torpe!"
 
    A half second later, the towering form of Adrian Mackenzie pressed through the doorway, blocking nearly all of the light from outside. What little of his expression could be seen appeared pleasantly amused, and he strode in with the confidence of a person arriving exactly when he meant to. As he claimed a seat, he swept his eyes with critical assessment over each figure in the room, showing no recognition for any of them, nor confusion over their identities. For a moment, his eyes lingered on Ida, following the curve of her figure in the poorly illuminated room with unspoken appreciation. Now, that is a fine asian ass.

    The second to enter, despite all attempts, did not look nearly as put-together as intended. Short in stature and slim in figure, Cecilia Vega could not compare with the presence her male counterpart exuded naturally. With wrinkles in her dress, hair out of place, and blindfold askew none of the child's morning preparations had lasted the trip here. Simmering in rage, but forcing calm poise, the girl attempted to smooth out her appearance and adjust the mess sufficiently. After a long, quiet, awkward moment - and an agonized grimace - she began searching for obstacles with subtly seeking hands. Darkness would be no impediment here, but the fact remained that Cecilia had never been in this room before. Rather than allow the girl to humiliate herself any further, Adrian pushed out a chair into her waiting hands, which she greedily moved around to sit in.

The soft tones of Esha’s alarm clock eased her state into consciousness, though that being said it was no less annoying than if it was an air horn blaring. She cracked her eyes open, her palm being the first thing she laid her sight upon. Before she could even think about setting the noise off, she had to speak her prayers, though quietly so that she didn’t wake her neighbour. That would be the first relief of getting her own room, she didn’t have to be so discrete about her prayers in order to appease her roommate. She asked for the Earth’s pardon before she placed her feet on the floor and went on to her morning business. She set herself at least an hour before the meeting, so that she could get the rest of her morning rituals out of the way. While it was a private meeting, that was no excuse for her to not look her best.

She donned a rather subtle colour of sari this time around, a lighter tan that was highlighted in white designs and symbols. She slipped the full body wear over anything that might hint toward her true appearance, blending in with regular humans once again. She quickly dabbed a trifecta of red dots in between her brows and then rushed out the door.

Esha was usually confident in her time to get ready, but it looked as though she overestimated it this time around. Before now, she had no reason to be nervous during the orientation. She was comfortable in slipping into the power she would soon wield, not exactly being new to the whole ‘Avatar of her people’ type of business, but the note seemed quite strict on the terms of scheduling so she wasn’t interested in seeing just how quickly the school administration would be looking for her replacement.

Thankfully, she managed to squeeze herself in just before the door closed behind the girl with the blindfold. Both her lungs and her gills fluctuated heavily, gasping for air, but the gills were slightly muffled by the headdress that hugged them so tightly.

She was slightly mesmerized by the appearance of the hall, expecting something a bit more plainly, but the change in expectation was welcome. She quickly motioned toward the seat closest to Zak considering that he was the only person around she could recognize, not to mention that it seemed to be a theme amongst the rest of them. She waved at her cohort and gave off a bit of a smile, holding her tongue back so as to not interrupt anything that the teacher had to say. She was already the lagging tail of the group, she didn’t want to place herself in a more unfavourable position.

     Returning from her escorting job, the weird vampire student unnerving Ida more than most of Foresta's student body did, she rushed to the side of her companion soon after entering the room, moving to stand behind the seated man before realizing she was too short, and he too tall, for her to be seen. Embarrassed, she relayed this telepathically to Mavek before moving swiftly to stand beside him, arms crossed behind her back as more students filed in. Mavek reassured her, glancing in her direction out of the corner of his eye before watching carefully each student that the students of Foresta had chosen to lead them. It was an interesting mix. 

     Zak watched quietly as each of the other new House Leaders filed in, nodding with a small wave as Olwen addressed him. He gave Esha a smile as she was seated next to him - although they didn't know each other too well, he respected her and looked forward to working alongside her as House Leader - and watched silently as Ida moved swiftly to close and lock the door behind the Pyxis girl. She cleared her throat, and Zak's attention was drawn quickly to the short Asian woman. 

     "Now that we're all here," she began with a slight cough before continuing, recalling the short introduction she had rehearsed in her head to her tether a million times, "Both Assistant Headmaster Mavek Ivors and I are proud to welcome the six of you here today. We look forward to working with you all to improve student life, faculty-student communications, and the overall quality of our fine institution." Dammit. Wrong line. Ida cleared her throat again, moving slowly towards the center of the long table. "Today we will discuss your role as House Leader, the privileges you are entitled to, and how and when we will hold future meetings. We will have a meeting every other week, at a date and time of your collective choosing- on occasion we will have emergency meetings as well, but hopefully things will not come to that." She lowered her head slightly, observing the faces of each student with a small smile. 

     She felt far more confident now as she spoke above them, and she straightened back her shoulders to make herself taller as she finished. "During this meeting, as all subsequent ones, we will have tea together, as Assistant Headmaster Ivors finds to be tradition. Keep in mind that Mr. Ivors is from Liverpool and we are referring to the Britishkind of tea- you're not required to indulge in actual tea, if you so desire." She smiled again, taking a few steps away from the table and gesturing to her companion who watched the students carefully, eyes away from her. 

     "I would like to remind those of you unfamiliar with the Assistant Headmaster Ivors that he is unable to speak and must communicate telepathically. So, if you please, open your minds to him and hear his voice and we will begin." Ida bowed, although it was not necessary, and Mavek gave her a quick look and courteous nod before looking back to the students and standing. 

     Zak watched as Ida moved behind the tentacle-haired man, presumably organizing tea and food to be served. He sat up in his seat, taking in a deep breath as he prepared to listen in his own head. It was a sensation he would never get used to. 

     'Welcome, dear students. Although Ida refers to me by my surname, I ask that you please call me Mavek. Although I am here to guide all of you, I am also here to listen, and I hope you grant me the courtesy of occasional informality.' Mavek's eyes washed over each set of faces as he spoke to their minds, probing gently at them telepathically to ensure he was heard. If one of the students neglected to listen, there would be trouble. 'Before we begin, I'd like to introduce myself to you, and have each of you introduced in turn. My name is Mavek Ivors, and I have been at Foresta in various positions for around ten years. As Ida said, I was born in Liverpool long ago and have traveled the world many times over. Of all the places I've visited, I am most fascinated by Foresta and its students and find the most fulfilling work that I've done in my life to be working with you and your cohorts. I look forward to getting to know all of you and learning of your concerns and desires for this school.' He gestured at Ida, who moved across his path to place two teapots on each end of the table. 

     'This is "Ida" Iseul Moon. She is my tether. That means that we are tied until death. We can communicate telepathically at will and have minor access to one another's senses. She is originally from South Korea and is the reason I came here. Without Ida, I would have never come to America. I owe much to her.' His face remained still and unmoving aside from his eyes, which were cool slits constantly shifting from face to face. His chest took a large heave, the sound of his sharp breathing echoing into his nostrils, and he nodded, placing his fingernails on the table with a soft tap. 'Now, if you would each in turn stand and introduce yourselves,' he nodded, looking at Zak, 'starting with the first to enter.' Mavek was then Seated, eyes watching the bird boy curiously. 

     Zak looked at the stony man and gulped, taking a deep breath with widening eyes before standing to take the first turn. He around at each of his fellow House Leaders, some more familiar than others. "Um, my name is Zakarie Crowe. Zak for short. I uh.... am from Indiana, originally, in the United States. I enjoy building machines, woodcarving, and caring for birds. Which I um, can talk to. Thanks."

      He looked around one more time with a nervous smile before his eyes settled on Olwen. He gave her an encouraging look- though he had only gotten to know her once, he felt at least a little comforted by the presence of someone he had met before more extensively. Mavek's gaze rested on her as well as Ida moved around, setting plates, saucers, and cups in front of each student. The gentle tinkling of glasses and silverware sounded each time she moved behind Mavek's chair, and he brightened the star-like lights slightly for her.

They all came in, slowly but surely. Nathaniel was the one to follow directly after her and then a few more trickled in after but her attention wasn't on them anyways. The feeling of loneliness vanished with just a few words and she felt like they were back in the coffee house again. He mentioned the similarities this room had compared to the ballroom where they had first met and she nodded, seeing what he saw. Just before the Assistant Headmaster spoke she quickly replied, "No doubt about it," and wiggled her fingers under the table to imitate the tentacles motion.

Olwen's mouth respectfully shut when Ida began to speak, listening carefully to what their lives would be like now that they each represented a dorm in Foresta. She turned her attention to Mavek but found that no ears were required to hear him loud and clear. His face was much like a statue and seemed to bear no visible emotions. Olwen couldn't decide what was stranger about it, the lack of expression or the fact that he was telepathically speaking to everyone in the room.  

Introductions were mentioned and her stomach fell; this was to be expected but it was still hard to stand in front of a group of strangers. Zak was quick to lay out the major points of his life before smiling to her, suggesting that it was her turn to speak. Olwen slowly stood and quickly glanced around the room before introducing herself, "My name is Olwen Lithisia, I'm 17, from the northern coast of Scotland, and have the ability to manipulate bones." Her body fell silently into the chair, the slight bounce of her leg resumed, and she smiled shyly toward Nathaniel, curious of how he would describe himself. 

The two leaders of Lyra made their small talk as the final participants entered the room. Nathaniel was still trying not to laugh out loud at the tentacle gesture Olwen had made when Ida requested that the students open their minds to the assistant headmaster. The idea of potentially exposing the inner workings of Nathaniel's brain was not something the vampire was readily willing to consent to, but after he endured a few seconds of awkward silence as Mavek telepathically spoke to them, he relented. Supposedly Mavek Ivor's telepathy was a one way connection, but Nathaniel was too cautious to trust that so he made note to guard certain thoughts, for example the curious notion that if he put a blade through the assistant headmaster's body, the hypothetical victim would make no sound. Would his tether come running to save him? If they shared senses, would she feel the pain too? Would she scream? She had a pleasant voice, he bet that her scream would satisfy him. Nathaniel quickly realized he was not very good at stifling his wandering mind, but the assistant headmaster had not stumbled over his telepathic words so the vampire concluded his idle thoughts were safe.

Nathaniel Morosec dutifully listened to their introductions. Ivors spoke for Ida and he set the example for students to follow - Predictable, textbook leadership. In the span of only a minute or two Mavek Ivors had forced them to open their minds to his intrusion and now he prompted them to follow his game of introductions, and Nathaniel sighed when Zak played along. It was inevitable. If they wanted the job, they would have to humble themselves to their employer's requests. Even though he found the light show pleasant, Nathaniel was not particularly impressed nor misled by the assistant headmaster's obvious and continued attempt to establish dominance as though it had not already been implied by his title. Chalk it up to a lifelong history in opposition of authority figures, but the disdain on Nathaniel's tired face showed.

He casually surveyed his fellow leaders with disinterested inspection. Nathaniel had been out of school and in the real world long enough to have a grounded perspective on where they were and what they were doing, and how trivial it was despite the school's best intention to make it sound like this was some big deal. The job mattered, sure, but it was far from the most exciting thing to ever happen in his life. On the other hand, so far most of his fellow leaders appeared to be either nervous, intimidated or simply not fully prepared for this orientation. Nathaniel met none of that criteria.

Olwen too followed suit and Nathaniel took the opportunity to look his friend up and down, as she had the room's attention anyway. She looked very nice, he thought, and he recalled approving of her simplistic fashion the night they met. He didn't get the impression that she liked to draw eyes which would usually count against a person in his mind, but lately Nathaniel was all about staying under the radar and somehow that connection made it easier for him to focus on her agreeable personality rather than her body. Hearing the girl speak indirectly soothed the grievances he had about this whole ordeal and he was glad she went before him, because the snarky introduction he was about to make may otherwise have been presented far more hostile. Olwen sat back down and smiled at him to suggest he had the floor.

He stood and spoke confidently to the room, "My name is Nathaniel Morosec, born and raised around New York. I like long walks on the beach and I value my privacy," the vampire's eyes fixed on Mavek Ivors who still had telepathic access to violate the personal space of his mind. This arrangement would not last, but for now he would endure the imposition.

"I don't take kindly to those who try to impose their will on me," his attention turned to the other elected leaders, "but treat me fairly and we'll get along just fine. Not a fan of these early morning get-togethers either, let's agree to meet later in the day next time."

Nathaniel sat, because there was no value in offering the room any more information than that. It was someone else's turn to take the stage.

    Cecilia Vega focused first on her own presentation. Ankles together, back straight, chin held high, hands in her lap - after she adjusted the midnight blue blindfold to lay even and as unwrinkled as possible with only a single pass. She did not want to spend the next few minutes in the oppressively quiet room fixing every out-of-place hair, but Esha's entry should have proved enough of a distraction for the young heiress to do the bare minimum without particular notice. Certainly, no one could be impolite enough to call attention to her previously disheveled state.

    The second subject of importance was the room and its occupants. A quietness had settled into place when the door shut, an audible click not particularly easing her concerns, cutting off external noise from the hallways with dramatic tension. She betrayed no sign of it in her body language, too well practiced at controlling her image to even tighten her fingers or swallow. The sound of breathing and the click of shoes on a hard floor were all that remained for a moment. Most felt calm and controlled, two were short and quick, but one of those seemed to gasp with desperation. The last, most recognizable other than her own, drew deep and steady breaths with a slow, even pace. Despite carrying her under his arm in a sprint halfway across the Academy, he showed no sign of strain even now.

    The still air does nothing to comfort, but she can tell just by the taste of the air that this room, at least, is cleaner than the last one she got locked in. That experience not being one she particularly liked to recall, her focus turned to the windless chill. Reasonably certain that the hallways had been warm with sunlight, despite the early morning air, she concluded that the room must have been closed off to outside light. Strange, most people did not like to have their discussions in the dark. Was this to her benefit?

---

    They're all overdressed. Adrian's arms crossed over his chest, a signal of closing himself off from the rest of the room. Or subconsciously guarding himself. After all, this setting did not spark confidence. Unfortunately, comfort also seemed to have eluded their serious, quiet hosts. The straight-backed chairs the students had been given made any sense of liesure a difficult goal, with the risk of sliding off the seat present. Oh, well. At least no one had bothered to harp on his choice of t-shirt and jeans.

    Once the speech went underway, both Adrian and Cecilia provided their due attention, both a bit at a loss as to what authority the speaker held. It hardly mattered, but Cecilia spent much of her time trying to reason out the woman's position in the Academy. Headmistress? No, deferential. So, an assistant to a mute. In contrast, Adrian kept his closed off expression, as if taking in every word with attentive apathy. In reality, he found himself admiring the eye candy provided by the woman, somewhat distantly wonder what age she would tell if he asked. Not that he would be so guileless as to ask. Telepathic? Oh, god. Can he hear my thoughts? With sudden apprehension, and as much skill in hiding it as he could, he averted his eyes from Ida, deciding to focus instead on the Twi'lek in front of him. No, wait. Twi'lek isn't right. What was the other thing?

    A moment of silence washed over the room as Mavek took the reigns, and then stared at them all in carefully poised silence. Uh. What? Wait, what was she saying? Open my mind? But I don't want anyone in my head! He had to suppress a shudder at the idea of such an intrusion into his conscious thoughts. Not so much that Adrian had anything to hide, but he hardly appreciated Gifted from a distance, he certainly had no desire to entertain one messing with his head. But as the unspoken conversation continued, he supposed he really had no choice. Only... How am I supposed to do this, anyway? Let's see... Think of nothing, right? Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Agh, but I'm still thinking! How do I stop that!? Is he just going to assume we can all crack our heads open on a whim? Oh, I know that look, I bet he just went into a really long dialogue. He cast a furtive glance to the others in the room, wondering which of the others were faking it as poorly as him. He really could not tell among those he spotted, so either they were faking it exceptionally well or they had found this an easy task. Ugh. Okay, wait. Maybe if I just, like.. Try to listen to Cecilia breathing. That's what she does all the time. Yeah... Oh! Kit Fisto! Hah. Knew it.

    Through it all, Ida's introduction caught his attention. Adrian really had lost most of the rest of the conversation to the wind, but he would hardly mention anything if no one else did. Ida Iseul Moon? That sounds... Well, right, I guess. Have I heard that before? I don't think so... Wait, what's he talking about now? Introductions? Why not go by dorm? Adrian remained perfectly oblivious to the narrative machinations at play. Once Zak got started, Adrian nearly sighed in relief, Oh good. No more brain stuff.

    He stood abruptly once it came to him, his arms still crossed even as he stretched his back and rolled his shoulders, trying to rid himself of the chair's discomfort. "Adrian Mackenzie," He declared, a slight smirk signaling some inner musing, Or Spitfire for occasions like these. "I burn things." That was his usual go-to response, after all, but then, with these people... "Not on purpose. I don't like fire." He hardly wanted to make it sound like an accident, something beyond his control, but that was the truth of it. Deciding he had no interest in explaining that mention, and definitely wishing to avoid the context of his home town, he shrugged dismissively and took his seat.



    Cecilia Vega held back a put upon sigh at Adrian's sparse introduction, which told literally nothing of importance. Having long since composed herself appropriately, both in appearance and emotionally, she rose with fluid grace and took a stance with firm, proper elegance. She aimed her head in no particular direction, addressing the room at large and ignoring that she had a hard time pin-pointing where the host even stood. "Yes, well. My name is Cecilia Noelle Vega del Toro." She gave some presence of command and authority, far beyond her apparent capability, "I traveled from Spain to attend Academia de la Foresta despite other options due to its once sterling reputation and...distance. My abilities," Allow me to enforce upon you hallucinations of adverse aromas? Well, if Serenity is correct, I may be able to... Hm. "...govern your senses in every conceivable fashion."

Esha continued to sit in a rather proper manner, eyeing the rest of her colleagues and mostly picking apart their physical appearances. It wasn’t an easy task considering the lighting provided, but she was still able to see some stuff. She absently wondered how many of them would actually take the job seriously, mostly directing her curiosity towards the boy that decided to show up in jeans and a t-shirt. Considering how early it was in the morning, she was somewhat surprised that he didn’t just show up in his pyjamas with how little he looked to care.

Casting her judgements aside, the assistant went into a rather hefty speech, which was one of Esha’s biggest grievances against the whole idea behind this meeting. Luckily she’d been around the school for quite a bit of time, so she was getting better accustomed to lectures being wholly in English, but that didn’t mean she had to like it. Luckily there weren’t too many complex words.

Much like everyone else in the room, the fishy girl was hesitant to allow the teacher into her mind, being somewhat afraid of what he might find if the transition wasn’t just a one way track. On top of that, she held many things within her head that she would prefer to not go public, but she eventually gave in since the name Ivors was finally starting to click with her, the man was her new counsellor so he would probably get around to hearing about her past and learning her power at some point, if he didn’t already know. Taking a second glance at the Assistant Headmaster, she was quick to understand why they were matched up.

Esha was nervous that the head nod in her general vicinity meant that she would be the first to introduce herself, but as Zak spoke up she was quickly relieved. Going by his example, she was a bit uneasy with the parameters of the introduction, mostly because she preferred to not admit what her powers were and some of her hobbies were more embarrassing than others. She knew that introductions meant a lot to different people, so she was silently constructing her greeting whilst the others spoke their part. Her anxiety quelled as Nathan spoke up, displaying a lack of information of himself, so that opened the door for her to do much of the same and not be targeted down as harshly. That being said though, impressing the Assistant Headmaster would be the name of the game, so she had to find a happy medium.

When the last before Esha spoke, the spiny girl balled her hands together and arose to address the group, her demeanor quite calm and ready despite her previous nervousness. “Namaste…” she spoke with a slight bow of her head, her mind scrambling to try and get back to her English setting. “My name is Esha Mullur, from Karnataka, Bha- er India. I play the mandolin, and uh…” she spoke in a rather jagged manner, admittedly she could’ve made a more flowing and personal introduction if she could speak it in her native language. She had to think on her powers for a moment, what was the lie she told Chase about them? Power Gauging? That was a stupid power idea, she decided to take the easier route and just elude to one of her powers instead of picking some other one from random. “I can breathe underwater.” She then sat back down very gracefully.

     Mavek's eyes hovered over each student as they introduced themselves, although he narrowed at the sarcasm that Nathaniel introduced himself with. He would have to watch him, he noted. He seemed to Mavek like the type to not let anything stand in his way, which made him dangerous in a position of power. He noted this to Ida before the next student spoke, who was at that point setting down trays of shortbread, croissants, and fruit tarts. She relayed back to him the events of their journey here, and Mavek's eyes strayed a moment too long on Nathaniel as Adrian Mackenzie spoke. 

     Mackenzie and Vega- the two who weren't supposed to be here at all. Mavek had viewed their records, and while Cecilia seemed most deserving of this position despite her young age, Adrian's election was a mystery to him. As Mavek reached to the smug boy's mind once again, feeling a slight resistance still, he exhaled quickly through his nose. He noted this to his tether, who promised him that she would speak about it when introductions were finished. 

     The exercise was more formal, really- Mavek knew as much about each of the students as their records gave away, which was quite a bit for the majority of them. Once again, Nathaniel had been the minority on that matter. He would have to talk to the headmaster about that. Being the head of students whereas the headmaster dealt with the school's staff and the world outside, Mavek spent much of his time both trying to learn about his charges and developing efficient ways to communicate across the school's student body. Perhaps that was why he was suited for the job- although not all were so compliant, his telepathic communications crossed all language barriers and were accessible to students with a range of disabilities, and his many years on earth made him familiar with the social activities of humans. As the last student finished speaking, Ida setting down the last of the plates of food, she cleared her throat. 

     "Thank you, Ms. Mullur," Ida nodded as she moved to the empty chair at the opposite end of Mavek, standing beside it as she spoke. "I would like to remind all of you that although the Assistant Headmaster can speak to your minds, he cannot hear your thoughts or hear your attempts to speak back to him. All that you must do is relax yourself to the idea of hearing him, and his voice will be heard. If you have any issue with listening to the Assistant Headmaster speak, you may not be well suited to this position," she frowned, hands clasped in front of her as she looked over all the students, eyes lingering accusingly on Adrian before moving to the food in front of all of them. "You all may now eat, if you wish." She said with a final nod, bowing before sitting down in her chair. She felt strange speaking so formally, but as it was something that her tether requested, she had complied. She would have much rather spoken to the students as equals. She looked at Mavek with pursed lips, who gave his thanks to her telepathically. 

     Zak looked hesitantly at the food before him, thirsty but uncertain. As Mavek transmitted assurance to all of them that they may, in fact, eat, he reached for a tea bag, placing it in his cup, before grabbing the nearest tea kettle and pouring himself some steaming water. He dropped a single cube of sugar in before picking up his spoon and stirring. This was already becoming a weird meeting, he thought. 

     'Now. As you each make your plates, I would like to remind you the duties that you signed up for in your election,' Mavek continued with a large breath, his small chest heaving forward. Zak stifled a small laugh as the words switched rapidly from English to Vietnamese in his mind- this happened occasionally in his experience listening to the tentacle man, the speech replicating the multilingual way in which he and his mother often spoke. He grabbed for a croissant and began eating it before Mavek spoke again, this time transmitted in french. 

     Mavek quickly recalled each of the duties that had been on the flyer for elections, from room checks to event handling. He noted that these were all easy, and they would each be working with their respective partners on each of these things. Once making sure each student had at least given the food a good look, Mavek poured his own tea and stirred, still speaking. 

     'As you all were informed, once you return from this meeting your rooms will have been moved. I will give you all your room numbers upon your exit. In addition to your room, you will all each receive a monthly stipend of $150 US dollars which you may spend however you desire. All of you will also receive a skeleton key to all of the rooms in your hall and keys to the various maintenance closets in them as well. Your key will only work for your gender's rooms in your house, excepting the special rooms that all of you will be situated in.' He swept a gaze over each student after this statement before continuing to watch his tea. 'I would like to note that if your keys are used for anything aside from your House Leader duties, you will be terminated from the position and subject to expulsion, so don't go around pulling pranks and whatnot.'

     One of his longer tentacles lifted above the table and, before Mavek realized it had moved, slammed down on its surface, causing its contents to shudder. Zak jumped, holding the teacup he hand cupped between his hands far above his head. With an eyeroll, Mavek picked it off, the suckers pulling aggressively at the tablecloth, and stuck it to his shirt. 'They like to keep everyone on edge, it seems,' he joked, finally taking a sip of his tea. He rubbed the light slime that had gathered on his hand off on a napkin. 

     'So. Before we get much further, does anyone have any questions? Concerns?' Zak shook his head and looked around, wide eyed and far more awake than he had been before, at his fellow students.

It didn't surprise her much when Nathaniel spoke about himself in the way he did best; by not talking about himself. His casual jabs at the assistant headmaster were borderline troublemaker and she would've preferred if the house leaders of Lyra didn't make the staff question their positions, but no one seemed too shocked by his statements. 

Each house leader rose and fell, she tried to listen but the quaking of her hand had started up once more. All of them were from far away places, each with different powers, and all of them were going to get acquainted. Olwen only hoped that none would become her enemies. 

Ida announced to everyone (though indirectly to Nathaniel) that Mavek couldn't read minds, only speak through them. She glanced over at him before reaching out to pick up the croissant in front of her with the most stable hand. The soft bread tore easily as she listened to Mavek speak once again. Their new arrangements were laid out and she only now realized how thankful she was to be able to have a dorm all to herself; the presence of strangers always made her anxiety shoot through the roof. Olwen practically cried out when the lone tentacle shook the entire table but held perfectly still before gradually relaxing. She bore no questions and kept her mouth shut, an open invitation for anyone else to speak if they choose to do so.

Mavek and Nathaniel's eyes locked for a moment too long. The attention drawn left an unwelcome discomfort in the back of Nathaniel's mind but he didn't let it show. The intended message got through to the assistant headmaster, that's all he needed to care about for now.

Nathaniel followed Zak and Olwen's lead in gathering sustenance, although he only took a half empty cup of tea for appearances sake. It was what he did - Fit in, act like the humans, but never become one. Unlike many stronger vampiric bloodlines the case wasn't that he couldn't eat human food, rather he didn't strictly need to and he preferred not to degrade himself to the human level beyond what he found necessary. He recalled a time in his life when he could not afford to turn down free food, but those pathetic days of his human past were long gone.

The talk of money came and $150 was nothing to Nathaniel, he carried far more than that on his way in. Nathaniel wondered if that was all Cecilia had managed to convince her family to allocate, or if there would be more in secret as per their private discussion, but again these questions would have to wait. It was still a sizable stipend for a teenager in school, of course, but he wondered if the time spent on this job would be worth the payout.

Warning this, warning that. If you do this you'll be expelled. If you so much as breathe the wrong way you'll be terminated. It was rule after rule and Mavek hadn't even gotten to explaining their responsibilities more in-depth than what the students already knew from the flyers. Besides, of course Nathaniel was going to push the envelope. That was the whole point of getting elected. All he had to do for now was nod his head and pretend to care about the rules because soon enough the leaders would be left to their own devices and there would be no one to keep an eye on Nathaniel within his own dorm.

The proceedings bored Nathaniel so he was about to yawn when a rogue tentacle slammed down on top of the table. The act was played off as unintentional, so did they have a mind of their own? Maybe the assistant headmaster was trying to maintain the students' attention, and if so, the stunt worked. Nathaniel had so many questions to ask, most pressing were about the secret tunnels, but few of his queries were appropriate for the entire company of this room. Still, there was one thing that was bothering him, and he wasn't the type to keep his mouth shut for long.

"Shame, I was hoping calimari was on the menu now," Nathaniel mused while the tentacle was removed from the tablecloth. "Administration went through the effort of keeping the time and place of this orientation a secret. Why? If you bother to keep something this innocuous under wraps, then it's not a stretch to imagine that this school holds many more secrets we're not privy to. Is there anything we should know about the academy, as House Leaders, that the rest of the student body doesn't need to know?"

    Though Cecilia partook of the offered tea with exacting finesse, Adrian ignored all of the accommodations with simple disinterest. Distracted enough, in his opinion, when this orientation started to show something else at play. Not one to mind small secrets and white lies, what had he cared when they called for a meeting in absolute secrecy? Not to say it did not strike him as odd, but there hardly seemed call for investigating. And with whom?

    Cecilia may possess subterfuge to a scale others would find surprising, but she did not have experience or even basic awareness, by Adrian's standards, to make any sense of anything. Nathaniel felt... Not dangerous. Something about him seemed wrong, but Adrian had no details and he never thought of himself as a snoop. The rumors around school pointed in a dozen different directions when it came to the Lyra Leader and so he had decided to disregard all of it for the time being.

    Between Nathaniel's popular election (the man had proven a driven candidate, even if unopposed) and some darker shade of gossip, which spanned from a bloody fight in the forest to seducing an instructor, Adrian felt it wiser to just wait and see. The others? They were not high profile enough for him to even consider. Nothing new, exciting, or threatening about them. How the two Pyxis leaders even won their elections he had no clue. But seeing how the Lyra representatives interacted, Olwen's victory practically spelled out 'puppet'. Even in that regard, Cecilia had some dealing with Lyra, he knew that much. He had gone along with her 'peace between the tribes' thing just to keep the boat afloat. Guess Pyxis got the short stick this time around. Of all of them, maybe Pyxis would be the only honest winners here.

    The first time around, when Nathaniel had introduced himself to the room at large, Adrian offered little of his attention, but on Ida's mention and the not-so-subtle series of glances the Vice Headmaster (What kind of title was that, anyway?) and his bitch shared with each other (and the pointed looks besides), he felt a certain kinship with the vampire. Remind us? He never stated the thing in the first place. When Ida's gaze very certainly settled on Adrian, he narrowed his eyes in challenge. What are you blaming me for? Always, these people. Wrong conclusions. I bet they're just like the last one. Read my file and think they know everything about me. See how well that works out for them...

    The rest of the conversation proved to be a total bore, but Adrian played attentive as well as he could, after all he now had the knack of listening to Mavek's droning, sort of. The other information, well, it really should not have to be said. When the disgusting, slimy appendage slapped on the table like an overgrown slug and the Assistant Headmaster pulled it off the table feigning nonchalance, Adrian restrained his instinctive recoil in favor of a moment of enlightenment. Ah, I get it. This guy has zero respect.

    Everyone else at the table remained predictably silent at the call, until Nathaniel spoke up.

  "Hah," Adrian scoffed loudly, disrupting an immediate response from their host, "You mean like how last year we had mass kidnappings and student deaths? How we couldn't trust the villagers anywhere near us? How Siphon bred a hundred sociopaths? All from right under the school?" He leaned forward in his seat, placing his hands firmly on the table, "Why do you think the administration changed so much? Cecilia said it before, Foresta used to have a grand reputation, but the truth now is it's sketchy at best." Here he turned his attention to the tentacled-freak, "So, what? You going to ask us to involve ourselves in something like that? I hardly think we were elected for our combat ability."

    "I was in the group that went to investigate what was happening on the island. We were in over our heads. We were a bunch of idiots, all of us. I hear one kid is still laid up in the hospital. Dozens more died! I sure as hell ain't going to war with Mr. Talks-To-Birds and Miss Fish over here." He gave the pair a placating look, "No offense, because honestly, all I can do is punch a guy in the face. If you think you're getting me for my 'flame on' power, there's far too much you people don't understand. Olwen's probably the only one here worth a damn!"

    "Not to mention," He cast a considering look to the smaller girl at his side, who had remained stoic and silent throughout the proceedings, "This pipsqueak may be far more qualified to do the posted job than I am, but what you're asking for, if it's any of that, is beyond her. It's beyond all of us. Are you seriously asking us to get involved in that kind of shit again? Or do you just like your pompous, self-absorbed theatrics? Because if that's all it is, then by all means. Proceed." He sat back with a huff, arms crossed once again, glaring somewhere into the middle distance. How could he possibly get worked up over all of that again? It was ancient news! He was barely even affected. Hell, he'd had fun! But no, it had been his own risk. A decision he had made. If the faculty was really resorting to using students to keep an eye on the school, though, he didn't want anything to do with it. But then, he would hate to be in a position where he would remain in the dark when he could have been participating. In the know. At least able to know what to defend himself against. And god, what if he was completely off base? They would probably make him see a therapist or just plain kick him out of the group, and then he would never know either way!

    He would never live it down either. All that hard work for the election and excommunicated on the first day of the job. He hissed a curse in his mind, at least aware enough not to speak it aloud.

Eventually, Esha was handed a plate with a variety of foods that seemed to be of English origin, which she wasn’t incredibly fond of. Not that she would be stuffing her face if she was handed food of any variety to begin with. She nodded politely when she was given the plate and smiled for appearances, on top of bringing the food closer to her as though she was going to eat it at some point, but definitely wouldn’t for the remainder of the meeting. She didn’t want to seem rude by ignoring or refusing the stuff.

She continued to listen in on the Assistant Headmaster’s speech, sort of finding an odd order to the way he spoke. It seemed that everything he spoke about ended with ‘and if you abuse this power then you will be fired’, which she hadn’t had plans to do so, but with some of the other students in the room not seeming to be on the up and up she was certain these statements were directed toward them. She wasn’t certain if it was just coincidence that the most vocal and rebellious of the leaders were male, minus Zak of course, but who knows, perhaps there was a devious mind behind that rather doe eyed demeanor.

As Esha was lost in thought for a moment, until the slam of the professor’s tentacle slapped her back into reality, which quickly caused her to panic and choke a bit due to her body’s naturally flawed design. She tried to make it seem that she was making as small a scene as possible. Her hand had a strong grip on the table as she coughed into her sleeve until her breathing pattern could be corrected. With the way that Mr. Ivors brushed off the sudden impact, Esha was just hoping that such an accident wouldn’t happen too often because otherwise this meeting would very quickly get on her nerves.

Esha was somewhat confused by the sudden rant by Adrian. She knew about the kidnappings, sure. It was before her time here though, in fact she hadn’t really heard of it before the word of mouth came to her a little while after she settled in. Outside of that though, she wasn’t really certain why he was going off about it, no one had mentioned anything about fighting anyone yet. Was this something that happened before? Why was the school electing students to fight stuff if they already had quite the crack team of campus security?

That wasn’t even mentioning the fish comment that Adrian made, which at first made her nervous that somehow word got out about who she really was, but relieved herself by reminding that she had stated earlier that she could breathe under water and that it was a slight against that rather than her hidden fish-like features. Even with that she had never enjoyed being compared to a fish and in turn shot Adrian a bit of a stink eye even if he attempted to apologize afterwards. There was no reason to make that statement in the first place outside of demeaning them, so she took his attempt with a grain of salt.

“If they wanted us to fight… why would they have the process based around popularity instead of strength?” she pointed out rather plainly. She didn’t want to go farther than that, because frankly she was curious to see what the Assistant Headmaster’s reaction would be. If Adrian’s hunch was correct though, Esha might have been a bit in over her head in accepting the job so quickly.