Assembly Hall

[C.B., Headmistress]

Headmistress Marielle entered the assembly room, alone. The house parents would be directing the kids in soon, but for the moment she had the room to herself. She paused at the back of the auditorium, gazing up at the stage where she would soon be speaking to both old and new students. She closed her eyes and breathed deep, imagining the rustling that would accompany her speech. The children were always restless, and oftentimes some of the older children would attempt to catch her off-guard by demonstrating their skills with their elements. She smiled and walked down the center aisle towards the stage. On her left, at the back of the auditorium, were brown seats for Terrane. To the right in the back were red, for Pyre. In the front on the right were the blue seats for Aqueous, and on the front left were white for the members of Zephyr. She headed onto the stage and took her place behind the podium, shuffling papers as she waited.

(Note: PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH WHICH HOUSES CHARACTERS ARE IN. PLEASE ROLEPLAY IN YOUR HOUSE LOUNGE BEFORE POSTING HERE.)

[Emma]

Thorn and Naina made their way to the Main House, came through the doors and filed into the Aqueous section of the auditorium and picked seat near the front.
"Wow, it's kinda empty now, don'tcha think?" Naina craned her neck around to see if any people from the other houses had arrived.
"We're a bit early--Oh no! I completely spaced! I have to go help North find this place!" Thorn jumped up and started to run back towards the entrance.
"Wait! Who's North?" Naina called after him,
"She's my little sister!" He yelled over his shoulder.

Thorn ran outside into the main courtyard searching for his sister.

[C.B., Headmistress]

Riley hurried up to the Main House, to the auditorium doors. A few kids were waiting outside, and she sent them smiles. "You guys can come in, just make sure to sit in the right section." She opened the door and hurried to find the headmistress. She was nervous, since the headmistress had asked her to do a speech as a year four student. Riley bit her lip. She wasn't ready. She'd be the only one other than the headmistress giving a speech. She was so going to mess up.

[Merenwen]

Lucas W. Dragich barely registered the faces and voices passing into the building. He was looking for one person in particular.
He continued rocking on his toes and side-stepped so that the people walking by didn't obscure his view.
The pack jostled at the hectic movement, which sent its surplus of buckles and straps into a clatter.
With a huff, he whispered to no one in particular, "Come on, Stephan, where are you?!"
It had been a while, hadn't it? Wasn't Stephan usually early? And now lots more people were starting to go in...
He frowned, both annoyed and concerned. What if Stephan had been talking with someone else, and neither one of them had seen each other?
Quickly, he darted in between a pair entering the Hall and looked among the Terrane seats. Nope, no Stephan.
Lucas sighed in relief and ran back outside to resume his vigil.

[C.B., Headmistress]

"Thorn!" North cried, running over to her older brother when she saw him come into the courtyard.

[Emma]

Thorn sighed in relief when he saw North.
"I'm so sorry I forgot to bring you over, it looks like you can take care of yourself around here huh?" He teased elbowing her.
"You're going to be sitting in the red/Pyre section, I'll be in the front row of Aqueous if you need me to beat up any jerks who try to take advantage of a first year student." He grinned. "I'll bet you won't need any help with that though."

[C.B., Headmistress]

North grinned at him and put on a fake pouty face. "I can take care of myself just fine, thank you." They headed into the assembly together and she hurried to a spot where she hoped he couldn't keep an eye on her. Sometimes he was too protective of her. She slid into a red seat. All the color stuff could get annoying very quickly, but at least red was her favorite color.

[Emma]

Thorn grinned and headed back to his seat in the blue section.
"What's got you so smiley?" Naina quirked her head to the side.
"What? Oh, I just found my sister, it's her first year here. And I was supposed to help her find her way around." He slid down into a seat next to her and sighed.
Naina smirked, "I guess you don't know much about fifteen year old girls then, when I was 15 I was determined to be my own person and find my own way around here, I didn't know anyone but I quickly made lots of good friends, she'll be fine don't worry." She smiled reassuringly at him.
He started and then leaned closer to her, "What? Is there something on my face?" Naina turned wiped at her face with the palm of her hand, "Oh no, it's just, never mind. You reminded me of someone for second there." He rubbed his eyes and faced the front of the auditorium again.
She smiled nervously and looked up at the podium as well.

[Sarah]

Stephan hurried up the path to the main house, the hint of a frown on his face. He was running late, he knew- not late late, but even on time could be late when one was used to arriving early.

He spotted Lucas waiting outside the door, looking impatient, and sped up his pace still more. "There you are. Have you been waiting on me?"

[Princess Emilia]

Damon rushed to the assembly, hoping he wasn't too late. He hadn't even stopped by the Zephyr House. He had sat under an ancient willow tree - his favorite spot since his first year at the academy - and he began to carve away at a little slab of wood. He had lost track of time, and only after the slab of wood became a little angel figurine, he looked up noticed the last of the students piling into the largest building on school grounds. He got up and ran into the building and settled into the very last white seat available.

[Sarah]

Kelia strolled into the assembly room behind Naina and Thorn, her auburn hair bounding with every step. She glanced around as she entered, watching for her cousin, Riley, or for any of her friends from the other Houses. Granted, this was supposed to be welcome-lecture time, not social time, but she still had ten minutes or so before it started. That was plenty of time to find people to chat with.

[C.B., Headmistress]

Riley stood near the back of the auditorium, pacing. She was going to forget all of her words and look like an idiot. She'd forgotten to braid her hair, and she was sure it looked like a mess, even though others had assured her it looked fine. One of her fellow Zephyrs, whose name she couldn't remember at the moment, put a hand on her shoulder. "You'll do fine, calm down. You don't want to start a tornado." It was said with a grin, but Riley winced at the idea.

[Sarah]

Kelia spotted her cousin towards the back- as usual- and doubled back towards her, waving. "Hello, Riley!" She darted through the stream of entering students to join Riley. "How're you?"

[Merenwen]

"Stephan!" Lucas bolted to his brother and hugged him. "Of course I have! What happened, got lost in the books?" He beamed and jostled his taller brother's shoulder. "Mom gave me one to bring to you. It's the book you were asking for last time you came over."
Still grinning, he opened his pack and retrieved a small book. One with an intriguing cover and...
As he struggled not to look at the typeface again--it always frustrated him when letters dissolved--his smile faded a bit. "Here you go."

[Princess Emilia]

Cadence searched the assembly room for any familiar faces. She was just about to give up and find a seat, when she spotted Damon already settled on a white chair in the Zephyr section. He just happened to turn around just then and waved to her as he got up to walk towards her. "Cadence! I was wondering when you'd show up. Aren't you usually early to these things?"

"I stopped by the library and lost track of time." She shrugged. She wasn't usually very scatter brained and was usually everywhere on time. Damon, on the other hand, was almost always late. They were both so different in so many ways, but being raised in the same city, they had been close friends since childhood.

"Ahh, let me guess, you were reading another book about war?"

"As a matter of fact, I was. And I must say, it was worth it. But I had better take my seat! I'll see you after, okay?" She turned to take a seat in one of the green chairs, as Damon returned to his own.

[Sarah]

Merenwen wrote: ""Stephan!" Lucas bolted to his brother and hugged him. "Of course I have! What happened, got lost in the books?" He beamed and jostled his taller brother's shoulder. "Mom gave me one to bring to yo..."

Stephan hugged his brother back, the start of a smile curving his mouth. "Something like that. One of the others in my House wanted to borrow a few, and I had to help him figure out what he wanted." He took the book, flipped through the pages. "Ah, Out of the Darkness. Thank you, Lucas." He tucked the book in a deep pocket along with his notebook. "So, what do you think of the Academy so far?"

[C.B., Headmistress]

Riley smiled weakly, her pale face making her freckles stand out more. "Okay, I guess. How about you?"

[C.B., Headmistress]

The headmistress cleared her throat on the stage, and the room quickly went silent. The headmistress nodded. "Hello, everyone, I'm Headmistress Marielle. I'd like to welcome all of you to a new school year at Glanchester Academy. I hope those of you who are new are satisfied with the houses you've been put in. If you're not, well, you'd better get used to it." Scattered giggles rose in the auditorium. "I've learned in the past that no one listens if I stand up here and list out the rules, so your house parents will go over them with you later. So instead of rambling any longer, I'd like to introduce Riley Marshall, a year four Zephyr."

Applause filled the auditorium, and several people that Riley knew yelled, "Go Riley!" Her hands shook as she made her way onto the stage. The headmistress gave her an encouraging smile and moved off to the side. Riley turned to face the students and cleared her throat. She closed her eyes, concentrating on what little rustling wind there was and letting it give her strength. She gazed out at them.

"Hello, everyone. I'd like to welcome you to Glanchester Academy, especially all of our new year one students. You know, three years ago, I was sitting in one of those white chairs, as scared as could be." She cracked a nervous grin. "And I'm just as nervous now as I was then. I never imagined I would be giving this speech, or standing up here. So much has changed from when I was a scared year one student to a... a scared year four student." She smiled. "And I can tell you it's going to be hard. There are going to be times when you're going to want to curl into a ball and cry until you're sitting in a lake. Especially if you're Aqueous." The blue section cheered and whooped, and Riley's face turned pink as she waited for them to settle down. "But it's worth it. It's so worth it. Just keep going, and remember your fellow housemates are there to help you do it. Whether you're Pyre, Aqueous, Terrane, or wonderful Zephyr--" She paused again to allow the shouting to die down. "--we're all friends. Because we aren't houses, or factions. We are Glanchester Academy." She ducked her head in a slight bow. "Thank you."

[Merenwen]

Lucas shrugged. "I haven't seen much of it. I was trying to find you. But it's school, so..." He shrugged again. "Guess it will be as good as any school can be. Especially since I'll be learning to use fire." He grinned in a (slightly) joking, maniacal fashion. He was about to burst out in a laugh, but felt a shiver.
He was becoming painfully aware of the strangers surrounding him. "I'm...going to look for a library later. See if there's any with words that don't burn when I look at them." As he spoke, his voice decreased in volume. He cleared his throat softly and tried to think of other things. "What's that book about?"

Edit: [@C.B.: EEP! Your post wasn't there when I was typing! Just saw it now. >_< So I'll add a bit now...]
When Lucas heard the talking begin, his head snapped up. "Oh, man, it's starting!" Not that he particularly cared if he missed a speech. But he didn't want to be the only one not there. What if he missed something important?
"See you in a few."
As quietly as possible (the straps on his pack jingled a bit), he made his way to the Pyre section. He slumped in his seat just as the girl from--well, he couldn't tell, but she mentioned white seats, so she must be Zephyr--started speaking.
Zephyr.
He started to zone out.
How cool would it be to fly? Or make tornadoes? He wouldn't mind having fun with that. Ooh, what about fire tornadoes? That would be way more fun than regular tornadoes.

There was a loud cheer, and he jolted in his seat. He heard, "Thank you," and automatically began to clap. Then his nose twitched.
The noise was dying down, and a sneeze (especially if it was one of his sneezes--they weren't exactly quiet) would be very, very noticeable. Traceable right to his seat.
He screwed up his face in an attempt to quell the ever-increasing itch in his nose.

[Sarah]

((*before the speech*))

Stephan hid a slight grimace. Lucas, using fire. He agreed that Pyre was where his little brother fit best, but still . . . the idea made Stephan nervous. But he hid his thoughts and just nodded to Lucas's next statement. "I'll help you find the library, if you want. Help you look for a book too." He would've said more, had he not caught the sound of chat within the building dying down and hurried inside after Lucas. Thank goodness that Terrane was in the back- though he saw looks from some of the others in his House and knew he'd get a ribbing from them later.

He listened to the speeches, quietly nodding in approval of Riley's words, and clapped along with the rest as she finished.

[C.B., Headmistress]

((@Merenwen: XD Don't worry, I've done that plenty of times!!!))

Riley's face turned pink as everyone clapped, and she gathered up her papers and turned to the headmistress. They shook hands and the headmistress patted her shoulder with a smile. Riley hurried off the stage and collapsed into a gray chair at the back of the auditorium. One of the few interns tossed her a water bottle, which she gulped down with relief. She felt like she was going to pass out.

[Merenwen]

Lucas buried his nose in the crook of his arm. It helped, but only a little bit.
He tried holding his breath. It increased the need to sneeze and made him light headed.
Finally, he doubled over in his seat and clenched his mouth shut.
"Mmmph--ha-chhoo!"
The sound wasn't deafening, thankfully. Only loud enough to make a few people sitting near him turn their heads. But it shoved him to his feet and rocked him. He knocked over his chair, fell back, and landed on top of someone.
Not taking time to see who it was, he mumbled an apology and attempted to stand. With a jerk, he was pulled back to the ground.
The person's feet were tangled in his pack's straps.
Crud...

[@C.B.-I'm thinking it's North. How about you? ;)]

[C.B., Headmistress]

((Ahaha YES!))

North covered her mouth to hold in her squeak. The jerk from earlier had literally fallen into her lap. Her face turned bright pink as he tried to stand and thudded down again. She attempted to yank her feet out of his straps unsuccessfully. The guy sitting next to her grabbed the other guy and held him still, quickly untangling them. The guy gave her an understanding smile, making his eyes sparkle. "I'm Edwin," he whispered, leaning towards her. "Year three. Are you okay?"

North's heart thumped in her chest, fluttering. "Yeah," she glanced over at the other guy. "Are you all right?"

[Merenwen]

Lucas froze at the strong grip. Then, he flushed red and scrambled to his feet. He glared at the guy who had messed with his pack (it would take him forever to get them together again!) and mumbled a, "Sure. Fine," without making eye contact with the girl he'd fallen on.
He glanced at his chair. A leg was broken.
Grumbling a bit (he was mentally reprimanding himself), he took a chair from the row he'd fallen into and switched them. He sat with a small thump.
After making sure nothing important was being said at the podium, he put his pack on his knees and rearranged the straps and buckles.

[C.B., Headmistress]

The headmistress was thanking everyone and probably, hopefully, getting ready to dismiss them. Edwin leaned over closer to North. "What's your name?" he asked, smiling.

North felt her face grow pink. "North," she squeak-whispered back.

Edwin's smile sparkled, making her stomach flutter. "That's a pretty name." Her face got even more red.

"And now you may head back to your houses in an orderly fashion," the headmistress said. It didn't do much good, since everyone scrambled to their feet and rushed to the door.

Edwin stood. "Do you want to walk back together, or do you have other plans?" he asked, giving North a wink.

North had considered trying to find Thorn, but she couldn't refuse Edwin. "Sure, I'd love to!"

[Sarah]

Stephan stood and crossed the aisle to Lucas. "Belatedly, bless you." He gave his brother a searching look and decided Lucas didn't seem to be injured. "Ready to look for the library? Or would you rather do something else?"
----
Kelia darted through the crowd to the back of the hall, making a beeline for her cousin. "Riley!" she called, waving. "Great speech!"

[Merenwen]

"Thanks." Before standing, Lucas finished adjusting the straps and slung the pack over his shoulder.
He rubbed his nose. "Ugh, I think I blew out my ears." With a grin, he said, "Yup. I'm ready for the library."

[Sarah]

"Great." Stephan set off for the door of the assembly hall, making sure Lucas was keeping up. "It's fairly close to here; it won't take but a few minutes to get there."

[C.B., Headmistress]

Riley's face turned pink. "Thanks." She rubbed her forehead. "I feel like an idiot, though," she admitted.
---
North walked with Edwin back to the Pyre house, glad they didn't run into Thorn. Edwin hurried upstairs and she went into the Pyre lounge.

((Emma's wifi is on the blink, so she might not be roleplaying for a while. :( ))

[Princess Emilia]

Cadence walked by Riley and couldn't help but overhear her conversation. "Oh, but I thought you did a wonderful job! That was very motivating! You probably did much better than I might have, anyway."

[C.B., Headmistress]

Riley's face got even pinker. "Thanks," she said, ducking her head. "It's not as easy as the headmistress makes it seem. Giving speeches, I mean."

[Sarah]

Kelia shook her head. "Why? You were amazing."

[Merenwen]

Lucas followed along behind Stephan. He gave a small skip, then started walking backwards. With the library still not in sight, he faced forward again and tried doing a walking handstand.
The pack slumped down behind his neck, and he made it five "steps" before falling on his back.
He stood quickly, hoping Stephan hadn't seen. He dusted himself off. "We there yet?" His voice was only slightly winded.

[Emma]

((I'm using my library's Wifi currently, I'll be here for a few hours.))

Naina stretched as she stood up. For some reason, Thorn kept looking at her face like he was trying to remember the reason her face was familiar. Well, besides from seeing each other in the Aqueous lounge and in classes for the past 2 or so years, she knew why he wasn't sure.
It had been last summer, she had gone back to the Wilds to see her family and show off her news skills to her brothers. She had been sitting in her favorite seat in the willow tree, and looked down and seen Thorn's face look back up at her. She'd squeaked and run away across the connecting branches that formed a walkway between the trees in their part of the forest to their treehome.
She hadn't known why on earth he was in the Wilds, his family was in Glanchester for crying out loud. She had later decided that he'd just come to see the Wilds up close that summer. Probably to win a bet or something, she didn't know him very well, she kept to her own group of friends in Aqueous.
She walked out of the Main House's auditorium and started across the courtyard to the pathway that lead to Aqueous House.

[Emma]

*as people are leaving*
Thorn shook off his confusion and looked around the auditorium, he saw North blushing as she talked to some boy from Pyre. He had just decided to walk over give that boy a 'gentle warning' but before he could, he lost sight of them over the crowd that was leaving the house. He sighed and started back towards Aqueous. He caught sight of the back Naina's pretty red head as she left, and decided to figure out the puzzle that had presented itself to him.
"Naina wait!" He called as he made his way through the jostling people to join her. She stopped and let him catch up with her.
"What?" She looked at him with a mixture of curiosity and fear? That was odd.
"Can we talk when we get back to the lounge?" He said as he sighted one of his old friends from the previous year. "I just need to talk to-" When he turned again, she had disappeared. Odd, very odd.

[C.B., Headmistress]

Riley sighed. "I'm just not confident. I'm always worried that I'm going to mess up, so I don't enjoy speeches."

[Sarah]

Stephan glanced back, hearing a noise from behind, but only saw Lucas picking himself up again. Who knew what he had been doing before. "Just about." He pointed to a brick building with white columns in front of the brown double doors. Green vines climbed the walls and the columns. "There it is."
-----
"I'd never guess- well, except for you saying you're scared, but even that makes you seem less so." Kelia paused. "It's kind of weird, actually. But anyway. Are you ready for the new year?"

[C.B., Headmistress]

Riley frowned. "No. It's my last year. I don't want to leave." She smiled. "But I may get an internship or a job next year." That was part of what made the speech extra nerve-wracking. It was kind of like a test.

[Sarah]

"Oh, that's right . . ." Kelia's smile faded momentarily; she occasionally forgot how much older Riley was than her. "Well, I hope you can stay somehow."

[C.B., Headmistress]

"Me too," Riley said, sighing. "How're your parents, and your sisters?"

[Sarah]

"They're all doing well." Kelia brightened back up. "Audrianna's still spending most of her time out of the house and coming back scraped up from whatever mess she's gotten herself into and out of . . . but she hasn't gotten into any real trouble yet, and she's enjoying herself. And Emma's learning to crochet and doing splendidly at it. And I'm having dinner with Da tonight, which'll be lovely." She grinned wider at the thought. "What about your parents and your brothers?"

[C.B., Headmistress]

Riley smiled. "That's wonderful! They're doing okay, I guess. Walden's wedding is coming up soon."

[Sarah]

"Oh, that's lovely." Kelia tried to remember which of her cousins Walden was, other than the oldest of the boys- she'd always had trouble keeping the oldest two straight. "When?"

[Merenwen]

"Yes!" Lucas grinned and, though he wanted to rush in, stepped quietly into the library. He went to the nearest shelf and pulled a book with odd designs on its spine from its place. He opened the book to a random page, and...
The letters dissolved.
He sighed (rather loudly) and grabbed another book with a cover he liked. Same result.
After a couple more minutes with similar outcomes, he grumbled, glared at nothing in particular, and stormed off. Where was the children's section?
At least with those books, he could see the pictures and know what was going on.

[C.B., Headmistress]

"Two weeks." Riley rolled her eyes. "I don't know why they're in such a hurry."

[Sarah]

Stephan sighed quietly and straightened the books on the shelf Lucas had left behind before following Lucas at a short distance- close enough to reply if Lucas wanted to talk, far enough not to intrude if Lucas was in a sulking mood. He considered suggesting that maybe Lucas should start with smaller chunks of text- but it wasn't as if they hadn't already tried that.
----------
"How long have they been courting, again?" Kelia asked.

[C.B., Headmistress]

"Three months," Riley said. The auditorium was starting to empty out, so she stood. "Do you want to continue this chat over a couple of mugs of hot cocoa?" she asked, grinning.

[Sarah]

Kelia wrinkled her nose. "That is a bit of a hurry." She grinned brightly. "And hot chocolate sounds absolutely delicious."

[C.B., Headmistress]

Riley rolled her eyes. "That's Walden for you. Let's head to the main kitchen, then. I'm sure Daina will fix us some hot chocolate."

[Sarah]

Kelia nodded, heading out the door and down the hall towards the main kitchen. "How many days will you be out from the Academy for the wedding?"