All That Verifies

[Caea Seiben]

Caea settled into her seat, unnerved by how empty the dining hall was, even at almost 9 am. With every step she took, her flats clicked on the floorboards, and she swore she heard the tapping echo back to her. She'd seen no other students yet, though she knew a few were already present, and only one teacher. The school seemed abandoned, even with the bustling city outside.

Of course, it was her own fault, she mused, pushing her bacon and eggs around on her plate; or, rather, her fathers, for insisting they get her days before the school officially opened. Sure, she'd been eager to pack her bags and head out, but she hadn't known it'd be a ghost town at this time. Her old school was packed by now, at least half of the student body settled in. She supposed students would trickle in soon, filling the dorms and hallways, but for now everything was eerily quiet.

She sighed and poked a bit of egg into her mouth, biting the fork in frustration. She was a social creature! Social! It meant she liked people, liked being around people; silence and empty, echo-y hallways were for people who needed 'alone' time, not her! Curses. "Next year, I won't let Daddy pack me up until I know at least a dozen people will be here!" she declared, waving her fork in the air.

[Marionette Moargh]

Marionette recounted the occurrences of the morning. She and Yulie had arrived at the school by coach, and dragged their cases to their rooms, unpacking the carefully packed things, and in Yulie's case, allowing them to collect them ungraciously about the room. Marionette had left Yulie on her own after a the number of pleas that emerged. Yulie was bent on exploring the school on her own. So, Marionette was left on her own to wander the halls, which as they always were around this time, were empty and echoed loudly. A number of clicks followed her as one of her more decorative puppets followed her down the hall, it's wooden rods straped to it's back as usual.

She fancied herself hungry, or rather her stomach did. Yulie had woken her up early, and yet she had managed to forget breakfast. That left her relatively famished for food. That in turn had her heading toward the Dining Hall in her own form of a rushed pace. The pace resembled the scuttling of a small mouse. Her puppet, with it's bright colors and it large ruffle collar, ran just behind her.

"Next year, I won't let Daddy pack me up until I know at least a dozen people will be here!"

Marionette rested herself on the frame of the opened double doors and took a couple of breaths. When she heard the comment she started to giggle. She swiftly covered her mouth so as not to bring attention to herself. Moving over to the serving line, she got herself a plateful of food. She was left standing there, plate in hand, trying decided at which of the numerous tables she was going to eat.

[Togoro, Inukai]

Inukai wiped some sweat from his brow as he stood in front of the oak doors to Syleph Academy.

Well... Here we go, one more year at S.A. starts now

As he thought the word 'now', he pushed open the doors and walked into the main hall. He took a moment to take in the familiar sights and smells before turning into the Bailarg dorm rooms. After droppoing off his things, he turned into the hall that led to the Dining Halls. While he was en route, he heard something coming from the Halls.

"Next year, I won't let Daddy pack me up until I know at least a dozen people will be here!"

Inukai rolled his eyes at the outburst.

Sounds like someone needs a cookie.

Inukai chuckled to himself as he opened the doors to the Dining Halls and quickly glanced around at who was in here. His eyes quickly fell upon the familiar form of Marionette. She was standing at one of the serving line with a plate of food in her hand. Inukai jogged up to her and greeted her. "Hey, Marionette! How was your summer?"

[Caea Seiben]

Caea looked over her shoulder, quickly pursing her lips and placing a hand over them. If she'd known others were nearby, she'd have kept her griping to herself. Two students were standing near the serving line, one holding a tray of food, a Vermill girl about her height and a really tall Drezmo boy. They both looked to be about the same year as her, and were obviously friends.

Quickly, she turned back to her plate, poking bits of egg around on the plate. She wished she'd just sucked it up and stayed at her old school -- at least she knew a few people there, even if she didn't paticularly like those people. She felt awkward and out of place, though she hoped it'd pass. She took a deep breath, sliding down in her chair. (It was horrible posture -- her etiquette teacher would have fainted on the spot.)

Come on, girl!, she cheered mentally. Even if you don't make friends here, they teach magic! Magic! You won't be bored!
She cast another surreptitious glance at the pair in line, chewing on her fork again but sitting up properly. She should go up and talk to them, but she was terribly shy in new places, especially if she didn't know anyone in the area. She sighed, resigned to waiting for them to approach.

[Marionette Moargh]

Marionette was looking at the lunch line again to see if she'd missed anything she may have wanted when Inukai came in. Her toast looked lacking so she reached out to grab a bit of jam from the jar with the knife she'd been given. She set the tray back on the overhanging part of the counter as she did so. Her knife was about an inch from the jar when he heard Inukai greeet her.

"Hey, Marionette! How was your summer?"

Her knife went down for a second but she managed to get some jam. Placeing th knife back on the tray she looked up at the approaching Inukai. "Good, I suppose. A bit boring after the first two weeks though, but I suppose that's a given. A bunch of time doing of chores and escorting Yulie around. You?" She returned to the task of picking out a place to eat, which because of the number of seats open seemed to take a lifetime. The Vermill girl she'd seen when she entered was still eating, and occasionally sending her passing glances.

Marionette prodded Inukai. "Maybe we should sit over there, next to the new girl. We could introduce ourselves. She looks so lonely." She shifted the tray in her hand and made a motion for Inukai to move. In her opinion he'd have to be the first to talk, she made horrible first impressions.

[Togoro, Inukai]

"My summer was.. OK, same as usual, practiced with my powers a bit here and there. You know, same old." Inukai said casually. He zipped through line and got his food: eggs, ham and toast. He returned to MArionette just as she seemed to have found a table. Inukai turned around to jam his toast.

"Maybe we should sit over there, next to the new girl. We could introduce ourselves. She looks so lonely."

Inukai looked at where Marionette was looking and saw the Vermill girl alone at a table. His ears twitched a little as he guessed what Marionette meant. She ment he was to introduce them to her. He sighed and shifted his tray nervously. He didn't want to talk to someone new, but he knew there was no arguing with Marionette.

Inukai was nervous as he walked up to Caea, but like most of the time, he didn't let it show in his stride. He reached Caea's table. "Hey... Uh... Do you mind if we... Um... Join you?" He was nervous and he knew it. Now probably Caea could tell. He pointed his head to Marionette to signify the other person in the 'we' statement.

[Caea Seiben]

"Hey... Uh... Do you mind if we... Um... Join you?"

Caea jumped, having actually forgotten about the two in her study of a small chip in her plate. A faint nervous pink crept into her cheeks and she glanced up, reminding herself to close her mouth so she won't look like a gaping moron.

"Oh. No. No, go ahead, that'd be great." Smiling, she made a vague motion in the general direction of the other chairs at the table. "Uh. I'm Caea. Caea Seiben. I'm new here, obviously..."

She took the time to study the pair through more than quick glances. The Drezmo looked nervous, and she got the feeling he wouldn't have drummed up the courage to come over if not for the Vermill girl at his elbow. The fact that she felt as nervous as he looked and sounded made her sigh in relief, though she tried to hide it. So she wasn't the only jittery one.

[Togoro, Inukai]

"OK, thanks." Inukai mumbled as he took a seat across from Caea. He began eating his eggs, trying to calm his nerves in the process. Under the table he was playing with a twig with his powers, changing it to as many different things as possible. It was a nervous habit he had. He took a glance up at Caea from his food. He took a little consolidation in that she looked as nervous as he felt. "So... You're a first year here?" He never, ever liked talking first. This time, however, he had no choice in the matter. His ears were still twitching slightly, though a little slower than before.

[Marionette Moargh]

So Inukai had introduced himself, wonderful. What would she say now, she could feel shivers down her spine. What had possessed her to make him confront this girl. She just had to be a rash person who couldn't talk to others. Moving her shaking hand from her lap, she extended it toward Caea. She forced herself to make eye contact, thank goodness she had a mask on.

First word a stutter, "My-y, name is Mar-rionette," Her voice slowly started to begin sounding less absurd, "It's nice to meet you here, I-i trust you're enjoying whatever stay you've had here recently."

Her other hand was moving her skirt from side to side under the table, making a soft silky swoosh sound across the floor every time she did so. She heard Inukai ask his question, and as she was accustomed, turned to look at the speaker. His ears we twitching. She started biting her top lip while it joined the other in a wide smile. She began to erupt with laughter, and almost immediately dissolved out of her nervous state.

Marionette placed her elbow on the table, right beside her plate, and leaned over a little to get closer to Caea. "We're a riot aren't we. This is Inukai, and I'm Marionette." She moved an open palm toward Inukai to indicate him, and then clapped a hand on her chest when she said her name.

Her little jester puppet had finally finished it's clamber onto a seat beside her, and proceeded to make his way to the top of the table, His arms feel off the surface refusing to get a grip for a while, till it finally throw one frill covered leg over the table and managed after two more tried to haul itself onto the table. Once on top it waddled over to the small space between the three dishes and plopped itself down. It pulled it's hat off and began tugging at a bell on of the tips.

[Caea Seiben]

Caea leaned back from the doll on the table, slightly startled by it. Glancing at Marionette, she nodded at the doll. "Yours, I suppose? I mean...marionette, and all." Grinning nervously, she tugged the ribbon in her hair. "That's neat. Um..."

Sighing, she released the ribbon, tugging instead at her sleeve. "It's...well, it hasn't been too great here so far. But I'm new. And it was so empty at first. I mean....yeah. I'm sorry." She laughed, grinning again. "Okay, I hated it a bit. But I think it'll be better than my old school. You have magic here, so how could I be bored?"

Without warning, she cut off her stream of nervous babble and twiddled with her fork. The other girl was no longer nervous, which set Caea a little more at ease, but she was still nervous. She smiled back at Marionette, carefully planning her words so she wouldn't babble again. "And you guys...seem...pretty fun. It's my first year here, but I think I'm in the same year as you two."

[Nessa Lock]

She'd finally got there. to the school she'd seen in the pamphlet, and let it be told, it didn't amaze her much. then again not much ever did. The ride here, played havoc on her spine. Nessa stood a bit in the hallway she'd been exploring to rub her back, trying to get the aches and pains out of it. A two week ride, no matter how many beds and mattresses, was not anything like a joy ride. She didn't wear anything special for the occasion and had already taken the time to place her things in the girl dorm room. She was all but ready to meet the rest of the lot.

Her hair was loose, with one of her forelocks dyed bright blue. She wore a hat perched in a cockeyed way one the side of her head. She wore gray breeches and a blouse with a dull green sweater vest over it. As she walked she stumbled along like a drunk, watching the steps she took. Her hat slid down to hide her face.

He stomach was grumbling, making an obnoxious sound that could probably be compared with a rather pissed off cat. Taking a hint from her mumbling organ, Nessa made her way to the hall which was the cafeteria. Grabbing a large white plate into her hands she made her way over to the line, gathering almost one of each entrée.

[Togoro, Inukai]

Inukai tried to slow down his eating as he was almost done with his food. He had a tendency to eat fast when he was nervous. As he heard Marrionette burst into laughter, his nerves settled a bit and his ears stopped twitching. He chuckled a bit.

"You have magic here, so how could I be bored?"

As Inukai heard her say this, his natural curiosity plagued him to ask what her powers were. He summoned up his courage to bring up a conversation. "So... Um... What is your power, by the way?" One of Inukai's ears began to twitch again as he heard the sound of a growling stomach and someone new getting food.

[Caea Seiben]

"So... Um... What is your power, by the way?"

Caea hedged, grinning in a hopeful attempt at diversion. "Oh. Nothing big." Her mother had been terrified of her shadow puppets, leaving the room every time she appeared with one of the dark dopplegangers hovering over her shoulder. As a result, she was slow to reveal her powers, not liking it very much herself. "I can play with light is all." She smiled again, flapping her hand. "What's yours?"

Glancing over her shoulder, she noted another girl enter, with a slightly drunken swagger. She watched till the girl reached the lunch line, then dropped her eyes to Inukai and Marionette again.

[Togoro, Inukai]

"I can pretty much change the properties of anything that's natural. Like this." Inukai pulled up the twig from under the table and attempted to snap it in two. He had hardened it to the stiffness of a rock beforehand. Obviously it didn't break. He closed his eyes for a split second and made the twig soft and rubbery. He proceeded to tie a knot into it without it breaking in two. "That was just an example. There's much more I can do like, mold it into a shape, change it's colour, make it lighter or heavier. As far as I know the possibilities are endless." Inukai was beginning to warm up to Caea. He was defenatley less nervous.

[Marionette Moargh]

"I'm sure it's pretty obvious what I do, so I won't both you wiht the details" Marionette explained as she began stabbing her food with her fork. She wiggled her fingers makling the puppet dance a little on the table. "not much else than giving a kind of artificial life to humanoid figures. It's like haveing puppets as pets. She smiled and the stuck some food in her mouth.

Ah, the joys of cafetiria food, suprisingly it wasn't as bad as last years, the unch lady had gotten fired over the summer she's heard. That was a magnificent, though the food hadn't actually been as bad as it had been in the Primary school she'd been to it still didn't even challenge the cooking at home. This Newstuff was about the same. "The foods better here that last year no?" She said this as be began poking her "eye'd" eggs in they're yolk.

Noticing that the both of them had glanced at the lnch line hse herself threw a glance at the newcomer. Funny character she thought and then turned around without a second glance. She'd worry about it when someone mentioned her.

((No Spell check *dies*))