EliteCommander and Toxic Diamond Collaboration

Ssarak Dyreackthanose and Aruna Mortista 
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Ssarak returned the grin and gave a slight laugh. "As I can imagine." He felt sympathy for Aruna over her story, as it appeared she had to endure great hate through her life. With that in mind, it was no surprise she seemed to have such trouble dealing with social situations. "I am sure your time in the wilds served to give you strength, but it is unfortunate you had to experience it alone, with no family or clan. I cannot understand your father's opinion, as he obviously had no disdain for humans. I personally hope your time here is more...accommodating than what you have experienced thusfar. I remember when I first moved to human lands, I was taken aback by how hateful some can be towards those who are different, though in my case, such words were often said away from my presence." Ssarak commented, straightening his posture to call attention to his stature. "If anyone here gives you trouble for being what you are, feel free to notify me. I would be glad to be of assistance."

Aruna gratefully accepted his sympathy. It was rare that she ever got any. It was also nice to know that she wasn't the only one who had to go through living with hate. When he offered to help her with anyone who bothers she couldn't help but give him a big smile. "Thank you. Really, you have no idea what that means to me, but I don't think you should have to worry much. I'm used to bigotry by now, and I can handle myself... But I promise if there's something I can't handle alone. You'll be the first I call." She felt so odd. Rarely ever did she tell her feelings to strangers, yet here she was telling her most inner thoughts to a complete stranger. She felt exposed, naked. She didn't enjoy the feeling, but this Esyire had a talent of stripping away her defences. "It's so odd... This is the first time I've had a conversation with an Esyire that wasn't trying to kill me." She couldn't help but think: Actually I'm still not sure you won't try to later. She squashed the thought. It's hard to ignore a life time of paranoia though, and the thoughts kept going back and forth.

Ssarak couldn't help but to be a bit disappointed in his own kin when Aruna said she had never spoken to an Esyire before, though given her description of where she had lived, he understood why. "As much as I hate to admit it, I am not surprised that the Esyire you encountered were so hostile. Few civilized Esyire make their homes as far from Felldor as you described, so I believe you were exposed to the worst among us...though I am not certain if you would have found a home further in either. Clan traditions and values vary widely. Even within clan Dyre, I know of some that likely would have rejeced you, though others would have been much more kind. At the very least, the College here seems accepting of all types of people. The students themselves may or may not be, but I am not terribly concerned about their opinions."

Aruna listened, intrigued at what Ssarak ad to say. "It's not that I didn't believe that all Esyires were bad, it's just that they were more of a.. fantasy, or a dream than actual reality. As for the school, I've yet to be attacked, so I'd say things are going well." The Gargoyle stopped and turned to them. Then spoke in a gravely voice. "Here. These are the dormitories. each areaas a rune carved into the shape of the College sigil which when pressed and held, changes the room to suit each student’s unique needs and likes. Though some extreme changes might not be possible as it sometimes will not activate or break the rune completely. for more drastic changes, students must contact a teacher who will quickly create an adequate space which can be created or other matters with the more drastic changes. reverting the room back to its original state- a four stone wall room with a basic bed, table, and dresser. Goodbye." It turned and walked away. Aruna turned to Ssarak with a confused expression. "How do those things even work. Some of them give me an uneasy feeling." A stationary gargoyle on It's pedestal near them speaks with a resentful tone. "I heard that."

Ssarak held back a laugh, not wanting to offend the gargoyles any further. They were certainly interesting constructions, though he was unsure whether or not they were actually alive. They had developed personalities, certainly, but did they have their own souls? Of those questions he did not know the answer, though he was sure he would learn eventually. For the moment, he directed his attention to the task at hand.

"Hmm, so we shall be selecting our own rooms, n. I suppose it is fortunate we elected to come here so soon, as we will be able to choose first. Given the number of students I have seen so far, I am assuming there will not be enough rooms for everyone to have their own. Would you perhaps like to select the same room? I would like to ensure my roommate is someone I can get along with." Ssarak suggested. He had been living mostly alone for the past few years, but he would have no issue readaptng to living close to others. In his village, everyone in the community was essentially a close knit family, even if not by blood. They often lived close to one another, sometimes in the same structures depending on how many building materials they had available materials.

Ssarak's suggestion that they sleep in the same room made her cheeks flush with color. Who did this Esyire think was? Who did he think she was?! She didn't know much about civilized life, but one thing she did know was that males and females do not sleep together, unless it was for... Mating purposes. Suddenly understanding flooded her mind. That's why he was nice to her. Why he acted he way he did. All he wanted was to bed her. She felt a flare of annoyance and anger shoot through her. It wouldn't have bothered her if he had just come out and said that was what he wanted. She could have rejected him and been done with it. But no, he had to pretend to be nice to her, to be her friend. She felt like an idiot. "N-No! I would not like to share a room with you! What do you take me for?! You...." She was unconsciously moving her tail in a way that made the tail whip sound like a rattle snake tail. She poked him in the chest and stared at him with her intense green eyes. "You have a lot of nerve." She turns away from him and grabs the first door handle she sees before opening the door and slamming it shut behind her.

Perplexed would be an understatement for Ssarak's reaction to Aruna's outburst. He did not have the faintest idea what would cause her to become so angry, so quickly. He went through his head, trying to figure out if he had said or done something offensive, but his mind came up blank. This was a definite reminder to him that he was still not familiar with human culture, and she, more than anything, had been raised with theirs. He cursed his own isolation within his tribe for his ignorance of the outside world, and he hoped he could figure out what was wrong. He approached her door and spoke loud enough that he assumed she could hear him.

"Um, I am...confused. Did I say something offensive. Understand, I am not nearly as familiar with your customs as my own." He asked genuinely.

Aruna snorted at his words. If he thought she was stupid enough to fall for this twice he seriously underestimated her resolve. She turned back to the door and, making sure it was locked, she replied with an angry tone of voice. "Yeah, like I'll fall for that again! Go try and get another girl into your bed. Goodnight." She walks away from the door and sits wearily onto one of the two beds in the room. Getting ready to ignore anything else Ssarak says.

Being that Ssarak did not understand the connotation of what Aruna said, her response was entirely unhelpful to him. He was almost certain the rooms had multiple beds. She seemed to think he was trying to trick her, so perhaps she was worried about him being a psychomancer? Skilled psychomancers could completelely bend the wills of others, or at least of weaker minded individuals. He was nowhere near that level, however. "I...still do not understand. I can accept if you are angry, but I would at least like to know what it was I did, so that I do not do it to anyone else. Does it relate to my mageblood?"

Out of annoyance Aruna gets up, walks to the door and opens it a crack, her tail was still making the noise it had been earlier.
"You tried to charm me into your bed, pretended to be nice to me, and now you want to pretend and be innocent? Really?"
She turns and walks from the door again, this time slamming it shut with the tip of her tail. Then she registers something he said.
Something to do with his mageblood?.... Is that a euphemism?

"Charm you into my...wait?" Ssarak began, disregarding the door being slammed once again. The meanings of what she said started to click in his mind. Ssarak had lived in the common quarters with many of the others in his village for most of his life until he was married, so sharing a room had no significant to him, but for humans, it must have a more...intimate connotation. He suddenly became extraordinarily embarrassed, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Wait, so for humans, sharing a room means that...I didn't...I shared a room with others in my clan for most of my life in the common quarters...I didn't know...I think...I think I will just go." He said, stopping himself from stammering on awkwardly and walking into the room next door. He hoped his rushed and stuttering explanation cleared up the confusion, or at least that he would have a chance to do so later. If that was what being a roommate meant to Humans, then perhaps the college did not intend for them to have roommates after all. Perhaps there were more rooms somewhere else of which he was unaware.