Lady Seraphina

Mark of the demon.

I brought that up a while ago if you read through the whole OOC.

There was some explanation about the war of Veiron actually taking twenty years but I don't think that fixes it, like at all. Pretty sure that would mean for most of us that the war is still raging inside the Veiron gates.

It was brought up but never actually resolved. I think we all more or less silently resolved not to bring it up.

Mark of the demon.

I have a computer, it's just a crappy tablet that I can't write extensively on. I can check on the RP and do OOC posts but the IC posts will have to wait for school.

I am really sorry it's taking so long. At tbe latest I'll have one up tomorrow.

~Majora's Mask: Oathkeeper's Dawn~

Do you guys have enough CS submissions to make a decision or are you going to wait for another week?

Stalwart University

Call me Parker

Genesis

I awoke for the first time, a blinding light shining in my eyes. In that instant I didn't know where I was, what I was doing strapped to a medical table or even who I myself was. All I knew was that I wanted out. I couldn't see straight with the light in my eyes but what I could hear terrified me, gun shots. It sounded like a war raging all around me and I didn't know who was shooting at who but I knew that they were shooting over me.

My head hurt. It was a funny thing to think about at a time like that but it was true. There were some sort of electrodes that were cutting into my temples. Maybe taking my vitals... or reading my mind, who was I to make assumptions. That's when I realized there was something cold, long and metallic in my left hand.

It wasn’t exactly a knife, more like those little butter knives that Doctors use, scalpels. It was sliced halfway through the cuff that held my left hand and I could feel from the crusty slick sensation on my wrist that however I had cut into the cuff before I hadn't been too careful. As soon as I realized the knife was there I started to saw at the cuff, over and over again, back and forth, back and forth. The scalpel slipped several times cutting my hand and wrist but I didn't care, as long as I got freedom.

The scalpel pushed through the cuff and I ripped it off with all the strength I could muster. I scrabbled at the cuff binding my other hand. It was like a belt buckle and I fumbled at it trying to get it off with one hand while bullets ricochet around me. I finally managed to uncuff myself then I set to work on the strap running over my breast and finally the ones cuffing my legs to the table, I ripped the electrodes from my temples.

I was free at last. This can't have come from nowhere; I must have wanted freedom for a long time before this. I ducked down taking cover behind the operating table that so recently had been my prison but I wasn't free yet. The table's overhead light shattered as bullets sliced through the air all around me. A computer system that had been linked to the electrodes on my temples was knocked to the ground by the lead flying through the air.

A boy of about sixteen slid to the floor next to me. He had black hair, and pale skin. He looked like he was born to be a star athlete but had been kept caged indoors all his life. He was wearing black body armor and had a pistol gripped in his hand. "This is it pipsqueak." He used the name pipsqueak like a friend might use an insult. No malice behind the words just a light smile. He ruffled my hair affectionately, like we were old friends.

"This is your chance to get out and we both know how much you want that." The smile had gone from his face now. He looked like he was losing something precious to him but at the same time he knew had to let it go. "I'm suck here now, tied down but you haven't been tagged yet. You can still get out."

I did want that, desperately but could I just leave him here. It was obvious that we were close, what was he to me, a brother? Friend? Boyfriend? Commanding Officer? I didn't know and I didn't have time to find out. I needed to leave and like he said, he couldn't come with. "Alright, how do I get out?"

The boy cocked his head to the side, clearly I was supposed to know this complex well. A sudden thought seemed to occurred to him and he looked suddenly at the high tech computer monitoring equipment that was laid out in pieces all over the concrete ground. He looked back at me. "Soldier?" He asked, concerned. "What's my name?"

He looked frightened for the first time. The boy was fine with flying bullets and even letting his... whatever I was to him go if it meant I'd get out but the thought that I didn't know him seemed to cut deeper than any wound ever could. I knew it would cut him to ribbons but I had no answer to his question. I shrugged foolishly.

He seemed to struggle with a decision before he continued to speak. "Alright it doesn't matter, you still need to get out of here. Go through those door." He pointed to two swinging doors ten feet from the other side of the table. "Run down that hall and go through the door marked imports. That's where they unload new supplies from overseas. I know you’re a good swimmer and I believe you can make it." He glanced at the other soldiers blocking way to the door with their guns. "I'll lay down cover fire. You just go."

This boy, whoever he was, was trying to help her. It was clear that he knew who she was and wanted her to be safe. Before I went I needed to know something. No matter how much it would hurt him. "Thank you so much, What's your name?"

He looked at her like he'd just been slugged over the head with his pistol. What he'd figured out earlier had clearly just become real. He knew that I should know his name but he didn't pause. "Lucas, now whatever happens you have to run. Faster and harder than you've ever run before and I know how much you like to run, no computer's gonna erase that. GO NOW!"

I looked at Lucas my worries and fears and sorrow etched into my face. Then I ran for the door. He was right. I could feel it in my bones, the urge to run. It was the most magnificent sensation I'd ever felt and If I'd been raised here I suppose it was the closest thing to freedom I ever knew. I could hear Lucas start to fire behind me, feel the bullets flying so close to my skin but I never stopped running. Not when I heard Lucas hit the ground behind me, not even when a bullet grazed my arm. I stumbled and clamped my hand over the wound. It burned like the setting sun but I just kept running, pushing through the swinging doors at full force and I kept moving.

The corridor I entered was white, empty and pristine. I didn't let anything distract me. I kept running reading the doors as I passed. “Testing" "Trials" "Storage" "Imports". I skidded to a stop sliding several feet past the door. Recovering I pushed through hard as I could.

Clearly with soldiers storming the compound no one had time to man the import/export room. There was a huge square section of water that must have been ten or fifteen meters across either way. Without thinking, I jumped in.

The water was cold and it burned against my wound as it stained a path through the water red. The tunnel I was swimming through led down, down, down so far the light all but faded from my sight. Finally it leveled off. My lungs were burning, about to burst but I just kept pushing and pushing till the tunnel finally curved upward. I could see day light so far up. My chest started heaving, trying to grab at oxygen that wasn't available.

I fought to keep the sensation down as I pushed and pushed and pushed my way to the surface. My head was pounding and my chest aching when I finally breached the surface of the water. I pulled myself up onto a dock heaving over and over again trying to satisfy the demands for air that my lungs were making. My breathing started to normalize somewhat and I puked into the water bellow me.

My joints ached, my chest hurt, and my head throbbed but I managed to muster the strength to sit up and look at my surroundings. Whatever town, city, or country I was in I appeared to be in the waterfront warehouse district. Judging from the length of the tunnel I had to guess that the compound I was in was located underneath the giant warehouse to my left.

I could hardly breathe but I knew that I needed to get away from that building as quick as I could before either the invading soldiers or the native ones caught me. I didn't want to end up in either of their hands. I stood up quickly the fear of recapture pumping adrenaline into my blood, the aches and pains clearing away from my joints.
I stood unsteadily looking around myself. Then I ran, ran for all I was worth. I couldn't tell you how far I ran but when I finally stopped I was far away from the warehouse district, somewhere down town. I kept going at a slower pace. I got several looks from passersby. I must have looked very suspicious. A white, blond girl, soaked to the skin, bloood staining one arm, alone in a bad part of town. Nobody stopped me though which was a blessing.

As I was walking I caught my reflection in a shop window and I examined it. As far as I knew this was the first time I'd seen myself. Apart from looking dead beat tired I did look very out of place. My hair was blonde, disheveled and wet, clinging to my face like a bug on flypaper. There was blood drying on my arm and my clothes also didn't look normal. I was wearing a blue tank top that would breathe well in hot environments and a pair of pale green pants that would blend into most terrains well.

The pants were loose fitting enough so that I could be very flexible but tight enough that they wouldn't get in my way or chaff. Just like the shirt they breathed well and strapped to my left leg was what looked like a holster for the type of pistol that Lucas was carrying. Who was I? What the hell was going on?

A smell hit my nose, something warm and gooey. Something I'd eaten before. It was then that I realized I couldn't remember the last time I'd eaten (which wasn't saying much) but given the growling snarls my stomach was giving it must have been at least twelve hours. I needed food badly. I followed the aroma to a breakfast diner called "Grandma's Kitchen". I sat down at one of the booths and it wasn't long before a waitress dropped off a menu. I could tell from the pictures that the dish that I smelled from the streets was the "Waffle House Special" I vaguely remembered an elderly woman serving me a similar dish. We were happy then, content. I wondered how long ago that was.

The waitress came back five minutes later. It felt like an eternity. She set the Waffle House Special down in front of me and walked away. I smiled like a wolf about to devour its prey. It was two waffles stacked on top of each other. There was a mountain of whipped cream topped off with straw and blue berries and a little pitcher of syrup set next to it.
I dumped the syrup all over the dish and I took one bite... It was like heaven. All the flavors clashed violently in my mouth and my stomach demanded more. I deconstructed the entire dish in a matter of minutes. Scrapping the last vestiges of syrup and whipped cream off the plate.

I smiled contentedly, full and happy for just a moment before the waitress set something else down in front of me. It was a little black tray with a recipe on top of it. "Whenever you’re ready." She said sweetly. Money, this hadn't even occurred to me when I'd walked in. I understood the underlying principle of course. Several different objects assigned various values designed to equalize the worth of products for a more efficient exchange system.

The problem was I didn't have any. I'd just escaped from a secret facility buried under the warehouse district while it was under siege. Where was I supposed to get money from? I glanced towards the door. That was always an option. Just run, it was after all something I was good at. The owner would just think I was another free loading degenerate, no harm done.

I got up slowly walking to the door. Step by step I got closer to freedom. I'd escape a guarded facility, this couldn't be any harder. A man stepped in my way, just in front of the door. He was wearing an apron and a chef's hat. "Did you enjoy your meal?" He asked as though we were having a casual conversation. I was trapped; this was clearly either the owner or the chef, maybe even both. I had no way to get out without attracting far more attention than I needed. "Yes it was quiet good, the addition of the berries added to it." I said, playing along. I couldn't pay him, didn't have the means to pay him. I wouldn't even know where to get money.

"You reckon it was good enough, I don't know, to pay for?" He was getting to the point now. What would he do if I told him outright that I didn't have any money? Would he hall me down to the police station, they might give me back to that facility. I couldn't go back, not ever. "Yeah, I guess so. If I had the money I'm sure I would have paid with a generous tip."

He sighed looking annoyed; this was clearly not the first time this had happened. "Look girl, what's your name?" Name? Name! Why was I drawing a blank? I had to have a name. Everyone had a name. But I couldn't find mine amidst all the turmoil of my mind. I couldn't tell him that though. He'd drag me down to a psych center.

I glanced around and my eyes locked on a comic book some kid was reading at the counter. It was a Batman Comic, about some clown in white face paint. There was a girl on the page too that was dressed like the clown. Her name came to me and I sliced it up and presented it to the cook. "Quinn, My name's Quinn."

He continued his sentence. "Look Quinn," He could tell I was lying about my name. "You’re not the only one with problems. I got a wife, a mortgage and three kids to look after." How was I supposed to answer to that? In the grand scheme of things my one little meal wouldn't empty his pocket but I knew that if word got round that he let me go without paying then this place would become central to every man, woman, and child without the money to feed themselves and he would likely go out of business.

Still how could I respond to that? The guy was clearly nice but I didn't have the money to pay for the delicious meal he'd made for me. I supposed that I could just tell him that. "I'm sorry I tried to cheat you but I don't have the money to pay for my meal. I just... really needed something to eat." He sighed again, a bit more sympathetic this time. "Alright, if I let you leave will you promise to come back with the money you owe me?"

"No." The word just sort of slipped out and I wished to high heaven that I could take it back. It would have been so easy. Say that I'd come back with the money and disappear into the wind. But he seemed like a nice guy and I knew that what I told him was the truth. He couldn't trust me to come back. "No?" He asked dumbfounded. "What do you mean no? Are you saying you can't be trusted?"

Clearly the few people he'd taken pity on whether they'd come back with the money or not had always taken the option to leave. Hearing someone say they were untrustworthy, well, ever must have been a bit of a shock. "Is there a problem here Sal?" Asked a man turned from his seat. I could see a police badge hooked to the pocket of his jeans and the bulge in his jacket said that he was armed. "I'll let you know Jack."

Then his eyes turned back to me, searching for an answer. "If you seriously want the truth then, I don't know." What was I doing, I couldn't tell him about the lab or the facility and he'd just think I was insane if I pulled the amnesia card, just the basics then. "I woke up this morning in an alley, drenched to the skin, cold, tired and hungry and drawn to the aroma of the Waffle House Special." I couldn't let this go any further. He was a nice man and he didn't deserve the misfortune of meeting me but he had and I needed to end it now.

"I just want you to know that I'm really sorry and if I ever have the chance, I'll pay you back some day." With lightning quick reflexes I grabbed his arm, twisting it around his back slamming his head into the nearest table. "I'm sorry." I said though I knew there was no way he'd accept it. There was a click behind me. "Let him go and put your hands on your head!" It was the cop, Jack. He was clearly a friend of Sal's and probably a regular at the diner.

"I'm so sorry, I-I just wanted something to eat." I spun fast grabbed the end of the gun and pushed it skyward. It went off once into the ceiling showering plaster over us. I cracked it one way out of Jack's hand with a sickening crack that said I'd broken his trigger finger. I moved the gun behind me and hit Sal in the middle of the back with the butt. Then I kicked Jack hard in the stomach so that he fell back into the counter. The entire fight couldn't have taken more than a twenty seconds. I held up the gun clicking the safety off, my finger on the trigger, aimed with pinpoint accuracy at Jack's forehead. "Don't try to follow me or I swear I'll shoot you." I turned and ran shoving the gun into the holster on my leg. It didn't fit quite right, it wasn't the right make of firearm for the gun but it would do well enough. I ran and kept running and running till my legs threatened to give out. Then I collapsed in an alleyway tears streaming down my face.

What was I doing, stealing food, attacking chiefs, stealing police firearms? And where had I learned fight like that or gained that much strength, or learning to aim a gun. It hadn't occurred to me before that it might be abnormal for normal people to have not drowned getting out of that tunnel or not been able to go as far as I did afterwards. What had I done in my past? Who that had a good place in the world would know those moves or have that endurance or have a pistol strapped to their leg.

I thought about it, curled into a ball, my face pressed into my legs, tears running down my face till I fell asleep there in the middle of the day, in an alley way. No protection, no friends, no backup, no plan. I just slept.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Being honest here this started out as a Role Play but now I just want to write the story. If anyone has an suggestions I'd be glad to take them and I suppose if there was enough interest I'd think about turning it back into a role play.

Mark of the demon.

Question: Why did Susanna slap Mahtan at the end of your post? I've been thinking about it and can't come up with something that doesn't sound cheesy.

Mark of the demon.

You know there is a good chance that Susanna will have a mild psychotic break upon returning there right?

Mark of the demon.

Susanna felt awful... and wonderful. She felt both at the same time. It was like when you have a positivity great night's sleep, far more than you are used to getting and though you feel rested you also feel wasted for the amount of time spent in sleep. The was a bumping from where Susanna sat and she realized that she sat on a cart rolling down a dirt road. It was early morning, she must have slept for the whole day and night. The day was misty lending an unreal quality to the landscape.

"Beautiful isn't, dearie?

Susanna strangely didn't find herself surprised to hear that voice, it was one she knew well. Susanna looked to the ground where it had emanated. There was a girl walking beside the old nag that pulled the cart. She was pretty with flowing dark hair and pale skin that contrasted nicely. Her eyebrows were straight giving her an innocent "not a care in the world" look. Her ears were pointed marking her as an elf, she must have been very young for she couldn't be any taller than Susanna.

Her dress looked as if it had been sung from a tree. It could have been fine leather if the elves condoned leather. The sleeves were the gold of a healthy oak reaching to her knuckles but not being as long on the bottom so as to give her control with her hands. It had a multi level skirt that was the color of freshly turned soil on the front and the golden bark as it branched outward. She had an ornate belt with a little bag strapped to it and a silver tiara set with an orange gem in her hair. When the girl turned to look at her Susanna saw that her eyes were as black as a starless night.

Susanna had seen this girl before in her dreams and nightmares and when she pressed deeper, her memories. "Lilith," Susanna said unfeelingly. If Susanna could see her then everything around was a façade. Susanna was dreaming and Lilith loved to torment Susanna in her dreams. "Hello Susan. You have some truly beautiful memories I hope you appreciate them. This is where I come when I want to be alone."

Susanna looked around. She knew this place. It was the road between her father's farm and the local town. She realized that she was sitting in her father's wagon and that it was Sally there old horse that Lilith was petting. The whole landscape didn't quite feel right, it felt empty and hollow. "That is the way with memories Susan, there never as complete as when we were there."

Susanna started to pay more attention to Lilith. She'd never heard the demon address her as an equal. Lilith always called her "little girl" or "dearie". Not only that but despite it being shorter Lilith's current form of address was not only equal but also formal compared to her name. "I'm dreaming." said Susanna just to reassure that fact in her mind. No Susan. I'm dreaming. You're following me." For the first time in the ten long years that the demon had inhabited Susanna's body Lilith sounded tired. "Where?" Susanna asked "You're looking for something. Where are we going?"

"Got to see a man about an apocalypse." Lilith said simply for the first time a smirk beginning to appear on her face.

"You can come if you want. It's not like you'll remember when you wake anyway." Susanna felt like this statement should elicit some sort of shock or fear or action but Susanna felt apathetic about it. It didn't feel quite right but she put the thought aside squirming under her skin. Lilith stopped the horse and motioned for Susanna to follow. Then she left the road. They were walking over her father's land now. This was were he liked to plant strawberries. There wasn't a big demand for them but Susanna's father always set aside a very small patch for strawberries as a treat for the two of them.

The stopped at the edge of a forest. There was an enormous man standing between Lilith and where Lilith wanted to go. Susanna felt that Lilith would easily destroy him but rather than causing something to impale the man she bowed her head to him. "Jernlod, you have been appointed keeper of the Prince. Good he will need someone strong. The master requires that I make the Prince a 'proposition' as it were." The man smiled at her. "Lilith, as lovely as the day you gave me my strength. He is ready to see you."

They nodded to each other and Lilith walked past the Viking King letting Susanna pass with her. "This is delicate Susan. Keep your silence if you please." Susanna found herself unable to speak or perhaps unwilling. This was Lilith domain and she must listen to what Lilith wanted whether she wanted to or not.

Behind the Viking King sat a crypt so old that moss had started to grow over its surface. ”Come inside, Lilith said to Susanna eagerly. Susanna followed curious to see what lay inside the crypt. What sort of Prince would live here and have company like Lilith.

The inside was nothing like Susanna expected. It was made of the same stone as the outside and just as run down but it was a throne room. Columns lined the walls with such proportions that Susanna didn’t believe this room could fit in the building outside.

At the far end of the throne room sat a single throne. In it there was a slumped figure. As Susanna approached she suddenly realized who it was and would have screamed if she could. It was the elven man from the clearing, the one whose wounds Susanna repaired.

Lilith walked up to him and started to speak whispering in her ear. It was not her sweet calm voice that she usually used. It was the voice of her demon form, violent and unpredictable yet enticing and intoxicating.

”Mahtan, the girl, the one your called your beloved The Nobleman and Warrior killed her, slain her in cold blood when she was simply a pawn for the Demon. It is their fault... all their fault. But I can help. I am Lilith and I want them hurt as much as you.”

Then her voice changed, becoming higher and sweeter, the voice of the elven girl.

"Wake up, child."

Mahtan’s eyes shot open and he sat up on his throne but Susanna would have sworn upon a bible that he could see nothing before him.

”Mahtan, they killed your beloved, but there is more than one love in the world. There is another, one that you can save if you hurry, her name is Susanna. You must make them pay for what they did. You must take your vengeance.”

Susanna knew that these words spoken in demonic tongue were reaching Mahtan’s heart. Lilith’s voice changed again.

"Mahtan, Susanna needs you. Go to her now; wait for the one called Seth of Valeria to release her from her prison, then save her from the clutches of evil. Good luck my Prince, and take care."

Lilith waited for several seconds before putting another command into Mahtan’s head.

"Mahtan, my Prince, I will wake Susanna. Make sure you are waiting to rescue her. She needs you, Mahtan, do not fail her."

Lilith smiled with pride and stepped away from the throne. She motioned for Susanna to follow and left the crypt. Once they were outside the forest Jernlod stepped back into his place. Susanna was suddenly aware that the trees all except for where the Viking king stood were grown trunk to trunk creating an unbreakable wall. What was that place.

“It is his mind.” Lilith said simply watching Susanna closely. It would not do for our champion’s mind to be altered by other forces so we guard it. Lilith sounded tired with this duty. She was a warrior not a guard and it was clear just how she felt about it. ”Susan, it is time for you to wake.”

“One questions,” Susanna said suddenly desperate to prolong the dream “Before I wake answer me one question.” Name it. “Who is that girl whose image you cling to so fondly.” Lilith cocked her head at Susanna thinking for a long time before saying. ”She was my first host, I think… before the demons took my soul… I think I called her sister.”

In that moment Susanna sat bolt upright. She was in a small wooden house. She wasn’t sure how she knew but she did know that she had slept for a day and a half. It was mid morning now. There was something she had to remember. A dream she’d had concerning Lilith. It was about… but as Susanna tried to remember what she’d seen the details slipped away leaving her with a memory of her father’s fields and a sense of urgency. It was about that elf she had saved, Mahtan. She didn’t know where the name had come from but she knew he belonged to it.

A woman bustled into the room carrying a bundle of blankets. She stopped suddenly when she saw Susanna. "You're awake." She said surprised. Then she looked at the door. "I would get out of here if I were you. The man who brought you, he gave no name but he said that you passed out performing some sort of witchcraft. There are those in the village that would see you burn."

Lilith

Stalwart University

In case you couldn't tell said girl is Clair. I think there a good match up as room mates because when Em finds out and Clair freaks she'd one of the people that Em couldn't slip through cause Clair control electricity.

If you like I can change it though.

Stalwart University

Em ran. She was built for running with her long legs. Thankfully right now she wasn't running from something but if she needed to she could. It was her last few hours in the Stratford House and as run down as the place was and for all its problems Em still thought of it as home. She'd awoken at five thirty this morning which was unusual even for an early riser like her.

Unable to fall back asleep Em had gotten up and changed from the jeans that she'd fallen asleep in into a pair of sweats and a T-Shirt. Every morning Em would go for a half hour run but today she didn't follow her normal route or a time limit. Em ran past all of her old haunts that she wouldn't see for a long time. She ran through the park and the forest that edged it, then she went down 1st street past a couple of name brand stores that she "frequented" only the ones that were to oblivious to catch her though. She wouldn't be seeing them for a while either.

When Em finally slowed down for air it was nearing seven O'Clock. She should get back to the house soon and start to pack. The place didn't have running water so Em had taken to grabbing showers at the local pool or gym when she could. Em started to run again taking a U-Turn through one of the suburbs on her way back. Em started down a street thinking about how it would be a long time till she saw any of this ever again. She stopped dead. She must have come her unconsciously, not really thinking about where she was going cause if she'd been thinking about it Em would have given this place a wide berth. This was where her old home was, her last foster home before she'd taken to the streets.

Em started running again fast, picking up speed as she ran no longer thinking about conserving her energy. She crossed the street as the house approached and she pushed herself harder feeling like any second one of them would come out of the house. About how it might turn out like the old days. If the cops would send her back there. Finally she was past the house but Em kept running and this time she was running from something, a memory.

When Em got insight of the Stratford House she collapsed in the grass of the park across the street tears streaking down her face. Even all these years later she didn't even know if they lived there anymore but the sight of the house still filled her with dread. Like the days when she was return home so late and he'd be waiting for her. No, she was done with that. She wasn't going to be that weak, scared little girl anymore.

Em used the water from one of the park's water fountains to wash the dirt off her hands and the tears from her face before she returned to the Stratford House. She was glad that it was shrouded in trees and unmanaged hedges because it provided her cover for how she entered. Even from the inside Em had never been able to get the doors of the house open therefore she turned to her gift.

As Em approached the door she let the cool wonderful feeling wash over it. It was like having cool clear water wash down her body, it felt so liberating. She made sure to maintain the density of her feet above the rest to stop from sinking into the porch though it was more feeling than thought really. Em walked to the door but didn't stop. She just kept walking and her body passed right through the door. It almost hurt. It was never quite like that with anything else but whatever lined the walls of the house was incredibly dense. The first time that Em had done it she'd been sore and covered in bruises for the next week. She'd gotten some practice since then.

The lights above flicked. Well at least the emergency generator was working. Most days it was a fifty fifty shot at whether she'd have electricity or not and it wasn't like she could call someone to have a look at it.

Em walked up the rickety stairs to her bedroom. It was the only room in the house where everything hadn't degraded and Em had made an effort to fix it up nicly. It had an ancient four poster bed that through some miracle had not started to rot. She'd had to get a new mattress and curtains for it which hadn't been easy but she'd pulled it off. The wall paper was peeling but Em thought it gave the room character.

She pulled a very old suitcase that had been in the house when she'd arrived out from under her bed and put all the things in the world that she owned into it. Two changed of cloths, a handful of on the go snacks just in case, her toiletries, a very precious sketchbook, a single book that she'd read numerous times and the supplies that she'd need for university (books, paper, pencils etc).

Em was ready to go but the bus didn't leave for another hour and that was getting her there early as it was. Em spent the time at the local pool washing the sweat and dirt from her run off of her body. Then she retrieved her suitcase from the House and went to the bus stop. Her shower had run long and Em only just made the bus. Good, it wouldn't do to be late on her first day.

When the bus finally arrived Em thanked the driver and walked up to Stalwart University. It was a beautiful place with lush lawns and old styled buildings, like Hogwarts she thought. She asked a passerby the way to the girl's dorm and he pointed it out. She presented her student card to receptionist. The woman smiled and handed Em her card. Em took the elevator to the second floor, her room was 205. Em plugged her card into the slot and it beeped and flashed a red light. Em tried it again with the same reaction. She glanced down the halls, both empty, good. She looked for camera's just in case, nothing. Then she turned to the door concentrating Em stepped through it. The inside was comfortable but like with every building Em entered she scanned for the exits first. There was a balcony with a couple of tall trees near that she could scale if necessary but it looked like the door she'd just walked through was the only way in. It didn't matter particularly with her gift but it was an old habbit Em had picked up and besides at some point she might need to make an escape without tipping her hand.

Em collapsed on one of the beds. "Welcome home Em, you're going to be here for a very long time. " She siad to herself dejectedly somehow not feeling as excited as she felt she should.