Welcome to the Academy

[Kawano Minoru]

Minoru took the proffered hand firmly, but also bowed- it was habit, if nothing else, as was saying his family name first, "Kawano Minoru, nice to meet you." He at down, glanced towards the stage to see what was taking place, then continued in a conversational tone, "Have you been at the Academy long? Or are you new too?"

[Peony]

Peony smiled a bit and looked at the stage then back to the boy. "I am new arrived today." She shifted on her legs and looked the boy over. "I like your name. Kawano..it's very nice sounding. Where are you from?"

[Kawano Minoru]

Minoru barely even registered that she had said his family name, instead of his own- another habit. "It's a rather larger place, isn't it?" He asked, speaking of the Academy, then continued, "I am from Japan, though I recently was living in California. Where are you from?" Because here, wherever the school was, it seemed people could literally be from anywhere.

[Peony]

Peony's eyes grew wide "Oh my you have been lots of places. I am from Illinois." She smiled and brushed some hair from her face "Your very lucky to have lived such beautiful places. I have read some of the history of Japan I would love to go there some day." She smiled as she considered all the places she would want to visit.

She tilted her head to the side as she looked at him "Do you have dreams too?"

[Headmistress Briarthorn]

Before conversations could continue, Briarthorn cleared her voice, and the whole area, even those who had no intention of staying quiet during the speech at first, quieted down. It did not hurt, either, that Nurse Thompson was standing right next to the Headmistress, though she retreated back to her office right after the speech began.

"Some of you have been here before. There are those among you who have heard this speech once, twice, possibly even three times before. You are all asked here because what I am about to say is just a valid as it was on the very first day you arrived here. Others are hearing this for the first time." She regarded the whole makeshift amphitheater now, seemingly focusing on all of the Freshmen. "And for those of you who stayed, you will be glad that you did.

"The Briarthorn Academy for Troubled Youth has been around for a very long time, and through all of those years, it has maintained a standard of excellence in everything that it is. Though you may not feel it, all of you have been or will be troubled soon. You have taken your first steps towards the reality of just how large the world is. Even if you are undaunted now, the scope of reality, the power of magic, these are both things that can leave one feeling troubled, insignificant. You are not alone. That is the most important lesson any and all of you can take away from this speech--no, from your stay here in general. You are not alone in this world. There are others around you who care, or will care, or are already starting to care. The trick is to let them."

She chuckled dryly at that. "Of course, this lesson needs to be learned most by some of the people who are not here at the moment." For just a second, Jalora was certain that Briarthorn was looking--and talking--directly at her, but this passed quickly. "If you find yourself lost, hurt--inwardly or outwardly, or in a bind, any of the teachers, Nurse Thompson, and Mister Hanover, and myself, will be more than happy to help you. This school is for you. We are here to help you. Remember that as well.

"Of course, we are still a school. You will be expected to put all available effort into your studies--you will be in class for nine hours every day--some of you, potentially a considerable bit longer, if you require my class as well. I expect excellence from each one of you. I understand that now is a time of youthful exuberance for you all, and there will be many times you simply will not have the time or ability to complete your work on time--but this is no excuse not to at the very least talk to a teacher, tell them why you cannot do that work. Lack of motivation, illness, and the like are all things we can work around. Better your were lazy and tell us than to leave us in the dark and still not turn an assignment--or assignments--in.

"You will work hard here. But it will be rewarding, I can promise you that. Simply let it, and these can be the best years of your life. Fight them, and they will be your worst." Briarthorn said, working a bit of magic as she spoke. "Now, because I believe in having a smooth first day of school, everyone here has been blessed with increased luck, in the good direction. Things will go smoothly for you, in general, for twenty-four hours. But, as I also believe that nothing can go perfectly," She said with a slight chuckle, "All those students who did not attend have had some of their good luck drained from them. This will continue past the first day, if they let it. However, if they take the time out of their day to talk to me, I will restore their luck to them, even on that first day. But this curse has no duration, so, until they speak to me, it will remain."

She worked some more magic as she spoke, and rainbow-colored flame danced around the Quad, lighting it up brightly where, before, it had been darkened by the encroaching night. "Dinner will now be served in the cafeteria. Good luck, no pun intended, to each and every one of you.

"Welcome to the Academy."

[Kovach Twins]

Jalora slowly covered her face as Briarthorn looked at her to the mentioning of students not being there. Why did her brother have to get her in so much trouble?

....And get himself introuble as well. "Oh..Juraj.." She sighed as she heard the news about the fact that the unattendees will be cursed with bad luck. Her attention turned to Prince for a moment as she smiled politely to him. "Perhaps...we'll see each other at dinner? It was nice meeting you."

She walked through the crowd and went to see if she couldn't find her brother to warn him before he got himself into more trouble.

[Kawano Minoru]

Dreams? Most everyone has dreams, he thought wondering at the question. He was about to reply in this fashion when Briarthorn's voice cut all conversation to an abrupt end and was soon the only thing to be heard. Despite how loud the entire speech seemed to him, when she was finished Minoru had to admit he felt even more excited about his prospects than he had before.
With the conclusion he turned again to Peony, if they were both new they had nothing else for it, "Shall we go and eat, then?"

[Peony]

Peony seemed to hold her breath through most of the speech her hands clasped tightly together in her lap as she watched Briarthorn speak.

Her eyes were wide for the rainbow fire that covered the area a few small ooo's escaped her lips as she admired what must have been magic.

As Kawano spoke Peony turned her head and smiled at him she nodded her head enthusiastically "Yes. That was lovely wasnt it? She has a way about her doesn't she?"

Peony shifted so that she could stand. She looked at Kawano as if trying to read his reaction to the speech.

[Ethan McCordy]

While a part of him relaxed considerably after Nurse Thompson left, Ethan still found himself teetering on the edge of uncomfortable due to the girl at his side. He couldn't for the life of him figure out what it was about him that had drawn her attention, though he wished very fervently that it would go away. Despite whatever weird signals she was tossing out, girls like Kate Meyers weren't ever interested in the nerds like him. She was having a grand ol' time teasing him but Ethan, despite having to deal with the cruel phenomenon near to his entire life, didn't enjoy it.

Ethan struggled to focus on the Headmistress' words as she gave her speech, and not on how Kate seemed to purposefully be leaning her weight into him. For every inch he tried to scoot away, she followed. And her scent was driving him nuts! Making the wolf edgy, which in turn only made Ethan even more unsettled and uncomfortable.

The redhead didn't think he'd have any problem here, at least academically. He always excelled in that realm, after all. The more practical classes might end up giving him trouble. Especially Talon's class, which the vampire had been adamant that he attend. But hopefully he'd be able to muddle his way through it.

As soon as Briarthorn gave them the go ahead, Ethan pounced out of his chair so fast that Kate--still leaning into him--nearly toppled over. She caught herself with a bark of laughter, however, and a display of eerie--very feline-like--reflexes.

"Aw, where you runnin' off to in such a hurry, Wolfy?" she called playfully as he near trotted for the exit.

Ethan's only response to that was the somewhat involuntary growl that let out of his throat before he started walking faster. If Briarthorn hadn't increased his luck, he'd no doubt have tripped on the chair, plowed someone over or otherwise embarrassed himself. But, luckily, he managed to make it out of the swarming quad and toward the cafeteria relatively unscathed.

[Mattie Sykes]

Mattie probably oohed and aahed the loudest at Briarthorn's display of powers. While she heard everything that the woman had said, whatever warnings were given didn't manage to stick very long in her head or dampen the excitement she felt. It wasn't because the girl was air-headed or foolish. Mattie was justed blessed--or cursed, however one wanted to look at it--with an overly healthy abundance of optimism and innocence.

She recognized full-well the possible dangers in this world. But, in her heart, she fully believed that there was nothing she couldn't overcome if given the chance.

To that effect, Mattie turned to eye her friend Rose first with her customary grin, and then treated the grumpy blonde boy beside them to the same. "Hey, you wanna sit with us for dinner?" she asked him cheerfully.

True to form, the mysterious boy just glared at her icily before getting to his feet and looking as though he were going to make a rude, hasty retreat. But then, out of nowhere, another boy suddenly trotted up and threw an arm around the blond one's shoulders. And seemed to ignore the angry scowl he got in return with admirable determination. He had long, flowing platinum-colored hair that would make any girl green with envy and matching silvery eyes, and gave both Rose and herself a charming grin.

"Hello ladies," he purred. "Did I hear an invitation to dinner?"

"Yep!" Mattie chirruped excitedly, while Rose just blinked somewhat beside her, getting carried along for the ride. "Would you like to come too?"

"Of course!" the other teen gushed. "I could never turn down such an invitation from two such lovely ladies as yourselves. My roommate Grove and I will be delighted to accompany you. I'm Prince, by the way," he finished. "Prince Adashan."

"My name's Mattie Sykes," she supplied with a giggle at his melodrama. "And this is my roommate, Rose Caulfield."

"I don't want--,"

"Nonsense, Grove," Prince interrupted smoothly, cutting off his now belligerent-looking roomie. "One simply cannot turn down such an invitation. So buck up, old chum," he teased with a grin. "It's time to force some social skills."

Half-way to the cafeteria, Grove sighed loudly, sour look on his face. "Briarthorn must've cursed me."

Mattie blinked, surprised. "What makes you say that? She only cursed the people who didn't attend." The blond shot her a sour stare.

"If I had any sort of luck at all right now, I'd be safely locked away in my room. Away from you two," he reitorated, indicating herself and his charismatic roomie.

Notably forgetting to include Rose. Of course, that could just be because Rose was so quiet, and hadn't really said anything. But the match-maker in Mattie refused to accept such a benign excuse. Instead she grinned excitedly, the wheels in her head already beginning to turn.

Just before they entered the cafeteria, suddenly Prince reared back and sneezed somewhat firmly. But before Mattie could manage to say 'Bless You' she gaped, as his silvery hair and eyes suddenly turned a bright lemon yellow. Her mouth dropped open in shock.

"Holy Merlin, how'd you do that?"

Prince however snatched a small hand-held mirror out of his pocket and then groaned. "Oh, drat it all! Now I'm clashing with my uniform!"

[Anastasia Noldavir]

Though troubled by the brief tangle that she and Gabrielle had had to deal with just before the speech, once she and her roommate effectively removed themselves from 'Rocky' and his goons' presence, the rest of the experience went fine. Ana bit at her lip a little as she wondered if she would be able to keep up with the work load expected of her. While not a complete wreck, she had never been known as the best of students. She usually managed to maintain a fairly respectable C average in regular school. Hopefully she'd manage the same here, too.

After a moment of nibbling at her lower lip in absent-minded worry, Ana jerked a little as one of her fangs accidentally pierced the skin. She reflexively lifted a hand to press her fingers to the tiny wound, pulling away to see a small spot of crimson on them. Embarrassed, Ana did her best to hide it, feeling a faint tingle of heat skip across her cheeks.

"Um, do you want to go to the cafeteria for dinner, or no?" the slender girl questioned her only friend thus far, tentative. She herself was starting to feel hungry again, unfortunately, but Ana knew she wouldn't be able to manage the experience on her own just yet. Whether it was healthy to do so or not, Anastasia had found a comfort in following Gabby's lead, and was in no way eager to give that up just yet.

[Headmistress Briarthorn]

Gabrielle seemed to longingly stare at the blood on Anastasia's lips before shaking herself of it. "Yes. Yes I would." She replied.

----

Rose thought the boy named Grove was quite handsome. Of course, the even mere thought of saying anything caused her to blush very slightly.

She went along with the now trio, and saw Kate slink up to the group before they actually saw her.

"If you're headed to dinner, I'm comin' too. Though, there's someone I think we should drag over to our table. He's kind of a thick-headed wall-flower, but he's cute enough." She purred.

"Great, the more the merrier!" Mattie said cheerfully. Rose envied her.

Grove grumbled, and Prince might have looked up from his mirror long enough to say, "Yes, quite."

----------

Briar had finished taking questions from students, and was preparing to join them in lunch, when two tarot cards slipped from her deck.

The first was the Emperor, the second, the Ace of Pentacles. Briarthorn sighed. It had only been a matter of time, really.

"Hanover, make certain dinner goes as planned. We have an uninvited guest." Briar said dryly.

"Is there trouble?" The gruff man asked.

"None we did not expect. Michael has chosen to make his appearance."

[Ethan McCordy]

Ethan had just managed to find a nice, empty secluded table in one of the far corners of the cafeteria and sat, getting ready to start eating his dinner. Yet before he could take that first bite, that damnable scent heralded her arrival an instant before Kate plopped down in the chair at his side with a happy sigh, setting her tray down in front of her. She shot his flabbergasted glare a wide, shameless grin.

"Hiya, Fido."

"Bloody hell, why're ye--I have a name, ye ken?!" Ethan finally snapped. "And it's nay Fido or Wolfy."

One of those perfect dark eyebrows rose in a teasing arch. "And you've never bothered to tell it to me, have you," she murmured, causing the smaller boy to blush a little at the embarrassing truth. He scowled, shoving his glasses more firmly up the bridge of his nose out of habit.

"Ethan," he finally allowed somewhat grudgingly. "Ethan McCordy."

Kate tilted her head to the side slightly, considering him. Then she sighed and shook her head. "Nah, I think I prefer Wolfy." Ethan scowled, and would have retorted, but all of a sudden his table was being bombarded.

"Hiya Ethan!" Mattie chirruped as she bounded over and took a seat next to Kate. Rose wasn't far behind, giving him a shy smile and a small wave as she in turn sat next to her roommate, both of them sitting down trays.

"Wait, what--?"

Ethan didn't get to finish, as a moment later a tall boy with girlishly long lemon-blond hair and matching eyes suddenly appeared, dragging the kid who had punched Shad in the face along behind him.

"Hello chap, Prince Adashan is the name, pleasure to meet you," the long-haired one introduced himself before subtly forcing his companion to sit down, both with lunch trays of their own.

The other blond just eyed him with a measure of disgusted resignation. "It doesn't do any good to run away," he pronounced dryly. "They just chase you down."

[Anastasia Noldavir]

Ana had seen the brief look that Gabby had given her, though she was certain it was just because of the blood on her mouth. As they walked to the cafeteria she did her best to surreptitiously suck on the wound until it stopped bleeding. She didn't mind such attention from Gabby, but she would very much like to avoid any overt staring from anyone else.

By the time they got their cups and bags of blood--pork again--the cafeteria was fairly full. Seats were scarce. The two girls both silently agreed to steer far away from the table that Rocky and his friends were laughing loudly and carrying on. The only empty seats left seemed to belong to a half-full table near the back.

As they neared, Ana recognized a number of kids that had arrived with her, plus a few new ones.

"Excuse me," Gabrielle called politely. "Might we . . . can we join you?" she corrected herself after a small hesitation.

The girls--and the boy who had hair long enough to make one jealous--all grinned cheerily. Ethan and Grove looked less enthused, but they were in the vast minority.

"Sure, come on over!" Mattie exclaimed, waving at them. "I'm Mattie, and this is Kate, Rose, Ethan, Grove and Prince."

"I am Gabrielle," the girl at her side proclaimed, "though you may call me Gabby if you'd like. And this is--,"

"Ana," Mattie supplied with a giggle. "We've met a little bit, she was in my group on the trip out here. How's Briarthorn treatin' ya so far, Ana?" the kindly dark-haired girl questioned then.

Anastasia managed a friendly smile, only fidgeting a little nervously as they sat and Gabby began helpfully cutting open their bags and pouring their dinner into their cups. "Ah, a-alright, so far," she called. "It is a little daunting, but . . . nice."

[Róisín Brennan]

Roisin's first thought to the entire speech and accompanying fireworks was, 'that was an eye-opener and no mistake!' but her expression was one of passing curiosity. Still, whether she displayed it or not, the young sidhe was anxious to begin her studies. Granted, she already had, after a fashion, having read much from her textbooks in the previous few days, but the classes themselves were going to be quite interesting, she was sure.

Less convincing were the comments of "You are not alone in this world. There are others around you who care ... trick is to let them." She was just as sure as she was about her lessons that there was some truth to this as well, but she did not agree with the emotion that these words were said with. She scoffed, almost aloud, when they were spoken and still did not equate them with any real truth. Roisin had read a lot, perhaps the problem was she had read too much, but based up her experience, there was little need to have a great amount a friends 'hanging on the bell'. People were a nuisance- though they did have there uses.

She raised her eyebrows at the boy who she had sat next as he dashed past, feigning surprise over annoyance, and increased this appearance at the words and actions of the tall girl who remained. People were certainly odd.

With much more decorum she stood and ventured out of the quad and to the cafeteria. It was buzzing and humming with the conversations of her fellow students and the noises synonymous with food and eating. Roisin acquired her own food, looked around for a place to sit, then wrinkled her nose. With the entire school eating all at once, and she coming towards the end, there were no seats where one might eat alone. She took a few tentative steps further, trying to determine the best location, and wondering why only libraries had private cubicles.