Monty let out a breath as they began the ceremony, glancing around the room. He had hoped to have his sister in the crowd for support, but it seemed she had already left with her own partner. He hoped Korrey would be alright with idle chatter, because Felicity had been a chatterbox all day. It was slightly endearing, but also annoying after a while. He was drawn back to the present by the tingling in his hand that signified the bond had been made and his seal was forming. It was over with faster than he had expected.
As he and his partner stepped down from the podium, Monty watched as Regis immediately sought out their volunteers, cutting one off as he started speaking. Monty raised his eyebrows in disapproval at the sudden demands, but chose not to comment just yet. He didn't want to start off the year-long bond badly, especially if it was possible the other boy was still having trouble. Although he doubted the boy would actually die, he had seen these types of dramatics with his sister. He turned to the volunteer, smiling at him.
"I can take my luggage as well. Thank you very much sir" As the man walked away to get Regis's water, Monty began following the other volunteer, bag in tow.
He took in the scenery as they walked, admiring the art in the hallways and the large windows that gave a magnificent view of the schools prided garden. The grass was neatly mowed, flowers of all colors bloomed, and the most breathtaking in Monty's opinion, was the topiary section. It was a garden in its own right, with several different stone pathways with hedge borders, arches and walls. All the pathways led to the center, where there was a large marble fountain. The fountain was made of marble and in three layers, with more water spouts on all three. At the very top stood an elegant marble statue of Saint Fortuna herself, covered in draping cloth. She was the patron saint of both magic and knowledge, and to represent that she had in one had a golden orb, and in the other she clutched a book. The orb stood out to most, glowing brilliantly in the sunlight and designed with small but intricate lines and swirls.
This was a common spot for students to go when they needed calm, and some students even asked the statue of Saint Fortuna for advice and blessings. Monty had come there himself many a time, taking comfort in the peaceful atmosphere when life got too stressful. The garden also twelve topiaries spread throughout the garden, to represent the twelve zodiac signs and their elements. The place gave of a certain aura of tranquility, and was eerily quiet at times, compared to the colorful joyful tone the rest of the gardens surrounding the school grounds hosted.
Monty was snapped out of his reverie by his new partner's questions. Embarrassed about zoning out, Monty returned his full attention to Regis. He cringed at the mention of being glued together, trying to smile, but it came as more of a pained grimace.
"Uh, yeah I guess." He laughed awkwardly, trying to mask his discomfort. Dammit, he was usually good at being sociable, why was it so awkward now? "Well I like reading I suppose, but not really the other two very much." Monty responded to Regis's questions, racking his mind. He was neutral on firearms, and scrap booking reminded him too much of his aunt Sarah, with her eccentric personality and her many, many cats.
"I like cooking, although I can't say I'm very good yet. My friend Nancy is teaching my twin sister, Felicity and I how to not burn everything we touch, so that's good I guess. I also love to gardening. I come from Maefeld, so it's nice to be able to have some greenery here and there. Uh, other than that I love motorcycles, comic books, that kind of stuff. Oh! I also love the show 'Statutes and Organization'" He responded excitedly, eyes lighting up at the mention of the popular crime show. Felicity refused to watch it with him, which he found frankly unfair, since she made him sit through all of her cliche bodice ripper romance films. It would have been fine if she wanted rom-coms or just any good romances, like ‘The Notepad’. But no, she had to go and watch that crappy vampire show, ‘Dusk.’
Realizing he had probably gotten overexcited, Monty rubbed the back of his neck and looked away, feeling his cheeks flush "Sorry, you probably didn't need a rant. I just get really excited sometimes. So, what are you interested in Regis? Any hobbies?"
He glanced up as they arrived at the door, the golden gilded numbers on the door reading 220. The remaining volunteer opened the door and showed them in, explaining the doors and various functions of the room as they went. Compared to the living quarters her was used to from the last year, this setup was quite the upgrade. At least it had some semblance of privacy, even if that was only an easily moved sliding wall. Well, that didn't matter too much, he never needed much privacy anyway. His thoughts drifted back to Felicity in the same type of room, and his brows furrowed. He'd have to check on her soon, make sure she was comfortable.
The volunteer handed them a sheet, and Monty scanned over it, listening to the rushed explanation of electives. He wondered what Regis would want for electives. The most popular class was monster hunting, which he wouldn't mind taking, and he hoped he could fit either cooking or gardening in there as well. He preferred cooking, that was his favorite elective, mostly because it's where he always knew he could find Nancy, and maybe even Felicity.
"Thank you. Uh, just let me get a pencil..." He set the paper on the closest table and quickly rummaged through his bag in search of his pencil case. When he found it, he extracted two pencils, offering one to Regis.
"Do you want one?" He asked, not looking up from his paper. It was habit really, his parents always taught him to bring multiple pens and pencils, just in case anyone else forgot them.