Roomies

[Mattie Sykes]

Mattie had bid Val a farewell near the entrance of the boys dorms, so he could try and find his room and get changed. She and Kate continued into the girls dormitories, the other girl showing her around--since it seemed the Werecougar was a lot more familiar with the place than Mattie was, even though this would be her first official year attending as well.

"I think I remember seeing your name," the dark-skinned teen murmured pleasantly as they walked down the hall.

"Are we roomies?" Mattie asked excitedly. That would be a bonus. She rather liked Kate, and--though she tended to make friends with everyone--it would be one less nagging worry on her mind to already know and like her roommate. Kate, however, shook her head.

"Nah, don't think so. But I think you might be near-by."

Never one to be down for long, Mathilda brightened nearly immediately. "Well then we can still hang out and stuff, then, if we're near each other," she assured cheerily. The other girl just chuckled and shook her head slightly, long dreds swishing behind her.

"Aha, here you are," Kate suddenly exclaimed. She pointed to a door on the left, which did indeed have 'Mathilda Sykes' written across the front of it. Above it was the name 'Rose Caulfield.'

"Oh hey, I think that's the Rose that came with me on the trip over here," Mattie mused to herself. If that were the case, then she would be okay. While extremely shy, the pale-featured girl had seemed very nice and polite. Mattie didn't forsee any problems with such a girl for a roommate.

"And hey, there's me over there," Kate suddenly pronounced, pointing across the hall and two doors down. "So we are near-by."

"Great!" Mattie squealed, causing the other to wince a little and then rub at her ear. "Oops, sorry," she laughed, causing Kate to laugh with her and shrug it off. "Well, I guess I better go get changed into this uniform before the scary Mr. Hanover comes and locks me in a dungeon." She hesitated for half a second before, "OMG do they have an actual dungeon here?" she questioned in a hissing whisper. One filled more with excitement than fear.

Kate just rolled her eyes and laughed.

[Headmistress Briarthorn]

When Mattie entered the room, Rose looked up from a very thick book, one that looked to be bound in some sort of very light leather, and the pages were written in some sort of dark, fresh, red ink in a language that Mattie did not understand. Rose smiled shyly and put the book away quickly.

"Oh, hello. My name is Rose." She said.

"Hi! I'm Mattie. Isn't this place just the best?" Her roommate asked vibrantly.

Rose's side of the room was very sparse. She had very few personal effects, and little that really defined her space, save for a large, locked, iron-bound chest, with strange writing carved into the length of the iron strips barring it.

"Oh yes, I have heard a lot about it from my father. He attended classes here when he was just a child." Rose replied softly.

"Oh cool! So you must, like, already know all about this place then." Mattie said back as she started to change into her uniform.

"I was mostly raised by my mother, but, yes, I have heard a lot from her as well." Rose said, her voice, the more she spoke, more apparent she spoke with a strange accent, not quite familiar with Mathilda. "I apologize if I am strange to be with. I have not spent much time with people...that is, people my age, I mean." Rose quickly added to her statement. "My mother lives mostly secluded from most. I only ever really met my tutor and aunt and uncle while living with her. I am here to learn about how normal children are."

[Mattie Sykes]

"Aww, you're not strange at all!" Mathilda was quick to assure. And even if the pale girl had been on the odd side, the sweet-natured Mattie would never have said so. It just wasn't in her nature. "I think you're totally sweet," the mixed girl pronounced, turning from getting dressed to flash her new roomie a playful grin. "Maybe a little shy, but that's natural I guess from what you described of your life so far. Nothing that a BFF like me can't fix," she added with a wink.

Rose just smiled, her pale cheeks turning predictably pink.

Mattie glanced down at herself after she'd finished putting on the uniform. It fit perfectly. She wondered somewhat giddily if magic was involved. Probably. Which was thoroughly exciting.

Putting off having to read the manuals for as long as possible, Mathilda set about unpacking her things. Unlike Rose, she had a lot of personal items to toss about on her side of the room. Each one was unique, ecclectic and gave insight to the many facets of her boundlessly energetic, playful, sweet personality.

She was tying a few colorful sequined scarves to the large posts on the headboard of her bed when she glanced back at Rose--who was watching her work with a faintly bemused, curious expression on her face. "I wonder if this place has WiFi? God, I hope so." Mattie made a face. "I got a ton of friends back home who want me to keep in touch. If I have to write letters the old fashioned way, you might as well amputate my hand right now." After only a moment, however, she suddenly brightened considerably. "Or! Maybe there's some sort of magic spell I can learn to cast, like Harry Potter! To make a quill move on it's own and write for me? That would be totally awesome!"

"Erm . . . I'm not sure," Rose answered, somewhat uncertain. "Though I think I recall that first year students are prohibited from casting magic unless in class."

Mathilda deflated visibly. "Aww, man!" she murmured sadly. "That part's just like Harry Potter, unfortunately." She fished out several family photos and arranged them on her small night stand. "If that's the case, then we should totally have Houses here." Mattie glanced over her shoulder again, eyes crafty. "You wanna help me start a petetion for Houses at Briarthorn, Rose?"

[Headmistress Briarthorn]

Rose blinked. "Houses? Who is 'Harry Potter'?" She was genuinely confused. Mattie, in response, had a look of horror on her face.

"OMG, you don't know who Harry Potter is? He's the star of like the best books ever. You should totally read them, I brought them here and you can so borrow them if you want."

"Oh." Rose replied with a slow smile. "Thank you, I would like that. If I have enough time after my homework is done, I will read some."

"No way, we have homework already? I thought school didn't start yet?" Mattie asked.

"Oh, it's just for me, from my mother. She says I have a lot to read up on. If I haven't done enough of it by the next time I see here I am sure she'll scold me." Rose said in a soft voice. "I don't want to displease her, she used a very important favor to get me here."

"A favor?"

Rose nodded. "I don't know all the details, but my mother once saved Briarthorn's life, something on that magnitude, at least. Miss Briarthorn was hesitant in letting me stay here until mother decided to use the favor owed to get me in."

"Why wouldn't Briarthorn want you here?" Mattie asked, not prying, but instiably curious like normal.

"I think she is afraid my aunt and uncle will cause trouble while I am here. But don't worry, Miss Briarthorn will keep us safe." Rose said in response.