Headwing Central (IC)

[Eli_In_Chains]

Blaine glanced over at the wolf incubus, finding his own clothes to suddenly seem... somewhat overdressed, in a way. He was surprised he hadn't noticed earlier in the day that most all of the other incubi in this academy were wearing considerably... less. Leather pants and what appeared to be... a pair of shirtless sleeves, it seemed. He might have expected as much from the incubi in this academy if he had thought about it... "If I'm honest, I'm... kind of not. I barely made it to my class in time... place is a labyrinth." The fox scratched the back of his neck and laughed, holding out his other hand to properly greet his fellow student. "I'm Blaine. I don't suppose I could ask you to show me how to get... um, outside? My sense of direction has never been very good, and my roommate's map isn't exactly helping with that..."

[Tapewolf]

"Sorry to hear that," Niall said.  His earlier desires had tailed off somewhat, replaced by mild concern.  "It does take a bit of getting used to at first.  There are cloisters and outside areas, but you can't really leave the campus completely unless it's urgent.
"As I understand it, the academy is inside a bubble dimension to restrict access, which is the only thing that's really prevented the Dragons entering and slaughtering us all.  So the 'outside' isn't really real, it's probably a construct controlled by Fa'Lina.  I think that for convenience she maintains the day and night cycles on Zinvth time, but there was this one April when it was day to the east and night to the west, and there was one before that when the stars spelled out little messages at night.

"So yeah, if you just want a breather, yeah, I can show you that.  But if you're thinking to do anything too unusual, just keep that in mind - it's not strictly real."

[Eli_In_Chains]

Blaine nodded and smiled. "Yeah, it'd just be nice to see some trees and sky and stuff. I'm not used to being inside all day; I imagine it'll feel more natural after a few months here, but I'm used to my workshop, which is open to the outside." The fox stuck his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "And, I think I'll probably have to get used to being on a schedule... for the past few years now I haven't had much of a schedule, just got up, worked, ate when I got hungry, and slept. It's going to be strange having free time between my classes and nothing to do with it. But I digress; I'd appreciate it if you could help show me around. Assuming you're not busy with anything yourself, that is." I wonder if my shield is working... can he hear my thoughts? Am I blocking them right? Ugh... I need more practice... Blaine stuck his hands in his pockets and closed his eyes momentarily, the emotional field of the academy washing over him and sending ripples through his psyche before he raised his filter's strength, taking a deep breath in the calm and trying to let go of any frustration he'd felt over being given what was clearly a faulty map. He found it difficult, more difficult than it should have been, but was able to coax his brain into calming down and accepting that it was in the past and wasn't worth stressing over now. Opening his eyes and smiling at Niall, the thought crossed his mind that he probably looked rather strange. And just as quick as the calm in his mind had been brought back, it was immediately replaced by embarrassment. He kept his cool externally, smile never wavering, but it was impossible to keep his ears and cheeks from feeling flushed. Aside from that he still hadn't learned to block his broadcasting of his emotions, so he was certain the other Cubi would instantly be able to see through his facade. This was most definitely going to take getting used to...

[Tapewolf]

"I think there is some parkland," Niall said.  "I mean, something has to replenish the air and the gardens aren't quite going to do it by themselves.  I haven't been out in the woods much myself, though.  Reminds me too much of my childhood." the fox shuddered slightly and blessed himself with a curious gesture, tracing the rough shape of a noose in the air.

Once his own equilibrium was restored, Niall glanced at the younger fox critically.  "Your thoughts are none of my business, really.  You do need more practice shielding yourself, though.  But don't worry, it will come soon enough.

"I was actually showing my new room-mate to the gym, but he seems to be enjoying himself there for now.  I'm not sure I can spare the time for a comprehensive tour, I'm afraid - the academy is quite large, after all.  But I can show you the cafeteria and the outer garden areas.  I'm assuming you still eat... uh... I don't think I asked your name.  I'm Niall Daryil," he said, with a slight bow.

[Eli_In_Chains]

Blaine nodded as he listened, taking the criticism as best he could--being a (now former, it seemed) member of a guild the way he was, and having apprenticed under the workers skilled enough to have reached mastery, he was quite used to being told any one thing he did 'needed work'--and lowering his head politely in return to Niall's bow. It seemed a... somewhat appropriate, at least to him, response. "Blaine Rath, pleased to meet you. And yes, I do still eat, but I already had lunch, or... breakfast... or whatever it was earlier today, so I'm not all that hungry. Just a walk out in the gardens would be very nice, though." He swished his tail and smiled at the fox, feeling a bit more at ease with Niall. He hadn't realized it, but the unconfirmed possibility that Tristan had read his thoughts throughout their conversations was a little less comfortable than someone openly acknowledging that they could hear them and not seeming concerned with that fact.

"So Niall, I take it you've been here a while longer than I have... what are you studying, if I may ask? I mean, the topics must run dry after twenty-five or so years... I can't imagine being in either practical training or academic study for hundreds of years without becoming thoroughly bored of the whole experience."

[Tapewolf]

Niall looked at the other fox, sensing a subtle change in his attitude after he'd been told that his thoughts were fairly open.
"Yeah, it's not considered good form to pry.  Partly because it's rude, partly because if you make a habit of it, people will spot you for a thought-reader and string you up or take off your head.  Even so, one thing which will often attract people's attention is thinking 'Are they reading my mind'..."

"I've been here about 250 years," Niall said.  "They say 200 years will cover the basics, after that people often specialise.  It's best to have some kind of refresher course before you graduate, though.  Partly to make sure you remember the important stuff that will save you from a messy end, but also because the world outside doesn't stand still.  I hear that Beings have started to build gryphonless carriages again, for instance.  They've rediscovered electricity and at this rate, things are going to be very interesting in the world outside by the time I'm ready to rejoin it.

"Careers are an important part of the course, though.  Maybe things will get better but for the most part we have to pretend to be some other race, just for our own safety.  But in order to settle down you have to be able to take part in society, right?  And that means you need a career.  I mean, it's no use taking the identity of a warrior or a carpenter if you can't actually do it, right?  That's no disguise at all.  So a lot of us try to get at least some proficiency at a handful of different careers.
"Right now, I'm studying electricity and electronics because that's likely to be really important by the time I graduate.  I'm doing music too, though.  Being able to perform is always handy.
"But there is another reason the courses can take a while - we have bad attention spans."

[Eli_In_Chains]

Blaine nodded and stuck his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, I had always thought my dad learned carpentry while I was growing up, but it would certainly make sense to just pick up a few trades here in school so you can settle down... I guess that's probably what he did, too." Niall seemed nice enough, quite straightforward--a trait that Blaine hadn't realized he'd valued so much before finding out his life had pretty much been a lie--and, having been studying for two and a half centuries, likely very interesting.

"I've never been a very musical individual myself, but now that I think about it, seeing as I've got so much time ahead of me here, maybe I ought to learn. What instrument do you play?" The fox laughed to himself as he noticed the meandering path their conversation had taken, the trip to the gardens nearly forgotten by now, some evidence of that short attention span Niall was referencing that Blaine hadn't really put much thought towards in the past. It certainly did ring true, though, at least for himself; focusing on one thing for any stretch of time was never one of his strong suits. Not that it usually mattered in his prior line of work, though he was sure it would come back to bite him in his studies.

[Tapewolf]

"Ah, brought up as a Being, then?" Niall said, and nodded understandingly.

"And oops, I promised to show you to the gardens," he said and began to head that way.  "Mostly I've been playing plucked strings.  Lutes and guitars, recently.  Beings now amplify them electrically and that has made for some rather interesting study."

[Eli_In_Chains]

Blaine followed Niall and listened, not just to the other fox's words but also to the echoes of their footsteps through the relatively empty hall, to the murmurs of chatter from classrooms they passed, to the world around them. It struck him as a frighteningly strange environment.

Blaine hadn't been in a school in almost a decade, and that time had long since been left behind in his memories. Not that this school was really anything like the one he'd attended, but it was the closest thing he had and it felt odd to him, like he was living in the past... he supposed that would probably pass, but what would that make his life in the Guild? A separate category, dusty and forgotten on a shelf in the back of his mind, half-remembered like a story he'd once read but not anything that had happened to him personally? He wasn't sure that was what he wanted... But. That was all irrelevant to the present, nothing to trouble himself with now. He slid the thoughts to the back of his mind to churn in the dark parts of his psyche while returning to the scene at hand. A brief check through his memory showed him the context of what Niall was saying, and he turned his head to the fox to give his reply.

"Electrical amplification of instruments? I recall there was a luthier in the guild that I had met once; how would one amplify a lute with electronics? I've never completely grasped the workings of technology, but wouldn't it be easier to simply use magic to increase the volume of the instrument, or alter the resonance of the wood somehow to make it carry further?"

[justacritic]

The panda shook his head. "It's not actually for me, our clan leader or perhaps founder, is not all really that clear of mind." The incubus looked away rather awkwardly. "So really he needs a mix of actual medication and some placebos to keep him from causing some... interesting times." Kart stood up and went over to the door. "Usually its Doctor Ink that's trusted to distribute this, because he is one of the best doctors. But it's the clan members who are at SAIA that have to pick it up. I'll be back in a while, I'll leave you to your screen making"

[Tapewolf]

"Ah," Niall said, eyes gleaming slightly, "But once the sound has been made into electricity, you can do things to it.  Distort it in strange ways, imprint it onto a cylinder or disc of softened material, and press many copies.  You can take several electrical signals and mix them together with far higher quality than magic or acoustics would allow.
"And best of all, you can deliberately make it distort.  Done creatively, it allows you to make new sounds that would not occur in nature."

[Kafzeil]

Roxanne lead kallis into the bathroom and turn the tap on, a stream of water flowing from the facet.

"TADA!" She grinned, chortling. "My God this thing is amazing. I get usually get all the blood off me if the lab gets messy. Very useful."

"oh I almost forget!" Roxanne chimed."See that flower in the living room? That's Saint Paula. You are not allowed to touch her with my permission. "

[VAE]

Kallis looked around the bathroom. The floor and walls were tiled with some manner of unfamiliar shiny stone or ceramic, there was a tub near one of the walls, and above it, an oddly shaped, overlong water tap. It didn't take long for the succubus to put two and two together, and a barely concealed expression of disgust appeared on her face.
So here, they wash like the easterners, waddling in their own filth. Honestly, with indoor waterways everywhere, I'd have expected a bit more class.
"That's ... nice. At least you don't have to bring in the water from outside I guess."
Her roommate ignored the remark, turned one of the taps and the purpose of the superfluous metal pipework became apparent as water began to emerge from above, in a large number of thin streams, and the room began to steam up.
The succubus's expression became one of surprise, as she reached out, and poked one of the thin strands of water with a tentacle. It was hot, almost scalding.
In retrospect, it was a trivial idea - have a fire spell heat the water in a receptacle of some sort before passing it through a faucet, filling it up when it emptied - an inlet controlled by a floating bob could do the job.  It wasn't that useful either.. asides from perhaps washing out something very filthy, she couldn't think of why someone'd bother installing an outlet for hot water rather than heating it up in a pot or a washing tub. Still, Kallis just couldn't shake the feeling that what she witnessed was so incredibly clever and inventive, and a smile spread on her face.
"That's... It's so silly it's awesome. I mean, flowing hot water.. Imagine a fountain like that, with a cloud of steam all around it, visible from a mile or so... if I'll ever become someone important, I'm SO building one. Or using a thin stream, like one of those, just stronger to force old gritty lubricant from a gearbox, or..  This place really is full of mages and inventors, isn't it? I wonder who thought this one up, I..." 
The excited succubus finally noticed her roommate's attempts to introduce her to Saint Paula, and attempted to look concerned as she tried to turn on and off the tap several times, while carefully poking and prodding the entire shower assembly.
"Interesting. What is she a saint of? And you better give me a permission, otherwise I might touch her."
Hmm, maybe they'll have something about hot waterways in the library. Maybe I'll have time..
The cat dried off her tentacles with a quick whirl, pulled out a plain silver-looking pocket watch from somewhere within her robe, and gave it a quick glance, followed by a long stare at a piece of crumpled paper.
I don't. Hell. "Uh.. It was a honour meeting you , Roxanne of Clan Golgotha. We shall talk more after you wash yourself.. I have to rush. Metallurgy lecture..."
Grabbing a stack of papers, a quill, a drying pad,  and a bottle of ink from her suitcase, Kallis almost flew out of the door, and left the hab block, then to the left... only to find that the hall she was supposed to leave to her left ended with a window.
Cursing silently, she turned back and attempted to retrace her steps.

[Eli_In_Chains]

"I see... and making those copies, that would most likely be much more difficult to do with magic, then?" Blaine asked, his curiosity piqued by the possibilities of electricity. Perhaps he'd look into studying that during his stay here, as well. From what Niall was saying, it certainly sounded like a field that would only get more important with time.

"What sort of mechanism gets the sound to convert to electricity? Or are the vibrations of the strings themselves directly harnessed?" He hadn't learned much about sound in his few years in school, but he'd had the local luthier explain the principles of making a stringed instrument to him once or twice. The strings are attached to a softer, springier wood top, which vibrates in concert with the strings, and the box amplifies that vibration into audible sound through the f-holes or round sound hole on the top. That much was complicated enough for Blaine; he couldn't imagine what one would have to do to get those strings to make electricity instead of sound.

[Tapewolf]

"Magic tends to be fickle," Niall said.  "You can't rely on it to retain information accurately over time.  Imprinting sound vibrations on a solid object can be more permanent.  But it's really the tonal possibilities I'm more interested in myself.
"Back before I joined SAIA, my father obtained some advanced technology from another world, and he had brought back some discs of black polymer which had truly remarkable music recorded in them.  They were about ten, twenty years ahead of where we are now.  Most of my life I've wanted to be able to make those sounds too, but I never knew how.  It's taken until now for Furrae to start to catch up."

"The mechanism is fairly straightforward," Niall said, and wiggled his fingers so that his first three digits were pointing 90 degrees to each other.

"Electricity and magnetism are intertwined with each other and there is a motive component as well.  Vorgrath's second law."  He glanced quickly at the other incubus's hands - that particular mnemonic fell flat on its face if you had less than three digits or lacked opposable thumbs.

"If you move a piece of wire inside a magnetic field, it will generate a pulse of electricity down the wire.  If you string the guitar with metal strings and suspend them inside a magnetic field, plucking them will convert the string's vibrations into an electrical form.  If you amplify this signal, you can use it to move something, whether that is a loudspeaker to reproduce the sound, or a cutting blade to engrave the vibrations.
"By moving a thin metal shutter in front of a light sources, it's also possible to convert the sound waves into flashes of light which you can record onto movie film.  Using another light source and a special sensor that converts light into electricity, you can play it back again and that's how the Talkies work."

[Eli_In_Chains]

"Alright, I'm going to pretend I understood that, Niall." Blaine joked, a smile crossing his face. Partly thanks to his joke, of course, but mainly because the world was far more complex than he'd ever dreamed... and this was the place to learn about it. He'd understood electricity to some degree before now, or at least he'd thought he had, but it seemed there was far more to it than he could have imagined. Magnetism and electricity reacting with one another, purely according to the laws of the universe, and making things possible that were so... insane. Putting sound, pure sound, into a physical object without the help of magic...

"You've got to show me your instruments sometime. I've never made a guitar before, but an electric one...? I think I might like that." He said, grinning over at Niall. This school was turning out to be a more pleasant experience than he had expected from the rest of the day. "And I have to say, it's nice meeting a Cubi that isn't interested in messing with my head."

[Tapewolf]

"I'd be happy to show you at some point," Niall said.  "And I wouldn't worry too much about not understanding it straightaway.  But don't neglect it either.  I think that electricity is going to be big.  You don't need to fuss around exhausting yourself casting spells all over the place, it just works, as long as there's a power source.  Beings can do it just as well as Creatures and it takes a lot less time to learn.  To me, that makes it a game-changer. 

"I take it you come from a fairly rustic area?" he asked.  "In the big cities they're already using electric drills, saws and grinders, from what I've heard.

"And thanks," his ears turned slightly pink at the compliment.  "Not all 'Cubi are trustworthy.  It varies a lot from person to person, from clan to clan, and how the members were brought up.
"Most of the clans with an ascended leader have a policy against causing too much trouble with Beings, not least because that tends to get folks killed.
"My clan doesn't, but most of our members were brought up as Beings to try and get us to see things their way.  See, our chief has long felt that Beings are liable to come out on top in the long run, as their technology continues to accelerate.  He believes that we should try to make a good impression in the hopes that we'll be able to broker some kind of peace deal with them...
"But that's not always easy," he sighed.  "So many folks still just want us dead.  And at the best of times it's an easy trap for us to fall into, thinking that Beings are just a resource to be used... even I've felt that way sometimes.  But at the end of the day?  Most 'Cubi just want to get on with their lives."

[Eli_In_Chains]

Blaine nodded and scratched behind his neck at the comment about where he'd lived. "I suppose it's a combination of rustic surroundings and traditionalism in the guild; I'd known about those sorts of tools, but all my power tools are magic, not electric. And they can be finicky... maybe I'll set up shop with all electric tools when I graduate. Plus hand tools, of course; no such thing as finish carpentry without a handplane.

"It's strange, finding out I'm an incubus. I guess a lot of the students here go through it, it's just... I never thought I was anything but normal. I could use magic, but... that never struck me as odd, since after all, normal kids can sometimes too. Dad said I got my wings from my mom's side; always just assumed that meant she was an Angel or something. They never seem to have reputation problems, except in the really backwater parts of the world. I wouldn't have been nearly so surprised to find out I was one of those, you know what I mean?" He sighed and shrugged, closing his eyes as he walked and quelling the thoughts, pushing them to the back of his mind. "It's like you say though. I just want to get on with my life. I can't waste this time wishing things were different. I believe the saying goes that you can't change the hand you've been dealt, isn't that right?"

[Tapewolf]

"Yeah, everything has its place," Niall agreed.  "Magic and electrical tools can be great time and effort savers, but you wouldn't want to use them alone."

"And no, you can't really help what you were born as.  Though 'Cubi can come close.  Most of us hide our wings, or pretend to be a Demon or something.  You can fake that out pretty well, but there are complications.  If you pose as a Being you'd have to move around or fake ageing and dying, and if you're discovered, people will hold the fact that you were hiding against you, no matter what your true intentions are.  And is that really what you'd want anyway?  Living a lie?
"Hiding as an Angel is better, because you've already got the wings and the Creature reputation.  It's best of all if you can find a Creature-run city or something where 'Cubi are tolerated, but those are pretty scarce."

"I knew I was adopted, so it came as less of a shock, but some folks have had it really rough, found out that their loving father or mother was actually a psychopath in disguise and that it was all a lie.  Often it's somewhere in between, where the 'Cubi parent takes them aside one day and breaks the truth to them.
"And then you have those who were brought up in a 'Cubi stronghold and always knew what they were.  But that's not always for the best - they tend to be vain and vicious towards the other races and I don't think that's right.  They can't help what they were born as either."

[Eli_In_Chains]

Blaine nodded quietly, then shrugged. "It's just a product of their upbringing. I can't say for sure that had I been in the same circumstances, I wouldn't be acting the same way. One's nature can only go so far, part of it is nurture as well. If you grow up hearing that your race is the best and that Beings are just livestock to be taken advantage of for your own gain, then you'll come to believe it. I don't like it, but it seems to be the fact of things. Just as when someone grows up hearing that Creatures can't be trusted, of course." He looked around the hallways as they walked, trying to build his own mental map and knowing it would fail miserably--he never did have much of a sense of direction, not a problem when you just have to go out to the shops and to the lumberyard once in a while--before giving up on figuring out the layout of the school.

"So, Niall, what little of my story has happened so far, you've gotten the gist of it. Would you care to share anything about yourself? So far I really only know what you're studying and such. You've been alive hundreds of years now, haven't you? That's got to make for some good stories. I'm always inclined to listen to my elders; can't say I'm used to them looking as close to my own age as you do, but that'll probably change as I spend time around here where the oldest teachers don't look much older than the youngest students."

[Tapewolf]

"If you ever get really, really lost, ask the wall or the ceiling," Niall said, glancing at Blaine as he looked around nervously.  "Fa'Lina knows everything that happens here, she'll hear you.  But after a couple of years most people get the hang of the place anyway."

"Most of my life has been in SAIA," the fox admitted.  "I grew up in a small town on the outskirts of Ha'Khun.  They were very... odd there.  There was this strange messianic religion, their founder was hanged for his beliefs and so they came to look upon hanging as somehow being holy.  They killed a lot of people, and we had to watch for the benefit of our spiritual development.  All the suffering and emotions made my headwings come in a few years early.
"When that happened, the church decided that I was a servant of darkness and that only by hanging me as well could my soul be purified of the taint of evil.
"They were about to do it, when someone broke free of the crowd and killed the executioner.  He was an incubus, and he killed many guards in order to get me out of there.  I thought he wanted to take my soul, but he was actually the ruler of Ha'Khun, and he believed I was his heir.  Like, his great-grandson or something.  I'm not really clear on how the lineage worked, it was a bit weird."
"But anyway, he adopted me as his son just to make things simpler, and I spent a few years as the heir to a half-insane tyrant.  That was an interesting time, but it didn't last long.  Dad sent me here.  Partly because he was doing some dangerous diplomacy and he wanted to keep me safe, partly because he didn't want me to become a monster, and partly because he knew that I would get a better education here.
"He gave it all up a few decades back and became a lecturer at the academy.  He set out to do what he intended as ruler, but was ashamed at how he had achieved it, so he quit in hopes that he could make amends for his madness."

[Eli_In_Chains]

Blaine laughed a little at the suggestion that Fa'Lina would somehow be listening if he asked the wall where to go, but filed it away as something to try if he really did need her help. A couple years, huh? Used to sound like a long time. Doesn't seem that bad anymore... As Niall went on, talking about his childhood and what'd almost happened to him, Blaine just listened silently, his heart sinking. He knew that this sort of thing happened in the world, obviously. He wasn't so naive as to think everything was sunshine and puppies everywhere. But despite knowing it intellectually, there was an unanticipated emotional reaction to hearing it from someone who'd lived through that sort of thing. There has always been, and will always be, a difference between knowing something and understanding it... The fox wasn't sure exactly what to do, but knew he had to do something, so he put a hand on Niall's shoulder.

"Well... I'm glad you weren't killed, Niall. I didn't realize talking about the past would involve painful memories like that; sorry if I've, I don't know, brought up something I shouldn't have." He laughed nervously and lowered his ears, trying to figure out how to not look like a completely awkward first-year student. He was twenty-three, for crying out loud, an adult. Getting embarrassed this easily was supposed to happen to kids. Compared to him, you ARE a kid. A thought immediately dismissed, of course, by the fact that his upbringing had raised him as though he wasn't, so he still had a responsibility not to act like one.

"What, um... what's your grandfather teach here?" He asked, stumbling over his words for the first time since he'd arrived at the Academy, his composure beginning to falter.

[Tapewolf]

"That's normal," Niall said, as the other fox radiated awkward emotions and became slightly distressed.  "'Cubi become more sensitive to emotions as we come into our powers.  That's one good reason to attend the academy, so you can learn to control them.  Otherwise you may end up killing someone in a moment of rage."

"And yeah, I've had time to get over what nearly happened.  But sometimes I think... that I should be looking at more battle and stealth classes.  Being a musician is all very well, and being able to hide is well and good, but sometimes I wonder if I'd be wasting my life like that, when what I could be doing is helping rescue other 'Cubi from the same kind of persecution.
"Dad does several things here.  He helps teach Being technology, a field that has really been picking up now that they're using electricity.  But he's also a film-maker.  Sometimes he leaves to shoot talkies, brings us back moving picture films of the world outside, innovations and changes that have been happening there.  I mean, you've been stuck here for 350 years or something, you need to know what life is like outside before you leave, right?  What he's doing with movies has revolutionised that."

"And here we are, outside," he added.  "Well, as near as you can get in a place like this, anyway."

[Eli_In_Chains]

(OOC: Someone other than me and Tapewolf has to respond sometime... it's been over two weeks since someone else took their turn. Someone post something before this turns into a two-man roleplay.)

Blaine took a deep breath and smiled, arching his back and stretching out his wings. Sure, the hallways weren't exactly cramped or anything, but there was just something nice about not having walls wrapped around you. He supposed that, keeping in mind what Niall had said about the academy being in a pocket dimension, he wasn't "outside" as such, but at least he wasn't in the building. That was definitely a nice change. Feeling even the subtlest of breezes on his face made the air feel that much more fresh. "Thanks for the directions, and the talk." He said, turning towards Niall with a grin across his face. "You were on your way to class or something before I grabbed you, right? If you need to go, I'll be fine by myself now, I think." Blaine walked over to a nearby tree, feeling the bark and looking up at the leaves before jumping up, flying to a perch in the branches and leaning up against the trunk.

"Of course you're welcome to stay too, if you want."

[Tapewolf]

Niall started slightly as Blaine flew into the tree.  Most of the Academy was indoors, so people tended not to use their wings for flying very much.

"You seem like a nice enough guy, Blaine," he said.  "Maybe we can hang out sometime.  But yeah, I should really be looking after my new roomie."  The fox sighed.  "He's weird, some reclusive 'Cubi-supremacist clan or something.  Why Fa'Lina paired us when I could have had you, I can't fathom.  But she always has a reason.
"Maybe she was worried I'd try and get you into bed or spook you or something," he shrugged.

"Take care of yourself," Niall added, "And remember, SAIA is not a bad place to be.  But it does take getting used to."

He turned to go, mentally planning the quickest route back to the gym, if his room-mate was still there.

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

An indeterminate amount of time later, Horethen's workout completed and the perspiration that he had accumulated throughout the drilling had reached a semi-uncomfortable state. He stepped out of the gymnasium, and found a relatively clear area of hallway to cast a minor cleansing spell on himself and his raiment. A second cantrip told him the time, and Horethen started in shock. Far too long in the gym, far far too long. His class on Thak'um Literature was about to start, and he quickly scooped up his books and hurried off at a quick trot (his elders had warned him it was against rules and would bring great shame upon the clan were he to run in the hallways.)

By the time he arrived, he was perhaps ten minutes late. It wouldn't have happened if the passers-by he had asked for direction didn't have their filters up so tightly, but there was that.

Still, the professor (thankfully a 'Cubi) didn't seem too perturbed by his tardiness, and told him to get a syllabus on the way out. His thoughts turned to the novel he had been directed to read before enrolling a work titled Selling my Soul for Guilt.. It was an odd, complicated tract, at once shorter than the epics he usually read, but at the same time taking celebration in the weaknesses of spirit, arguing that it was they, and not the strengths, that enabled one to act in a noble fashion. But the loops of paradox seemed to excite the professor, if not the score or so students he shared the class with. Still, he managed to answer a few questions without feeling completely inadequate, although nobody seemed to come up with an answer that completely satisfied the professor.

An hour and a half later, he emerged into the hallway, only slightly staggered from the experience. Another long while until his next class, which was good.

[LionHeart]

"Okay, then,"  Mira replied. "Have fun with that."

As the panda left, she grabbed her tape measure again, and began measuring the walls, estimating how much fabric she had, and whether it would be sufficient to decorate the walls as well as provide the screen for changing.

[Eli_In_Chains]

Blaine nodded at Niall, raising his hands and resting them behind his head as the fox left. "You too; I'll probably see you around. Big as the school is, it's not big enough that over the next hundred years we won't run into each other." Once Niall had gone, Blaine smiled to himself and closed his eyes, settling backwards into the tree to take an hour or two and think about what'd been going on, not to mention getting practice in on his shielding techniques. Judging by the schedule Fa'lina had given him and the position of the sun in the sky, he had at least that long before his next class. It was as well, too. Blaine had always been more comfortable alone for long stretches of time--part of why he had been so happy simply working in his shop all day--and needed time to get back to normal. Tristan, Fa'lina, his teacher, and Niall, that was quite a lot more personal interaction in a day than he'd had since back when he was still learning his trade years ago. Not that he minded, they were all pleasant enough, it was just... draining. Thanks to that, it wasn't long before the fox incubus drifted off to sleep, this time devoid of dreams.

--

Gideon had piddled around in his room for some time before growing bored, itching to do something rather than sitting here and playing chess with himself. He resolved, then, to head to the gym. If nothing else, he could work out there, but he was sure he could find something more interesting to do than simply lifting weights. Surely there would be some foolish student there who was unfamiliar enough with the battle classes to not know to stay away from him. The cheetah grinned to himself, thinking of what kinds of games to play. Perhaps, though, no great games... he was more than happy having screwed with Dosve. Well, I'll decide that when I come to it. The feline pulled off his sweaty shirt, opting to simply go shirtless rather than wearing a stinky, stained shirt. This was SAIA, anyway, a shirtless incubus was nothing to look twice at.

As Gideon arrived at the gym, he made a note of anyone he saw that stood out. One individual was definitely bending the rules about running in the hallways; Gideon didn't recognize the jaguar, meaning he was either new or not a regular in combat classes, and judging from the books in his arms, he was headed to a literature class. The cheetah smoothly sidestepped him as he hurried down the hall, turning his head to watch the other student curiously. Perhaps nothing of importance, but then, nothing of importance ever shouted its presence. In any case, Gideon was clearly not going to find someone to mess with here in the gym, so he settled on exercises for now while waiting for something to happen. He took a position in the exercise machine area, grabbing a set of dumbbells and going to work with them. This -is- SAIA, after all... how long could things possibly go without something interesting happening?

[VAE]

After checking out the third corridor which fitted the path she had memorized about as well as the previous two, Kallis began to lose hope of ever finding the lecture room. There still was some time, but given the scale of the building and occasionally very inobvious architecture, she could prob'ly wander around for a day and still not know half of it. 
Maybe if she'd ask....
No, she reminded herself. You're representing the whole of your homeland here, in a way. If you aren't smart enough to figure out the directions to the damn classroom, no use showing it off. Besides... they likely won't know either. Three above, if there was some staff around....
A moment after her mental oath, Chance has proven she's got a sense of humour. Along the corridor, walked a somewhat handsome jaguar incubus screaming importance as loud as one can do it without rattling off a two minutes long title to your face. He was of an imposing, if a bit slender stature, his walk was purposeful and sure and unlike those around, he was clad in what obviously belonged to a nobleman, a dress cut in an elegant manner and made from expensive, coloured silks. The chain on his neck with a symbol she never seen before merely finalized the picture. Of course he must be a professor, or someone very important in the faculty... best to make a good impression.
With a bit of a tremble, the feline succubus reflexively dusted off her robe, and approached the stranger with a curtsy.
"Honoured to meet Learned Sir.. .  If they'd deign to show me the way towards Lecture Hall C-21, I would be most grateful."

[Tapewolf]

As he left Blaine and entered the building, Niall froze.  He still sleeps - I should warn him that 'Cubi can get in his dreams.  He glanced back but then decided against it.  He probably already knows.

He made his way back to the gym, looked around, but Horethen had clearly left.  He hung around near the entrance to decide what to do and pulled from his pocket a large marble.  It was actually a miniature crystal ball, and peering into it he could see the hands of the clock in his room.

Still an hour or so before class, he thought.