It was hard to say, what, exactly, had happened. The cute, shadowy creature had abruptly turned its head to the heavens, turning the day to night. One of the other students had transformed into something distinctly inhuman. Chu, startled by the sudden change, had began to shriek, darting off into the woods, and Esperanza found herself chasing after the little monster. The clearing had been drowned in chaos, and while she had been hoping to stay- to try and help in some manner, perhaps- Chu came first. That was that.

Esperanza had navigated the forest floor with the same amount of grace one would likely expect from a gangly teenager (which is, to say, close to none), and found herself rewarded with a nice pair of scraped knees, a mess of twigs and leaves in her hair, and a slightly torn skirt for her efforts. Luckily, before the damage could get any worse, she found Chu. It was hiding beneath a hole in a tree stump, chittering and squawking, eyes rolling wildly about. Esp fell to her knees, breathing a sigh of relief.

[color=#FF7433]“There you are, [i]bebe[/i]. I was very worried.”[/color] She leaned forward, clicking her tongue and drawing him from his hiding place. [color=#FF7433]“Do not do that again. Okay?”[/color] Chu, being...well, Chu, said nothing. It only dragged its uncomfortably-human tongue across Esperanza’s cheek, causing her to laugh as she stood. [color=#FF7433]“You are still in trouble. No treats today.”[/color]

She blinked.

And was suddenly in the main hall of the academy.

And there was a strange man listing off rules.

Realizing that the strange man seemed to be in some place of authority, Esperanza did her best to listen attentively, eyes wide and head bobbing in assent. She was still nodding even as he began to list off the roommates, although she quickly caught herself and stopped. The rules seemed simple enough. “Don’t go to the dangerous places, don’t hurt other students”, so on and so forth. Esperanza could do that easy enough.

And then came the announcement of her roommate. 

Grace. 

Given the fact that Esperanza had no real idea of [i]who[/i] this so called “Grace” was, she found herself glancing about in bewilderment. Luckily, however, it seemed that her roommate had managed to figure it out, first, as a voice called out her name from below. Cocking her head slightly, Esp looked down, only to find herself face to face with a strange...rabbit. Cat. Something. Esperanza knelt down to the thing’s level, looking very confused, and very dishevelled. 

[color=#FF7433]“I...you are...Grace, yes?”[/color] Esp leaned in. [color=#FF7433]“But you are…the bunny? I do not understand.”[/color] She frowned, then shook her head slightly.

[color=#FF7433]“And I am Esperanza, yes. And this,”[/color] she gave Chu a little bounce, [color=#FF7433]“is Chupacabra.”[/color]

Chu seemed rather curious in its own right, leaning forward and drooling. Viscous grey splattered onto the tile beneath. 

[@The One]

[hr]

The battle had begun within the span of moments, and had ended in the same way. The demon had fallen, becoming a young boy- only to transform again, taking the shape of something far more noble in nature. An angel. The child was a Seraphim. Dawn had barely begun to process the realization when it deftly bound the same creature that had brought the night, pleading for the assembled to accept both it, as well as “Rika”. Then, it was gone. 

And then, the headmaster finally, finally appeared. The man held a gentle sort of authority as he gave his thanks to the students, and, like the angel, instructed them all to accept both the demon-turned-boy and Shade. He had been watching. The Headmaster had purposely let them all quarrel amongst themselves for...what, exactly? A test? To see how they fared in a fight, even with several students young enough to still be attending middle school? Dawn’s lips pursed into a tight line, although she nodded in quiet acknowledgement when it came her turn to be thanked. 

Within a near instant, Arken teleported all into the academy itself. Dawn blinked in surprise- it was hard to find someone capable of performing a mass teleportation on that scale- and glanced about, taking in her surroundings up until the headmaster began to speak once more. He warned them all of the forest, of the abandoned building on campus, and of vandalism. A bit of a mixed bag- especially when it came to the rule of absolute obedience- but most seemed to stay within the lines of what one might expect for a magical academy.

The building that Arken had mentioned, however. That was something that required a well and proper explanation. 

Roommates were doled out after rules. While some of the names Dawn recognized through introductions, or simply through listening, others were foreign. Her roommate was one of the handful that she recollected- although realizing [i]who[/i], exactly, she had been paired with, came as a bit of a shock.

The surprise was only worsened as a certain dragon came lumbering over, gently introducing himself. Dawn gave the being an amiable smile, although she found herself inwardly bewildered. Given Drumdawn’s size, and Dawn’s...well, lack thereof, it seemed rather odd that they would be paired together. Especially with the fact that there was another dragon on campus.

[color=6A5ACD]“A pleasure to meet you, Drumdawn. I’m Dawn, although you already knew that.”[/color] She took a moment to adjust her hat, letting some of the light fall more easily across her features. [color=6A5ACD]“I plan on heading to the room, yes. Better to get settled early on than later, I think. You’re welcome to come along if you’d like.”[/color] With that, Dawn turned, making her way into the halls and towards one Room 219.

[@DragonKingUk]

[hr]

Those of a particularly keen eye would have likely noticed that there were more among the students than there had been before. Some might have shrugged it off at first glance, gone about their business. Given Arken’s strength of teleportation, it would only be logical for a few stragglers to be caught up in the move. If someone took a further glance, looked over each individual, they would find a young child among the newcomers. Small, sweet-faced, seemingly the perfect picture of an obedient schoolboy. 

If they watched him for long enough, they might have found him rolling his eyes.

The scent of Sin had been heavy in the air within the clearing. Thick enough to cut with a knife, really. The students of the Academy had been almost rabid, eager to tear each other’s throats out like a pack of wild dogs. The Headmaster, despite having watched the whole thing take place, allowing it to bloom to near glory, was laying down laws that made it quickly apparent that such things weren’t to be seen on the campus itself. It was...dull. It sapped away the color that Gael had been so dearly interested in, leaving it bland and tasteless. It was, however, also hard to expect, given the rather distinct personas gathered within the hall.

Rubbing his eyes, Gael grabbed the handle of his luggage and began to pull it steadily along, in no real particular rush. He had all the time in the world, and it was good to sightsee in new places. By the time the Prince would reach his room, it would have likely been near thirty minutes since Miarika arrived. Gael gave the door a little, polite rap of the knuckles upon his arrival, then pushed it open, stepping into the room with a smile.

[color=#ff66ff]“Hello,”[/color] he said. [color=#ff66ff]“You must be Ms. Miarikia.[/color]

[color=#ff66ff]“I’m Gael. It’s quite nice to meet you, Miss. I hope that we’ll get along well.”[/color]

His gaze fell from the witch to her familiar, then lingered. 

[@The One]