Forum Thread

Low mutterings could be heard, but Lifei cleared her throat to reply “It’s nice to see you, Itsu. And yeah, I’ve already unpacked, not that I brought all that much anyways. As much as I hate to admit, some people really do need to rest more, we can’t all be studying for almost the whole day. But you’re right, they could have just dimmed the lighting on their end.” Speaking to Itsu made Lifei feel calmer, and the jolts of electricity reduced, now much calmer ripples, instead of the angry jagged cuts that were previously there. “I really enjoyed chatting with you, but I think you should probably head back to your own dorm, and make other friends. Goodbye, Itsu, you’ve been really nice. Thanks for helping me calm down.” With a smile, Lifei heads off in a random direction, intending to find a quiet spot to study.

---

Yumi and Mimi pause and look at each other, finding themselves alone in a hallway
We could do it now, but we also need sleep for school
It can't take that long, we could be back at the dorm in an hour
True... Ok, but remember, if we haven't managed to find anything in the next hour, we go back to the dorm.
Mimi grabs Yumi's tail, and the two of them vanish

Liliac decided to head off to Opal Dorm, now that the ceremony was over. "Maybe I"ll study? For what, I'm not sure. Eh, it never hurt to brush up on a bit of dragon history?" She grabbed one of the books from her suitcase and started reading.

---

Halu had said a quick thank you to Illusionist’s compliment, but they hadn’t had much time to talk before the ceremony started. He had listened carefully, every word reaching his ears perfectly. The news of the crystal made a new anxiety form in his mind, but he tried to push past it. There was no use worrying about things like that. He couldn’t risk another storm. Once the ceremony ended and dragons started filing out of the cave to get back to their dorms, Halu winced against the rising chatter that became nearly unbearable to his sensitive ears. Instead of waiting out the crowd like he normally did, he felt the strong urge to get out as quick as he could and try to find his dorm again. He had received a map now, and he figured he could find it if he really really tried. Hopefully he wouldn’t get lost again.

Grabbing his luggage from the ground, he nodded goodbye to Illusionist, hoping secretly that he would get another chance to get to know them better, and then he slipped into the crowd, keeping his head low and ignoring the weird glances and faint whispers as he weaved about them, his eyes unblinking as he navigated the crowd. Eventually breaking off from all the dragons, he took a hall that he thought would take him to the dorms, and much to his surprise, it did. He looked for the one labeled ‘Sapphire Dorm’. He found it quickly and stepped inside, the stillness of the place very welcome to Halu. He was astonished at how large and beautiful the dorm was, and though it seemed empty, it was perfect. There were plenty of places to hide among the shadows, and he found a particular bed that seemed unclaimed and was out of the way enough that he wouldn’t be bothered. He set his luggage down and settled onto the bed, exhausted after the long morning. The day was barely even halfway over and Halu already felt like falling asleep. Hopefully the whole year wasn’t this draining- he had no idea how he would make it.

---

●∘◦❀ Pitaya ❀◦∘●
"I'm blind, not helpless." He pouted, blinking a few times to orient himself. As his senses opened up again, the vibrations of Mother Earth gently caressing his paws and opening his sightless eyes. "But I'm not opposed to spending more time with you. You're an interesting dragon..." It was true. While many other dragons simply left Pitaya alone or actively antagonized him. Sure his family was accommodating and did their best to look over him but it always felt slightly suffocating under their care. He was still a dragon, not a brittle gem. Aether was one of the first to treat him like any other dragon. A being with agency and competency and he immediately latched onto that

---

❅───✧❅ Lyn ❅✧───❅
Lyn actually didn't know. Still, he checked over his map and the assignment sheet he was given. Amber dorm and according to the map it was pretty far away from the Great Hall. It was a non issue though as he wanted to talk with Frost a bit more. "Amber dorm." He relayed, tucking the pieces of paper back into his scales. "But I was thinking about taking a walk around the school. I want to see if there's any secrets the school has to offer before the tour. Who knows, maybe there more to these halls than what meets the eye." His thunderous eyes glimmered with unrepressed mischief, as he was dying to see if there were any hidden passageways that led into the restricted areas. Particularly the Crystal Chamber

---

•---•» ꜰʀᴏꜱᴛ «•---•
꒷꒦✧꒷︶︶︶꒷︶︶꒷︶✧︶꒷꒦

The look in Lyn's eyes told Frost he was thinking about doing something they shouldn't do. However, Frost didn't bother to stop him because she was just as curious. She wouldn't mind bending the rules a little as long as someone's there to get pulled down with her.

"Mind if I come with you? We should check out the library. They have some cool books there," she asked the Skydancer. She thought maybe the books would give her more hints on the gems. She had already mapped out the school before she came here, depending on the memories of the other clan dragons who have came here. She even knew some places that weren't on the map. She wouldn't trust some unreliable memories, but it wouldn't hurt to check them out.

---

Itsu waved goodbye and watched the dragon go on her way, probably to study or something. Itsu had no interest in studying when not obligated, so she simply opened the door to the dorm. She hadn't seen the darker dragon from before come back yet, so she assumed she had gone off to do something else as well. She didn't know if she had any other roommates, she hadn't seen them. Apart from the foxes, of course, speaking of which, Eclipse and Vix decided to let themselves out upon the door opening, and Itsu hesitated in the doorway. She had nothing else to unpack, so what would be the point of gong back inside? To browse online? Meh. Itsu had heard something at the ceremony about a crystal chamber. If this school was special enough to house such an important artifact, there must be more to it than met the eye, and with her foxes by her side, her curious nature took over. Turning around, she began to walk in a random direction, with the intent to get a feel for the place.

The halls were almost seemingly empty by now, she supposed most of the students would have found something to do, or were busy acquainting themselves with their roommates. Perhaps there were a few students off to explore the vast halls of the school, but they seemed few and far between, and Itsu was fine with that for now, at least. Again, kitsune dragon, hehe.

---

Aether grins, once more tinkling wind chime noises ringing out, indicating that she was happy. “I know you’re not helpless. No one is, unless they aren’t even willing to try. You’re strong. If you were helpless I would have simply gotten a teacher. I don’t know how to deal with those kind of dragons” Aether folds her scroll into her scales, leaving her claws free to help out. “Thanks, I’m glad you think that way. And I can also tell you my stories! I, too have been to several places with my so called sister. Well, not by blood, but we’re certainly close.”

---

Alpine flew back to her room. Also she need to find Flamesurfer, and meet her at Moonstone dorm. She covered herself with a coat, and walked out to eat something. Or she may find Flamesurfer with her friends, that will be best.

---

“Time to find Frost, Araceli, Liliac, and Alpine.” Flamesurfer said to herself. She quickly left the dorm, waiting for Alpine first. She and Alpine will begin their search for Frost, Araceli, and Liliac as soon as Alpine arrives.

●∘◦❀ Pitaya ❀◦∘●
Pitaya practically glowed under the praise, the scent of freshly bloomed flowers beginning to perfume the vast hall as a few shy flowers popped into existence along his crown. He perked up at the idea of hearing more stories, however, eager to learn and listen to them. He had rarely wandered past the groove of caves and flowers that had been his family's nest, the Academy being the furthest he had ever been away from what could be called "home". "Oh please do!" He trilled, excitement at the prospect of hearing about the world lighting up his eyes. "Does your sister also go to the Academy?"

---

❅───✧❅ Lyn ❅✧───❅
That was an interesting suggestion. Lyn usually didn't bother with libraries, much preferring action over study but in this case it would be advantageous to educate himself before embarking on their little extracurricular exploration. Nodding in agreement, he lifted himself out and offered one of his large expansive wings out to Frost to climb onto. "Just so you don't fall behind." He teased the much smaller dragon, his trouble-making grin making that fact clear

---

•---•» ꜰʀᴏꜱᴛ «•---•
꒷꒦✧꒷︶︶︶꒷︶︶꒷︶✧︶꒷꒦

Frost let out a huff of mist in the electric dragon's face, not the one that easily freezes. She knew well how fast those dragons can fly, but that doesn't mean she can't fly as fast. With a playful smile afterwards, she lightly smacked his wing, and opens hers instead.

"Save that for another time," she chuckled. "Race you there!" she called out as her wings let out one strong flap, making her dissappear in a show of mist and snowflakes.

While she had an extra few seconds, she knew Lyn would catch up. She saw how fast his flock could fly, almost like teleporting. She smiled as she zoomed across the hallway, remembering another warm memory

---

Illusionist attached a little sack around his neck when he was done, shoving a cloth, some balls, and a stack of cards into it. He took a look at his map, wondering where most of the students would be at this time, apart from their dorms, that was. Tracing the map with a finger, he stopped on the library. This was a school, and surely some morons would be there studying on the first day...or, not really a first day, more like an introduction day, but still. Perhaps he could meet some fellow dragons to victimize make friends with. It seemed no one else was in the dorm anyway.

Making his way out into the hall, he made mental note of the signs on the walls, and the ceilings, marking which places he could recognize should he ever walk these halls without a map. Along the path to the library, Illusionist caught sight of an icy blue blur dashing toward the library, a trail of mist in her path. Stopping briefly, he shivered in the icy air left by the creature, before continuing on his journey. Hopefully none of them would accidentally touch him with those powers. He kept a slow pace, the other dragon would probably reach the library before he did.

---

Araceli continued sorting her stuff, plopping down photos of her family and siblings.

---

Sidon decided to go out into the halls, looking at his map to see where he might want to go. There were a lot of interesting places on the map, like the library, out of bounds places, and a large field where he assumed PE was held. He decided to just chill in the library, maybe think about his family for a while.

---

❅───✧❅ Lyn ❅✧───❅
Watching with mouth agape, Lyn chuckled at the cheekiness the other exhibited. He certainly wasn't expecting the other to quip back like that but it was certainly a pleasant surprise. Not many were willing to push his buttons, but it was a welcome change. He could still vaguely remember where the library was from when he had taken a look at the map and his head feathers wiggled in excitement at the prospect of a chase. For a moment it was as if time stood still before the burning metal of ozone crackled and Lyn was off.

As the hallways were a bit too cramped to unfurl all four of his flight wings, Lyn settled for dashing through the ancient stone with long nimble legs, electricity sparking from his limbs as he bounded past startled dragons. It was almost freeing to simply run after the faint trail of snowflakes and mist that seemed to follow the icy fae. Frost was quick, possibly even quicker than Lyn if he was humble enough to admit it (He wasn't) but Lyn didn't let that fact bother him as he let his head wings, often used for steering and sharp maneuvers give him a little more lift. With a crackle of lightning, he was suddenly running alongside the spry dragon. "On your left." He teased, before passing her leaving behind ghostly footprints that dissipated in a blink and the faint ringing of jewelry

---

Alpine arrived at Flamesurfer’s dorm, and met her. They flew to the library to find Frost, or the other dragons, first.

•---•» ꜰʀᴏꜱᴛ «•---•
꒷꒦✧꒷︶︶︶꒷︶︶꒷︶✧︶꒷꒦

Lyn's teasing voice startled Frost. Then again, she expected him to win anyway so she wasn't too surprised. With a little laugh she spinned to increase her speed and almost broke the library door open. Laughing too loud and still high from the race, she earned so many 'shush'es from the other dragons that she could earn a badge for it.

She watched as Lyn stood high over her, a look of pride on his face. She let out another small laugh, accompanied with a spray of mist.

"Yeah, I might never beat you guys in a race. Too fast," she said with fast breaths. "I've never flown that fast since I've last met your flock," she added, sitting on the nearest stone to catch her breath.

She caught sight of Flamesurfer in the distance. "Hey! We meet again!" she called out to the dragon, earning more shushes, which she couldn't care less about.

---

“Hi! Frost! We finally found you!” Flamesurfer said. “So that’s Frost, huh?” Alpine said with a cool voice. “Hello, I’m Alpine.”

Sidon walked into the library, amazed at how big it was, and how many dragons were there studying, reading, or quietly chatting among themselves. and the occasional shush from annoyed dragons

He wasn't sure where to look first, so he just grabbed a random book on fish, found a comfy spot, and started reading about the different kinds of fish

---

Illusionist would arrive a minute or two after Frost, his ears twitching from the noise coming from a dragon supposed to be in the library. Though he supposed anyone racing to this of all places probably wasn't the most quiet dragon. He made his way over to one of the tables, watching the ice dragon and the larger, electric dragon that had followed her. With all that electricity, Illusionist was surprised she hadn't been knocked out of the sky. Settling into one of the chairs, he began to slowly open his sack, his ears wary of all that was going on around him.

---

❅───✧❅ Lyn ❅✧───❅
"You did really well." Lyn praised, unable to keep the self satisfied smirk off his snout. Sure, he had cheated using the electricity stored in his body and his numerous wings but it still felt good. He was about to help Frost up when an unfamiliar dragon approached them, calling Frost's name. He immediately stiffened and tucked his wings to his side, and checked on the myriad of jewelry that sat on his claws. It was almost a miracle how none of them had fallen off during the race. If Lyn looked at it a certain way, it almost looked like the ghastly shadows which curled around his legs originated from the rings, making it look like the metal itself was haunted. How interesting.

---