---

"Do you mind if we sit with you?" Sarah politely asked, motioning to the empty seats beside the two of them.

While she'd been following along with her roommate to get to the auditorium thus far, at the same time the white-haired Primalist felt a certain sense of peculiarity about Sarah's choice of....people to sit next to. Not that it was much a matter to think of, but it was something to be certain.

The first was a girl with likewise oddly-colored hair, whether it was as natural as Elena's own was since her awakening was an unknoown, but given the girl's matching odd eye color she was getting a sense of deja-vu to her own post-awakening situation. Yet the rest seemed to speak volumes in an initial sense, given, between the 'hip'-looking glasses, the tied-up hair, visible undercut, and even the piercings spoke to a "modern 'rebel without a cause'" archetype of sorts perhaps. Or a hipster. Or some form of anti-social sort, perchance? Hmm. But that was all simply poitential anecdotes wrought by an observation of one's appearance, which gave her little to work with and less to assume aside from the basic knowledge that this girl was, as with everyone else there, a Primalist. But there was one other beyond this girl sitting there as well.

A giant of a boy, likely nearly one foot taller than herself to be blunt, whose towering height was certainly among his first most-noticeable visible traits to her eyes. Second was that left eye of his-....or rather stark lack of said eye thereof that was replaced with a scar that looked far less than 'pleasant to have recieved'. Third-so was his right arm, itself placed in a proper sling, and the way about him that seemd to shout 'rough' combined with everything else. Further,, his eyes seemed somewhat 'tired' in way that felt melancholy or depressing, frankly, and beyond this it was easy to ascertain the burnt stench of a cigarette on his person that he didn't seem to be wanting to hide at all to her initial perception. Perhaps someone who grew up in a bad place? Rough life, maybe? Hmm. Again this was only enough evidence to make initial guesses at the nature of this person, but she felt she could rule out 'a very happy ray of sunshine all of the time' out about this person for a surety.

In any case, she didn't want to seem as if she was simply staring at these two peers of theirs like they were oddities at some olden-day carnival exhibit. It was a....'distasteful' sort of approach that would be to make others feel like. Sure she may have raised an eyebrow mildly for a moment, but would return to a 'usual' professionalism of sorts rapid again thereafter as she tried to keep a polite equivalent of a 'poker face' on for the time being. However, one hand did briefly rest closer to her right hip in a more casual manner, admittedly, as her thoughts went briefly back to her stomach. She wanted to get this whole affair over with here well enough, and then at least in a basic manner satiate her stomach and curiosity about the school's cafeteria and how such facilities were. Because it would be good to know if certain times of day and meals they made were of better or lesser quality, though knowing how big the school was it was perhaps certain that it wouldn't be five-star dining of course. Not that she was looking for such at this school as much as she just wanted to get a feel of the food there, mass-produced, frozen and thawed, or potentially more handmade or not as it could/might be.

She meanwhile had a few things stashed for using in the kitchenette back in her and Sarah's room if need-be, or if she simply felt like it, though at this point in time they had remained concealed in her things due to the prior day's tiredness after her arrival there. But part of her couldn't help but imagine trying to sprout up some edible portabella mushrooms and some others to cook with. A nice mixture provided by her, admittedly still vexatiously strange by their nature, new powers that would save potentially a bit on food costs and so forth. Wait. Did they even have a spot to buy ingredients around here? Blast it all, she needed to check that out as well! Or perhaps there was another here who could conjure dairy or something for some in-room cheese ripening at a more rapid pace? Hmm...

Meanwhile, she'd simply give an assenting nod and maybe a breif wave with her free left hand to support what Sarah was asking if they looked to her at all. Nothing much, just enough to get the cordiality out of the way among peers.

@BurningCold@Carlyle

---

Nothing particularly stood out to Emiliano during his walk to the auditorium. Not surprising, he is part of the last groups to flood inside the building. All the good seats were probably taken at this point, so there was little reason to rush on his part. As others went on ahead, Emiliano staggered behind, thinking about the hotplate situation again. With any luck, he could probably find someone around his seating area in possession of one.

There weren't many options available to him as the rows quickly filled, though some areas were more empty than others. It appears some students have already established their friend circles by now. Which was great because he could ask all of them at once for kitchen equipment. As Emiliano scanned for a spot to claim, he noticed NPC John gesturing to him among the crowd, with an empty seat next to him.

Well, that just makes things easier!

“Yes-Yes, coming!”

Emiliano hurried to his seat while being mindful with his footing for those already seated in the same row as he passed by. He apologized to NPC John for taking too long and thanked him for saving a seat. From there, they had a casual conversation while waiting for the assembly to start. They touched a bit on politics, specifically the anti-primalist senator. Emiliano couldn't contribute much, he didn't exactly follow American politics, but did remark the prejudice against primalists is pretty much the same back in Europe. Even in his peaceful hometown, there was the occasional bad apple seeking trouble.

Eventually the conversation steered into a more lighthearted topic. It started with a question some rando asked from the next seat over.

What's your element?

When it came to Emiliano's turn to answer, he didn't hesitate.

“Salt.” He responded with a deadpan tone.

---

---

Vinegar grimaced as she stared into the mirror, yanking her tie this way and that in an attempt to find a position that was even remotely comfortable. She hated ties, always felt vaguely like she was being choked whenever she wore one. What kind of cruel and unusual punishment was wearing a uniform, anyway? There were way too many layers for this time of year, and god the trousers were so stuffy and stiff. UGH. She gave a final yank that she felt was finally comfortable--and realized as she did that she'd just yanked the entire thing off. With a long, heavy sigh, she closed her eyes and pinched her nose between thumb and index finger. It was going to be a long day.

Another few minutes for her to get the damn thing back up again, tight enough that it wouldn't come off and loose enough that she only felt a little like she was being strangled, and took a deep breath, resting her forehead against the mirror and staring at the ground. She'd barely been here at all and it was already lonely. Her lips curled into a faint snarl that her shitty foster parents had sent her here. Yeah, yeah, she got it, she was a primalist, she had to go to a primalist school to make sure she didn't boil anybody she didn't like, made sense. That didn't mean she had to like it. Maybe the campus allowed visits or something once she demonstrated she could be allowed to run around without cutting anyone in half with a heat beam.

Well, and she guessed she could at least try to get along with her new enforced company. She glanced back at the door to the 'living room.' Somewhere on the other side of that was this "Johnathan" that she'd be living with from now on (honestly, what kind of school did coed dorms?). But, also, on the other hand--"ATTENTION STUDENTS. PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU ARE AT THE WOLKWITZ AUDITORIUM FOR THE CEREMONY IN THE NEXT TEN MINUTES."

Well, that.

She'd spend two or three further minutes adjusting her damn tie after the announcement, so she only had so much time to get where she was going. With a purposeful stride, she flung open the door, breezing through the common area and exiting her dorm. If Johnny boy was in there, then he could catch up if he wanted. But Vina Lilliane had places to be! She'd never really been a rule follower, to say the least. But since she was a primalist, she was stuck in this stupid school for who knew how long? So it would be best for her to make at least some level of good impression on the faculty before she started driving them up the wall with her incessant habit to cause trouble, even if she'd been trying to get a handle on it before.

She took the stairs down to the building entrance three at a time before bursting out into the balmy warmth of a New York late summer. Almost instantly she clocked the big building that approximately everyone on campus was moving to; so that was the auditorium, then. It had been maybe three minutes since she'd left her dorm when she finally made her way into the cavernous space, doing her best to not shove by people and only slightly failing. Five minutes to, then, and all the seats were filling up with people. She sucked in a breath and stayed up near the doors, where the seats were less crowded, and she could plop herself down right on the aisle with a short huff and a stretch as she bounced her foot against the floor.

"And now we wait," she grunted.

@Shylarah

John was up quite early to go for a run around campus. He always went for a morning run back home, and there was no reason to let that habit fall by the wayside just because he was in a new place. The morning was comfortably cool, though it promised to warm up as the sun rose higher. After half an hour it was back to his dorm for a quick shower and to change into his school uniform -- white shirt, black sweatervest, red tie, and black slacks. John was far from thrilled. It really took a bit of the life out of things, having everyone dress the same. And a tie! Ties were uncomfortable at best, and downright annoying at worst. The blazer he draped over his shoulder -- it wasn't cold enough to need it at the moment.

It was still early, but by then the cafeteria was open, so he went for breakfast. It was nice to be able to have a hot breakfast, he reflected. Back home, breakfast usually consisted of a bowl of cereal with milk, and maybe a banana. He sat at a table with a couple of other students, and the group chatted some about where they were from and what their elements were.

Eventually an announcement came over the intercom, saying the students should head to some auditorium. John followed the flow of people towards another building, presumably the auditorium. Inside, he cast his gaze over the crowd of students, noting that he wasn't the only one with dyed hair. Sure, there weren't many who had gone for color, but at least there were a few. He found a seat towards the front of the room, less than a third of the way back, and settled into it.

Conner tilted his head, weighing the options like he was deciding between two equally good flavors of ice cream.

“Hmm, socializing could be fun. Then again…” He said, stretching out his arms. “I’m not really in the mood to mingle with a bunch of kids taking this whole thing way too seriously…”

He let his gaze sweep across the auditorium, noting the scattered students, the empty seats, and the group Wren had pointed out. Then his eyes landed on a blue haired boy sitting near the front. He looked put together. Like he actually wanted to be here. What really caught his attention was the hair color. Sky blue, which suggested he wasn’t a total stick in the mud.

After a beat, Conner grinned. “Come on, let’s make some first impressions!”

Conner confidently sauntered up to the blue haired guy, and sat down next to him. “Front row huh? Bold choice… You actually excited for this? Or are you just trying to suck up to the professors?” He chuckled, and made a finger gun gesture. “I’m digging the hair bro. Blue is my favorite color.”

@IAmTheIsland @shylarah

Sam was in the cafeteria when he heard the announcement for all students to head to the auditorium. He normally didn't care much for a fancy breakfast, cereal was perfectly acceptable to him. But that was when he had to prepare it himself, being able to just grab eggs and toast and whatever else he wanted made the idea of a full breakfast much more palatable.

Students were leaving the cafeteria but Sam stayed seated, he really didn't want to get caught up in the mass of bodies all heading to the same place. He'd be sure to get there in time, but at the current moment he was going to finish his coffee. He didn't even particularly like coffee, he had just always found the idea of starting the day with a coffee so quaint and fun.

After a few minutes Sam got up and made his way to the auditorium. It was easy enough to find, plenty of students still seemed to be making their way. But now Sam wasn't concerned he might get trampled in the crowd. Inside the building students had seemed to have taken up all the seats close to the front. That was fine with Sam, not like this was a concert or something where he wanted a good seat.

The back of the hall had lots more open seats, though they were filling up fast. He noticed a girl with light blond hair sitting in the aisle seat, bouncing her leg up and down. Same figured the whole auditorium would be filled so there was no point trying not to sit next to someone.

"Sorry, 'scuse me," Sam said as he scooted by her, careful not to step on her feet, as he took the seat next to her. "Hi there," he spoke with a friendly tone and a brief smile before going back to his usual somewhat grumpy expression. The room was hot, even if it was air conditioned having so many people in one place was just going to make the room unbearable. Sam created a tiny ice cube in his hand and rubbed it on his forehead and the back of his neck. It helped, but he was really hoping this assembly wouldn't take too long.

@Lemons

A brown-haired young man settled next to John, with a dark-haired young lady following suit. "I'm hardly in the first row," John scoffed, though he smiled as he said it. His grin widened at the compliment of his hair. "Heck yeah, blue's my favorite color too!" He ran his eyes over the two other students, taking in the guy's unbuttoned top buttons, the untucked shirt...the blue socks with...fish, maybe? The girl had dressed more conservatively, though even she wore a pair of boots with chunky soles. He held out a hand to shake. "I'm John. What are your names?"

@IAmTheIsland @Crimson Flame

---

Even in his dreams, Austen was still sleeping.

He relished in the softness of the flower petals he's laying on, how they were much more comfortable than a normal bed sheet. Not to mention that he was laying on a literal flower bed, blooming with all kinds of colorful and beautiful flora. He was yet to make a bed made out of plants and flowers, but laying closer to the ground meant much more space to stretch one's arms and legs out.

Even after all this time, he still couldn't believe he had the ability to harness magic. It was a subject his parents dedicated their lives to, how they met each other and fell in love. He wondered how his father would react knowing his son was also a part of this magical phenomenon happening on Earth. Even after all these years, Austen still missed him, and he's sure his mom did too. Austen was still also glad she had a new partner now, someone who loved and cared for her like how his dad did. Wherever he may be, they all hoped he was happy and at peace.

The sound of his alarm woke him up from his gentle thoughts, making him utter a soft groan as he reached for the alarm to turn it off while rubbing the sleepiness from his eyes. Oh, who was he kidding? He always had a look of sleepiness and listlessness in his eyes. Peaking through the half-awakedness, he saw his roommate was long gone in their shared dorm room. Oh right, there was supposed to be a breakfast for everyone in the cafeteria.

Meh, Austen didn't really care much about breakfast. Must be because he's conserving his energy through sleep but he strangely didn't go hungry easily. Still, he didn't want to be late to the... Hm, was it an orientation? Austen already forgot but it probably was, now that he remembered they had to go to the auditorium.

So the young lad lazily showered, got dressed, and went outside. Realizing the sun was a little too bright for his sleepy eyes, Austen went back inbto get a pair of shades and then went to walk across the campus grounds of the institute. He noticed there were other students going to the auditorium like him too, and he was one of the last to arrive at the place. He sat at the last row at the back, right at the corner. Thinking he could have an extra few minutes, Austen decided to take a power nap, the first of many to come for the day.

---

@Crimson Flame @shylarah

Conner then shot Wren a mock offended look, clutching at his chest dramatically like he’d been wounded. “Sass? Wren, please. That was charm!” he said, then turned back to John with a grin. “But yeah… I like to keep things light. This place already takes itself way too seriously, y’know?”

With a flourish, he pulled out his bag of Goldfish crackers, popped one into his mouth, then held it out toward the other two. “Snack? They’re the extra cheesy kind. I come prepared.” He said like offering snacks at a formal presentation was the most normal thing ever.

Then he turned his attention to John. “So Johnny boy, what’s your element? Judging by the blue, I’d say you’re a water guy like I am. But then, you don’t give water vibes. You definitely too chill to be fire though.”

@shylarah@IAmTheIsland

"Wren, and Connor," John echoed, to fix the two names in his memory. "Pleasure's mine. And don't worry, Wren -- there's nothing wrong with a bit of sass." His easy smile flashed across his face again. "I agree -- can't take things too seriously." Connor produced a bag of Goldfish, and offered them to the other two. John raised an eyebrow. "I just had breakfast, and there was quite the spread available. I'm gonna have to pass." The question of what element he'd manifested was unsurprising, though he tilted his head at the stereotypes. "Can you really tell by personality? Not water, no -- I'm electricity. ...I've been told I'm lucky I didn't seriously damage something when I awakened. Fortunately for me, my only mishap thus far has been frying my phone." John gave an awkward smile. "Turns out sensitive electronics don't like significant static charges. Who knew?"

@IAmTheIsland @Crimson Flame

---

Vina grumbled deep in her throat as some white-haired kid--with ALL THE SPACE this far up in the auditorium--stepped past and sat down right next to her. Some people. Did he not realize that she was explicitly sitting here to avoid sitting next to people?

Still. What was she supposed to do? She was in a school auditorium, for god's sake, it's not like she could punch him here and now, and she didn't really want to anyway. All she could do was shoot a glance to the side and glare at his--

"--ice?"

It's not that Vina was surprised or anything, this was a Primalist school, after all. Just wasn't expecting to see someone using it so casually, given her relationship with her own element and the care she had to take with it. Then she suddenly realized that she was staring, and by what she just said he'd know. So she turned back towards the front with a hmmph, hoping that he wouldn't call her obvious faux pas into question.

Now Sam was regretting sitting next to this girl. She was clearly annoyed, he caught her staring at him before she turned away in a huff. Should he just ignore her? That would be the safest option. But this was a fresh start for Sam, he couldn't just let his awkwardness dictate his life. So he decided to talk to her, "are you not warm? With all these people in here I feel like I could melt." If she really didn't want to talk hopefully she would just say so.

Well, that was probably the end of Vina's privacy. With a looooong sigh, she folded her hands behind her head and stared at the ceiling, metaphorically kicking back since she didn't want to be the kind of asshole who puts their feet up in an auditorium. "Well, my tolerance might be hotter than most. Especially you, Ice Cube." Weighing whether or not showing off was a good idea when she never knew if it'd put a hole wherever she was pointing it, she eventually brought a hand down in front of her and carefully let a nimbus of superheated air dance around it without firing a heat laser out of it. Progress!

"My element's heat," she finished, voice dry as the Sahara. "I'm literally in my element here."

Honestly, it was actually a little cool for her. She was way further north than she was used to, the auditorium was air conditioned, and she was sitting far away from most people. Forgot being 'not warm, she was cold!

Well that sigh wasn't a great start, but at least she was being friendly instead of just telling him to screw off or something. He let out a small chuckle at her comment after she displayed her ability. "Very nice, I can appreciate some dry wit. I'm Sam, by the way. Though I like how Ice Cube sounds, probably too cool for me though." Now it was his turn for a bad pun, two could play at that game.

Oh, good. It was time to play the name game. A ghost of a smile came to her face. At least this way she could introduce herself the right way before Sam learned her confusing legal name. Because really, honestly. Vinegar? Really? "I'm sure there's a way to use heat and ice to pun off of 'dry wit' there without dragging it out too far, it's a shame I can't find it." He seemed nice-ish. Not annoyingly nice, too, like a lot of the pain-in-the-ass people Vina had dealt with over the years and had usually led to her beating on them because she thought they were making fun of her. Just...generally friendly.

Still kind of a pain in the ass that he'd decided to randomly sit with her, but, hey, gotta make the best of any given situation. She shook out her hand to banish any of the excess heat from it before reaching it out to him for a fistbump. "Vina. 'Sup, Ice Cube."

Sam first bumped her, "nice to meet you Vina." He had his first new friend at the institute. Well, he supposed his roommate could be his first friend, though they hadn't interacted a whole lot yet, so maybe not. Either way, this was a good sign of things to come. "I've got dry ice to go with dry wit, it feels like the pun is right there." The auditorium was seeming quite full now, most of the student body seemed to have finally arrived. "It seems we may have to fridge this discussion, I suspect we'll have to listen to some boring opening speech any minute now."

"Heh. Fridge."

---

Oh goddamnit. There it was. Thanks, Natascha. With both the reminder of all the roadblocks that had suddenly been placed in her way as a newfound Primalist and the use of her proper name thoroughly ruining what good mood she'd managed to garner, Vina scowled at Sam, keeping her voice low enough to fly under the radar of the general din as she honest-to-god growled sideways, one hand rubbing at her temple while the other began fidgeting with the motherfucking tie again.

"If you call me 'Vinegar' I'm going to punch you in the face. More than once. Savvy?"

She wanted to cause less trouble at the Merryweather Institute. She wanted to be less of a habitual line-stepper, being friends with Charlotte and then with Jason and Olivia had made permanent testiness a lot less alluring. But she was still in an enduring foul mood from the circumstances of her transfer here, she missed her friends...and the lure of anger was just so tempting. It was like a drug, and the more you tried to hold it back the more you craved it. She pressed her lip tightly together, digging her spare hand's fingernails into its palm and focusing on it to keep her mind off it, and--

--aaaaand she'd just pulled off her tie again.

She immediately dropped her head into her hands and barely managed to stifle the loud "FUCK!" to the point it wouldn't be audible on stage, let alone the people around her.

Becoming acquaintances with Sam was a good start. This was not.

"Yes ma'am, understood," Sam gave her a mock salute, "I prefer going by the short versions of people's names anyway." Sam had always thought his name was a bit boring, he'd never been more happy to have it, it could have been much worse. He was then startled out of his thoughts by Vina swearing quite loudly. She seemed to have undone her tie. "Hey, want me to get that for you? I'm guessing the fuck is because you find tying the tie frustrating?" Sam found it frustrating too, but he could at least manage it good enough.

Unfortunately, there was nothing he could say to Vina that wouldn't make it worse at this point.

"I can tie a stupid tie!" Vina spat, metaphorical hackles raising and fists clenched tight as she struggled to take deep breaths to calm down. "I just can't keep it on without feeling like I'm choking! And that's NOT why I'm mad!" She pressed her palms into her eyes. Inches away from a full-on explosion, she used the pressure to ground herself as the tie hung loose around her neck. Charlotte had taught her some breathing exercises; but breathing exercises only worked when you weren't hyperventilating madly and trying to not turn everything within ten feet into a scorched wasteland. Socially. Metaphorically.

By now, the people that Natascha had called were starting to filter out of the auditorium. She knew she had to go. She'd been trying to avoid this exact situation and keep her temper under control, and it wouldn't be great if she was late to the literal first thing her new teacher asked of her because she couldn't. Still, most of a minute had passed by the time she managed to wrangle herself down enough to use those exercises, and the rest passed actually doing said exercise.

"Sorry," she found herself muttering through her teeth to the person sitting next to her as she kept on breathing carefully and finally stood to catch up with the rest of her class. "I've got some issues with anger." Well no shit, Sherlock, she thought irritably. It was pretty evident. Great. He probably thought she was a lunatic. Well wasn't that entire incident a disaster.

After a moment of silence, she took one more long, heavy breath, and spoke in a bit more of a moderated tone. "You said Sam, right? You Tavares?"

Sam flinched back a bit at her sudden outburst, whatever response he was expecting that certainly wasn't it. She was clearly going through something and while he felt awkward he wasn't just going to leave her in the middle of it. While she calmed herself down a pun about her being hot headed popping into Sam's mind, along with something about her being bitter about her name. While he thought it was a bit funny now was definitely not the time. After a moment of breathing she was back, not exactly calm, but more in control.

"Ya, I'm Tavares, looks like we're in the same class, we should probably go and catch up with everyone." He stood and stretched, it's not like they had been sitting for long, but the seats weren't the most comfortable and feeling warm didn't help either. "And it's fine, don't worry about yelling. I'm a pretty chill guy."

Huh. Well, would you look at that. It looked like he didn't immediately look at her like a basket case after she freaked out on him. Didn't that make a nice change. She was far too used to losing her temper once resulting in a whole slew of consequences, from a visit to the dean, laddering all the way up to being shoved back into the foster system again after her newest set parents decided they didn't want to deal with her.

She pressed a hand to her chest and took a few more deep breaths, finally actually calming down and deploying a rare sincere smile with no sarcasm or vitriol. "Thanks, man. 'Preesh." She stepped out into the aisle, jutting her thumb out towards the entrance. "Let's go. Natascha kinda seems like someone you don't want mad at you." A beat passed as she looked down at herself. "Ah, fuck, this tie!" She let out a long, heavy sigh, and just like that, the tension on her face returned, and the smile grew sharper once more.

"Let's get out of here so I can tie this damn thing again in time."

Conner let out a whistle, raising his eyebrows in surprise. “Electricity huh? Neat! We can make the most badass lightning storm ever! Too bad about your phone though.” Conner laughed. “I still think Water is cooler though, Riding waves I can make myself would be a dream come true.”

Conner popped another Goldfish when it came time for the headmaster to speak. The grin was wiped right off his face when the seriousness of his words set in. Murdere, riots, legislation. He didn’t like thinking about that stuff. It was too real. Still, he didn’t completely tune it out. He leaned forward slightly and actually listened for once.

Conner relaxed once names were called. His ears perked at the sound of his own name, and he straightened up, shooting Wren and John a look.

“Well, look at that.” He said, standing up and brushing imaginary dust off his pants. “Looks like you’re still stuck with the two of us Johnny boy.” He nudged John, then started making his way over with the other two. “To the arena we go. I really hope our counselor is chill. I don’t feel like dealing with a drill sergeant today. Or any day for that matter…” He sighed dramatically. “I just wanted to surf man!”

@shylarah@IAmTheIsland

---

Austen was jolted awake from his slumber when the headmaster of the school introduced himself. He rubbed the sleepiness from his eyes as he listened in on the announcements, albeit he would fight the urge to doze off at the headmaster's first few words.

When Mr. Buchanan's tone got more serious, Austen held his head up as he listened more intensely this time. He may look lazy and uninterested for those that truly didn't know him, but he had some streak of seriousness still within his sleepy physical form. He has heard of these violent riots and protests before, and having the headmaster say those did make Austen think if his generation should be doing more to support his primalist kin.

Just thinking about that made him feel weary and sleepy again. Perhaps Mr. Buchanan was right where Austen's batch could use their time in the institute to hone their skills, improve upon them or whatnot. Either way, the least they could do was try for the sake of themselves and their loved ones.

Again, just thinking about doing something above the bare minimum made Austen miss his bed already.

He was just about to fall asleep again when the headmaster gave way to the counselors who'll be teaching them. It looked like he'll be under a Ms. Petrovna, and the people she called to be under her tutelage, along with Austen, seemed to be an interesting bunch.

The sooner they were done for today, the faster it was for Austen to get back to his room. He then shuffled along together with the people Ms. Petrovna called to go to the arena. Austen hoped that they wouldn't do what he thought they'll be doing but hey, if getting tired for the day meant getting a more well-deserved rest tonight, so be it.

---

@Crimson Flame @shylarah

No sooner had his new friends revealed their elements than the lights in the auditorium dimmed, and the stage lights centered on a man that was apparently their heeadmaster. He spoke about the troubles primalists faced -- something John was unfortunately very aware of, moreso than ever since his awakening.

The lists of names went on, until finally John heard his own name. And what luck; Connor and Wren were both in his group! He also was in the same group as his roommate, someone named Vinegar that he had yet to meet. Counselor Natascha's choice of an arena was concerning. John wasn't here to learn how to fight others, at least he was pretty sure that wasn't the goal. As the trio headed for the door of the auditorium, Wren seemed excited at the prospect of a "wizard duel". "I really hope it's not gonna be that," he said. "My goal is to learn control, not to injure other people in a fight." John was actually quite nervous about their first activity, enough that he was carrying a minor charge, which he noticed when a small spark jumped the quarter inch from his fingers to the metal push bar that opened the auditorium door. "Damn..." he muttered. It was something he really needed to work on.

@IAmTheIsland @Crimson Flame

A chuff came from Paige as mumbled under her breath to herself, "A spark extinguishing a flame? Doesn't he know sparks make flames?"

I can't tell if he is in denial or just a bloody idiot. She thought to herself, rolling her eyes, Yes let's just fill a school of teenagers who are both hormone filled and powered. This will surely grant world peace and acceptance of all peoples.

Hearing that they were going to be handed off to counselors had a lavender purple eyebrow raised. "In trouble already?" She joked to Marko with a little smirk on her face. She couldn't help it, the way he reacted at every little thing made him way too easy to tease.

Marko had been frowning deeply as the headmaster's speech got underway, the expression only cementing itself further as Buchanan went on about the current strife in the world. The things he said were extremely concerning. He talked as if they were somehow expected to take some kind of direct action in addressing the issues he raised- which was ludicrous. He shook his head lightly. My self importance is getting the better of me. The best and only thing I can do is learn to control my powers and then blend back into society.

If nobody outside of this school ever even knew he was a primalist, that would be ideal.

Paige's remark shook him from his thoughts as he let out a low sigh. "Did... she say arena? Why us?" Seriously. Why? His eye shifted back and forth as he calculated what the reasoning could be, why they were singled out, and why the meeting wasn't being held in an office or a courtyard. "I'm guessing," Marko began, his tone dry and defeated. "That everyone called is troublesome in some way. Or has unique potential as far as their powers are concerned. Or both." Please. Let them not ask for a demonstration. Just thinking about it made his fingers itch.

Marko did not disappoint with his reaction and Paige responded by chuckling at his sudden fear at a supposed arena. The arena part had not skipped her attention either, but honestly, she had just guessed it was another word for a gym or stadium.

Getting up, she stretched herself out like she had been caged up for the whole day instead of at an introduction by the headmaster that had been half an hour at most. "Well, whatever it is, guess it's best to just get it over with."

Looking back down at her worried acquaintance, an impish grin grew on her face as she nudged Marko back into the world, "What? Scared they are going to ask you to do a whole fire show?"

Getting free from the tight aisles of seats, she looked back at him and joked, "Maybe they'll ask for your expertise on keeping the lawn trim."

Chuckling obviously thinking herself to be funny, she then held out a hand out to him to help him get his ass up and moving.

Taking Paige's hand, Marko looked back at his other new acquaintances. "Ah, you can come with if you like." But Paige was pulling him and he wasn't about to muscle out of her grip, so he let himself be lead and trusted the other two girls would do as they pleased.

"To answer your question," He called to Paige over the din, his voice faint. "That is exactly what I'm worried about. I'd like to avoid barbequing my classmates or instructors." As they finally got free of the bleachers, Marko came to a stop, the grasp between them briefly pulled taut before he pulled his hand free and buried it in the pocket of his coat. "And to provide an observation," He continued in a dry tone. "You're not funny." The look on his face was caught between irate and teasing, like he wasn't sure if he was offering a playful jab or a reprimand.

His heavy shoulders shrugged, his expression turning thoughtful before once again resetting to neutral. "Come on." He started to trod forward again.

"You just can't take a joke," She said, rolling her eyes.

Without another word, Paige was striding past him and towards the arena. Obviously a little miffed at his comment, she did not look back at him until they finally joined the group that was forming on the grounds. It was only then she peaked a glance back at Marko, not completely knowing exactly what she was looking for or why, but quickly going back to look at the instructor instead of to ponder her own actions.

Marko sighed as Paige hurried ahead of him, his long strides allowing him to keep relative pace with ease. Still, he let her put a few feet of space between them. Conflict, more than anything else, served no purpose for Marko other than to spark his disinterest. It was stressful and tedious and he was already exhausted. More pertinently, it was too easy to argue. Too easy to fall back into unhealthy patterns.

So both for Paige's sake and his own, Marko was happy to let her have the last word. His head buzzed and his fingers itched as they finished their walk to the grounds in silence, the static in his neurons only getting worse as they approached whatever uncertainty the school had in store for them. Catching Paige's glance from the corner of his eye, he exhaled deeply as little puffs of smoke wisped from his nostrils.

"I'd rather not argue," He muttered, eye focused forward. It was true. He didn't want that. She was just very good at needling at insecurities. "So, let's try not to." It was a weak statement, but a sincere one. "Surviving this place will be easier if we can get along."

A small sly smile slipped on Paige's face.

"Only because you apologised so nicely," she said teasingly as she stepped back next to him. Of course, that hadn't been an apology of any kind, but she just heard what she wanted from the beginning and so now she stood there happily enough swaying from side to side.

Marko opened his mouth to respond, then sighed, closed his lips, and gently bit his tongue.