Liam stood leaning against the counter in the book shop on Rhiamon Way, where he had been working along side his parents for the summer. A few people were in the store now, but he didn't pay them much mind as they browsed the selection. Instead, he watched out the window as the streets filled with more people than normal. The end of summer rush, as everyone spent the morning getting their last minute school items before boarding the ship this afternoon.

"Liam!"

He pretended as if he didn't hear his sister calling for him from the stairway at the back of the shop. It didn't work. Now he heard footsteps hastily coming down the steps, and a moment later a little blond waif of a girl appeared through the door. "Liam! Mom says you get to take me to get my wand."

"I'm watching the store, Eden," he replied.

Eden barely contained a laugh. "Yeah, right. You're looking at all the girls walk down the street. Mom said she'll come down and watch the store."

As if on cue, their mother appeared at the bottom of the steps behind Eden. She crossed her arms and smiled at Liam. "Go on," she said. "I thought you didn't want to be at work."

Liam rolled his eyes. "Like watching her is any less work." But he walked over and picked up his little sister, throwing her over his shoulder. "Come on, let's go get you that wand. And maybe an owl while we're at it. My little sister can't start at Gaol without her very own pet."

Eden giggled as her big brother carried her out the door and into the crowd of people.

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C H L O E

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He'd been dormant for a while, but soon enough the fire would enter her throat and the serpentine whispers would echo through her her ears. She was his body- acting on the Lord's accord. He was dead long ago, but now he was part of Chloe, somehow. As the clock ticked by, his demands grew until Chloe was attacking people at random, seemingly out of nowhere. He was the cords that binded her to herself.

Picking up a book and tracing embossed writing with her finger, she sighed. She'd already got the books, and was now killing time. The book shop here was great. Whilst nothing compared to Gaol's lavish building with its rooms that seemed to stretch on and on, and with is shelves upon shelves that stacked twice as high as she was tall, it housed all of her personal favourite pieces of writing dating back decades. through the wooden shelves she walked, keeping quiet, like the books were all slumbering live beings. With gentle hands she would pry them from their sleep and delicately wake them, casting her eyes over every little secret world they held and absorbing everything their pages concealed.

Hello.

The voice was emotionless and laced with venom. She cupped her hands over her ears once again as she had done many a time before, breaking the silence.

"Your requests, my Lord?"

Heart beating through her chest, her whisper became quieter.

Just saying my hello, Chloe. I am not a rude man.

She exhaled in relief, placing the book back on the shelf before making her way down to the door. Something was obstructing her way, though. It was sloth and his sister.

"Move out of the effing way sloth." She hissed, the same venom in her words as the Lord had used.

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"Claudia? Can you tell us about Gaol again? Pleeeeeease?" Claudia closed her eyes, slightly annoyed by the ever present nagging from her sisters, Darcy and Flavia. They had come to stay in Rhiamon Road for a few days, like they normally did. It was their final day here, and today the ship was leaving to Gaol. She looked to the floor, keeping her mouth firmly shut as she walked through the streets, just behind her mother and father. She wore Muggle clothes, for the sake of it. She felt more comfortable in them than whatever her parents deemed acceptable to be seen in. Today she wore her black skinny jeans, and a black top, made of a floaty material at the bottom and on her sleeves. The top reached her mid thighs. Her shoes were her school shoes, and she wore white socks with them. It wasn't flattering on her figure, but she felt comfortable in it, and that's what mattered to her.

"Claudia? Can you take Flavia to get a wand? She needs that and a few books which we couldn't get at home." Claudia's mother told her. Claudia closed her eyes, and held them closed for a few seconds. She didn't want to at all, but Liam's parents owned the bookshop, and maybe she'd see him there. Her stomach flipped involuntarily and she blushed slightly. Unfortunately, Flavia seemed to pick up on this, and giggled. Claudia met this with a death glare and Flavia sighed. "Alright, Mother." She finally spoke, but very quietly, as if she was not even trying to speak, which she wasn't. She was next to the bookshop, and looked in to see Liam and a girl she assumed was Eden. Flavia grinned, and then Claudia turned to see...Oh no. It was Chloe. Claudia closed her eyes, shaking her hair gently. "Come on. And be quiet." She hissed at her sister, before pushing open the door to the bookshop. She caught the end of Chloe's words. "...-ing way sloth." She seemed to hiss. Claudia walking in slowly and closed the door. She wasn't one for conflict. She looked at Liam and shrugged, before gently pushing Flavia's shoulder around Chloe, hoping she would take no notice of them both.

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It was totally not fair.
Claudia would talk and talk about Gaol at home, when they were alone. But now they were out and about she never opened her mouth. Flavia desperately wanted to hear about Gaol, what it would be like, and all that. Darcy tugged on her hand as they walked through Rhiamon Way. Flavia liked her little sister, she was loud and bubbly like she was, except smaller.
Flavia played with the hem of her shirt. She was wearing a long sleeved top today, paired with a pleated skirt that was checkered. Stockings that reached just above her knees decorated her legs, and tiny black shoes accented the stockings and completed her outfit. She loved wearing this clothing combination, and was relishing in the fact that it was her last day that she could wear this, and tomorrow she would be wearing Gaol's school uniform. She smiled to herself at this fact and skipped along the street, hair bouncing.
Flavia's mother then asked her sister to take her to the book shop and to the wandmakers. Flavia's heart did a little flip in excitement. She couldn't wait to get her own wand! She already had Fizz, her cat, who she had bonded with and loved. And now her own wand! She let go of Darcy's hand, who ran back to their parents, probably go go to the sweet shop and buy something to take home. Flavia walked after Claudia, trying not to annoy her. Claudia was already annoyed, from the way she closed her eyes for a few seconds, it was obvious. They walked up to the book shop, and Flavia saw a couple of people about Claudia's age, and a girl about her age. Flavia grinned at her, and waved cheerfully.
Flavia didn't catch what the older girl said, but she assumed it was rude. She kept quiet, which was strange, but she knew that this wasn't really the best time to speak up. She soon felt Claudia's hand on her shoulder, giving her a slight push, but Flavia didn't really want to move. She struggled as she was pushed around Chloe, and it was obvious that Claudia didn't want to be noticed. Flavia tried to catch the younger girl's eye again, by smiling cheerfully at her.

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Eric hopped over the railing separating the port from the main street in Rhiamon Way, a wide grin across his face. It was a beautiful day, just the right temperature, even for an autumn day in New York. He was definitely far away from the farm back in Kansas, but this trip back to Gaol was long overdue. He had had a good time back home with the family but Eric was ready to return for his final year at school. Silently singing a song he had stuck in his head, Eric headed directly to the book shop owned by Liam's family. He had spoken to his best friend a few times over the summer, telling one another about their expectations for the coming year, but Eric had not seen Liam since they had shared a compartment of the same ship Eric had just gotten off, not 4 months ago.

Eric had already gotten all of his supplies earlier in the holidays. For him, because there were no magical communities within a reasonable distance from his home, Eric had to order his supplies via the owl post. It sucked because he'd much rather go and purchase his supplies in person, where he could browse the wide variety of magical stuff, such as what he was seeing behind the dusty windows of the many shops he was passing in Rhiamon Way. Thinking about it for a moment, Eric supposed he could've just waited until now to buy all of his supplies for school, but he reminded himself that he was on a limited time schedule before the ship made its final departure to the Academy.

Passing The Molding Tankard, Rhiamon Way's most popular inn, Eric approached the front of the book store, and to his displeasure, he heard a familiar drawling voice from just within.

"Move out of the effing way sloth."

Eric found himself immediately gritting his teeth. There was only one person he knew of who called anyone a sloth, and it was Chloe Hartzel, a fellow 7th year in Ursus. It was no secret he and this girl weren't exactly the best of friends, given their seemingly opposite personalities. Rounding the doorway, he nearly ran into none other than Liam and his little sister, Eden perched on his shoulders. Instinctively, he made for a "Hey!" to the pair, accompanied by a toothy smile, but he was distracted by another, less friendly face behind the pair. His ears not having deceived him, it was Chloe with that famous scowl plastered on her face. Her disrespect had distracted Eric from even seeing another friend of his, Claudia who was able to sneak past the cluster of people in the doorway. Not greeting Liam, nor giving him an opportunity to respond to Chloe, he pushed past him so that he stood in front of the girl, his eyes narrowed down at her as he spoke.

"Yeah, well why don't you move back to the UK? It's your last year, right? Might as well make it count and enroll into a school where you aren't inflictin' your misery on everyone who comes within 5 feet of you."

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C H L O E

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"Yeah, well why don't you move back to the UK? It's your last year, right? Might as well make it count and enroll into a school where you aren't inflictin' your misery on everyone who comes within 5 feet of you."

It was Eric, a fucking do-gooder in Aquila or something. One of the many people the girl hated, she almost rolled her eyes at the sight of him.

Clenching her fists, Chloe could feel the Lord coursing through her blood, her muscles twitching just like he had intended. The Lord was the puppet master, and Chloe was a thing of rags and wool. He was taking over her body. This hadn’t really happened before as he would usually take up a small part of her, as it was their agreement. It was the agreement, right? Well he apparently was not so good at sticking to agreements.

”Well why don’t you go back to your fucking pig-sty, farmboy? I’d rather go to Hogwarts- there would be no imbeciles like you. ”

Just at that very moment, Chloe Hartzel felt like punching Eric. It was a split-second decision crafted of pure fantasy, but the Lord had heard.

Do it.

The voice was stronger now- more demanding- it was more of an order than a suggestion, she sensed.

”My Lord, I can’t do it in front of everyone”

She whispered quickly and placed her hands over her ears, trying desperately for them to not hear.

Do it!

He roared, and she could feel herself losing control of her body cell by cell as her fist collided with Eric’s jaw. A shock of adrenaline shot through her body as she pushed open the door of the book shop and sprinted away.
She knew she shouldn’t have done it in broad daylight- the teachers could have seen.

Good, Chloe. Good.

Resting her head against a stone wall, she let out a breath. It wasn’t so much the violence that bothered her- the feeling of sheer helplessness, like she really could not control her own body. Pressing her back against the wall, she sighed once more. At least she’d got the sloth to move.

Aurora skipped down the crowded streets of Rhiamon Way, Dylan flying slightly behind her as she squeezed past the random witches and wizards that filled the Main Street. It was her final year at Gaol and she was taking her last trip into Rhiamon way for school supplies as well as a few other interesting items that she might uses during the school year that weren't strictly legal.

Glancing down at the sheet of paper which held her list of items she needed to acquire by the end of the day, the main 3 shops that popped up first was a small potion shop hidden down one of Rhiamon Way's many Alley ways; Another was the fact that she needed a knew broom and had been saving up so has he would be able to buy the best in the market right now; her final destination was the book shop owned by Liam and his family. If she remembered correctly, than Eden would be finally going to school this year and it would be nice to see the young girl again before school started.

Placing her fingers to her lips, she let of a shrill whistle that caused a few animals and wizards with unnaturally high hearing to look her way as Dylan came flying in her direction and took a seat upon her shoulder as she made her way to "Prissy Potty's Peculiar Potions." Which lay hidden in one of the many impossible windy backstreets.

The shop was small and almost dark, filled with weird and intoxicating smells which chocked you as you entered. A bell went off it the distance, signalling Auroras arrival as she made her way towards the abandoned counter. She didn't glance at the weird and brightly colored ingredients and potions that covered the walls of the shop as she had been there many times before. Pressing the bell on the counter three times, she slipped round behind it before making her way into a back room covered by a curtain of bead.

"Hay Pot! I'm here for the ingredients for the divination enhancement potions I ordered, and I was also wondering is the crystal tube necklace had come yet?" She yelled into the dark room before waiting patiently for a small, almost fairy like creature to appear before her carrying the necklace in her hands, and a bag of items floating in the air behind her.

"Here you go dear. It's your last year if Gaol, your sending it off with a bang is supposed?" Pot inquired mischievously as she handed over Auroras requested items. "Pretty much. Now I must be off as I have a few more things to get before I head back to Gaol." She laughed to the fairy before waving as she turned to leave back the way she came.

Exiting the shop, the bells jingled again but were lost in the noise of distant crowds. Her next destination was the Broom shop on Main Street which was quite far from here. It would probably be easier to stop by the book shop and invite Eden to come broom shopping with her. No doubt the girl would love that.

Making her mind up, she followed the well walked path that would take her towards the family owned store that she had visited so many times over the years. It would be good to see the family again after the summer seeing as she hadn't really been in contact with any one much due to her parents.

Walking around a corner, she saw the shop come into views as well as the faces of a few familiar class mates. Seems she wasn't the only one who had thought to stop by the Madsen's household. Entering the shop as quietly as possible, so as not to disturb anyone and lose any possible chance at surprise attacking them, she was greeted with the words, "Yeah, well why don't you move back to the UK? It's your last year, right? Might as well make it count and enroll into a school where you aren't inflictin' your misery on everyone who comes within 5 feet of you." which came from Eric aimed at Chloe... Chloe!? Oh today was just getting better and better!

She grinned evilly, and completely ignoring the tense atmosphere she prepared herself to jump into the room and hug the girl to see if she could get a decent reaction before she head the sound of flesh hitting flesh, feeling Chloe suddenly push past her as she ran out the shop. Pausing to glance after the unfriendly girl, she entered the room and sent a frown at Eric who now had a red cheek.

Smiling at the room inhabitants, she walked over to Eric and gave him a quick hug before patting his red cheek slightly and grinning at him, "Want me to kiss it better?" She joked out before he was released and she moved onto Liam and Eden. Seeing as she couldn't really hug the girl as she was perched upon Liam's shoulders, Aurora settled for a happy wave and a look towards them both that said, "When I can hug you both, I will. Be warmed.". Looking over at Claudia she sent her a grin before stopping down and hugging Flavia who she had met a couple of years back and had grown to like quite well.

"So we seem to have two first years in our midst guys, let's not give them a bad impression by fighting it out." She commented jokingly, sending a pointed look at Eric though she doubted he was the main cause of the problem and was simply teasing him, "Don't mind Chloe you hear, she's just a little misunderstood." She commented with a straigh face to the two young girls though there was an amused twinkle in her eyes.

"So, I'm heading over to the broom shop on Main Street if any of you two lovely ladies would do me the greatest pleasure of your company!" She grinned at the two girls, waiting for their response as Dylan began to try and crawl up her face which distracted her for a few moments as she tried to disentangle his claws from her face. "Oh and Liam I was wondering if you store had the latest release of Cassandra Vablatsky book, "Unfogging the Future", which is a release in England that has only recently been published here. Surprise as it's quite a few years old but apparently it's pretty good." She commented off hand, pulling at the small bats body which refused to let go of her hair now that it had managed to pull itself onto her head.

Standing outside the cauldron shop of Rhiamon Way, Vivian bit her lip and fidgeted. She tried to focus on the list in her hand, but her eyes flitted upward on occasion, peering at the people strolling by. The area near this particular shop was less crowded than most, though, more than a few witches and wizards had gotten a bit closer to her than she would have liked. They would not approach her for no reason, she reminded herself. If she stayed quiet, she would be left alone. Despite her rationalization, however, nervousness still crawled about in her chest like an especially energetic slug.

Even after three years of coming to Rhiamon for supplies, the place still felt more than a little choked to her. Too many people, too many colliding scents and sounds, too little air for everyone to breathe. Especially without friends to temper her anxiety, Vivian found the entire scene overwhelming. She had not panicked in public yet, though, and she had no intentions of doing so ever if she could help it. Her father had offered to come to see her off, as he did every year, but Vivian had felt that it was best to turn his offer down this year. Looking even more weak and helpless than she already did was not something she needed. Sometimes Vivian wondered how she had been put in Aquila house with her lack of nerve.

After checking her list of supplies for the third time, Vivian folded her list and pressed it into into the front pocket of her messenger bag. She definitely had everything. Really, she had only needed to buy a few things. Some quills, some ink, her books, of course, but most of her other supplies had been taken care of earlier in the summer.

Once she had taken a moment to take in several slow, deep breaths, she stepped away from the storefront, and started down the path. Vivian realized that she should probably get down to the ship early, just in case, but she also figured that if she had forgotten to write anything down, it might come to her while milling about Rhiamon.

As she neared the bookstore that she had been shopping at earlier in the day, Vivian spotted a girl not much older than herself bolting off. One of her peers maybe. Had she been frightened off by something? Vivian glanced at the storefront itself and into the slowly closing door. She recognized a few of the people inside. Liam and Eric, both other Aquilas, were present, along with a younger girl who Vivian did not think she had seen before. Shaking her head, Vivian told herself that the matter really was not her business anyway, and continued towards the nearby inn.

Jim Malloy

"Standin' on a corner, watchin' all the girls go byyy~" Jim sang, accompanying his three elder cousins, Jerry, Jack and Sarah. It was mostly as practice for Jerry and Jack, they were going to be taking part a play as a favour for Aunt Kelly, and it involved them singing that and doing a little dance. As such, all four of them were wearing baseball caps as stand ins for the newsboy hats in the play. However, there was also the fun of getting a little louder and trying to sound a little better whenever some girls passed by. As a pair of especially pretty girls approached the bench the Malloys had claimed, the four of them each took their hats off in turn, holding them to their chests. Jim's voice was pretty much toneless when it came to singing, but hiding it amongst the much nicer voices of his cousins meant that the Malloys earned some blushes and giggles from the passing ladies.

Sarah looked over at the watch Jim was wearing, and nudged him. Puzzled, Jim checked it himself.
"Crud." He muttered, as he passed his hat to Jack. He wasn't even in the right part of New York yet, though he didn't have a doubt that he'd make it. It was a short trip to grab his stuff from home, say his see-you-Thanksgiving-breaks to his ma, da and every Malloy he passed, and hail himself a cab to take him within walking distance of Rhiamon Way.
"You taking a vacation, kid?" The cabdriver asked as Jim climbed in with Mallory's cage and his guitar beside him, after he'd hefted his suitcases into the trunk. He had all the stuff he needed, either by borrowing his ma's old stuff or going out with her and his da to get it from Rhiamon way. They were New Yorkers, it was hardly a journey to Mordor.
"Goin' back to school." He replied with a grin. The cabdriver made a non-committal sound, and soon enough, Jim was walking down Rhiamon Way. Personally, he liked touching base there before he reentered the Wizarding World for the next school year, same as he liked to head to the nearest fast food place when he returned to the Muggle World. It was around then that he noticed the backs of some familiar heads through a store window.

"Aurora! Eric!" He called, as he picked up his pace. However, as he drew closer, he recognised a few other familiar faces, and two strange. One was Liam Madsen, with presumably his little sister on his shoulders, since he didn't seem the type to pick up random children and carry them around. The next was Claudia Gardner, with a kid that could only have been her sister. The last was all too familiar.
"...Hartzel." He greeted in an almost-growl. He walked into the shop himself, and caught Aurora talking to the first years. He decided against talking to Hartzel, and instead focused his attention on Aurora and the first years, trying to completely ignore Hartzel.
"Need a hand there, Aurora?" He chuckled with a grin, popping out from behind her.

Gemma Jackson

Gemma cleared her throat at the table. Her parents were both sitting ramrod straight, faces pinched in annoyance. They knew what today was. They knew what it had been since Gemma was eleven.
"M-may I be excused? I need to pack a couple of last things..." She'd been fully packed and ready to go for the past week, but the breakfast before she finally got back to Gaol was always awkward and scented with resentment and disappointment. Too much so for Gemma to stomach. She'd been careful not to mention what she was packing for, as her parents were less likely to comment if she didn't mention magic at all. Her mother gave a curt nod, and Gemma stood up and carefully didn't hurry towards her room. She sighed as she collected up everything, stood in front of her door and counted to thirty. On twenty eight, she opened the door and quickly crossed the open-plan penthouse, until she was beside her exit out. She didn't call out a goodbye, and she was thankful her parents didn't acknowledge her as she walked out with her suitcases. She gave a sigh of relief as the doors to the apartment building clicked shut behind her, and she was out into the September air.

It wasn't too long until Gemma was finally stepping onto Rhiamon Way, and she let a secretive smile cross her face. She was in the clear until next summer, now, and she eased a little. She could see other Gaol students milling around, excited for the new school year, whether because of learning or seeing friends again. She smiled as she heard a familiar accent rise above the general chatter, shouting two familiar names. Gemma decided against heading toward them, she'd see them on the boat soon enough. Instead, she found herself a bench to rest on, with her potted tulips on her lap and her suitcases at her feet.

Max Avarus:

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!" Max yelled as he walked down the street, casting some attention to himself. His father had been called ton emergency meeting, so he had to finish shopping on his own. He hated shopping. However, most of his shopping was done at least. Phear walked into the Wand store, quickly got his wand, and got out, a feeling of accomplishment running through him.

"Hey Maxy" a familiar voice called to him.

"I told you not to call me that!"

It was his brother, Daniel, who graduated last year. He messed his brother's hair up, and then checked his stuff. "Did he at least say goodby? Or was this like the time he completely forgot about you on the playground because of an important meeting?"

"He did say goodby...he sounded panicked".

"He always sounds panicked about a meeting...oh, I think I see some people I know. Hey, Liam!" He shouted. Max just felt embarrassed now. However, as Max and Daniel walked closer, Max saw a girl bunch this other guy in the face.

Daniel looked at them, wondering what had happened. "Max, this is Liam and Eden Madsen. Guys, this is my brother. He is starting this year. Liam, I forgot Eden had also started this year. Guess they will have company then..."

Max said hello, attempting to jump in after his brother's icebreaker. He was...wary, about making friends. It was the fame and the money, mostly, but also he was smarter then most his age. He couldn't help but worry if the woman was going to punch him next or something. Not afraid, but he would rather not get punched. It was a personal objective not to get punched.

Zeke Barrow:

"C'mon Zane, I don't want to be late!" Zeke impatiently tapped his foot. "Your walking too slow!"

Zeke had this aura about him that you got the feeling he doesn't like to sit still. That was Zeke being Zeke. He hated waiting, standing still, or not doing anything. Zeke simply said he was "a man of action".

Of course, most of his actions usually got him into trouble.

"Come on Zane! We need to get all of our equipment..." He meant the firecrackers and other jokes they had got from some stores. "...loaded before the ship leaves!"

He saw a few others on the street, but he was so centered on not being late to notice anything unless it happened right in front if him or it called to his or Zane's attention.

If there was one thing his father had taught Thomas Decius, it was to be prepared. Thus, he had purchased his school supplies a month earlier and at half price too. It helped that his family owned a quarter of the shops on Rhiamon Way and loaned money to money to many of the ones they did not own. Today, he had decided to visit the broom shop. True, he had never shown any inclination towards joining the Quadpot team. This was for various reasons, two of which amount to the practice times infringing on his already limited supply of free time and the fact that he found it easier to slip into the old school ruins while professors and students alike were distracted by the game. However, he loved the feeling of the wind rushing by him as he flew in the air and he felt that there might come a day where he would be grateful to have a quick broom available to get him away from somewhere quickly.

"Oh, you are very fortunate to come at the time you did, Master Decius," the middle-aged shopkeeper simpered as he brought out an elegant-looking broom, "This is the very last Aether V we have in stock."

"Hmm... I hope Auora managed to get one beforehand," Thomas mused before paying the shopkeeper, wandering if he was being truthful. He had found a couple documents in the old school ruins his father had been keen on getting his hands on. He was so happy, he had agreed to give Thomas the money for this purchase.

Next, Thomas decided to head towards the book store for some recreational reading. He paused, however, when he saw the commotion before him and lo and behold, Aurora was in the midst of it along with several of his classmates and what looked like a couple first years. He smiled politely at Eric, though he could not help but scrutinize Chloe. It wouldn't surprise him that she was the one to give him that bruise on his cheek.

"So, I'm heading over to the broom shop on Main Street if any of you two lovely ladies would do me the greatest pleasure of your company!"

"You should have stopped by there first, Aurora. Someone purchased the last Aether V, though he might be willing to sell or loan it for a price. Or maybe the shopkeeper was lying when he said it was the last one. It's a common marketing trick," Thomas announced with a slight grin on his face as he held the broom in his arms, unwrapped of course. There was no point in wrapping a broom. Everyone knew what kind of item it was.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thomas checked his wristwatch, which read 4 o' clock. According to the ship's transport schedule, they were exactly on time as it pulled into the port of Rhiamon Way. Sighing inwardly, Thomas stared out of the porthole, gazing around at the many stores along the streets, which were filled with many witches and wizards, most of which were probably purchasing their last minute supplies for their return to school. He turned around to see the compartment he was in, which was empty aside from the few belongings Thomas had brought with him. It struck Thomas as odd that all of his peers could bring along such large luggage filled with their possessions when all Thomas ever needed was easily stored away in his satchel that was always found slung over his shoulder. Cracking a sheepish grin at his own thought, Thomas leaned forward and reached into the bag at his feet and dug around for his wand. His arm seemed to magically descend within the depths of his satchel, his entire right limb in the bag before he returned with his wand in hand. Undetectable Extension Charm. He had practiced it so often this last summer, finally perfecting the charm so that his satchel has been magically expanded while retaining its external dimensions.

A crash from right outside the compartment disrupted Thomas's thoughts. Instinctively, he placed his wand into his pocket, timidly rising from the comfortably cushioned seats. He stared at the sliding door, listening for any more noises coming from within the hallway, but alas it remained silent for a long moment when--

"Oooooooooh!"

Thomas breathed a sigh of relief. It was just the old witch who pushed the trolley. The plump Indian woman was notorious for being overly clumsy, so Thomas needed no explanation that she had probably fallen, closely followed by the trolley that was stashed with many delicious treats and magical knick knacks. The scrawny 5th year shook his head, embarrassed with himself at the way he reacted. He had been on edge for the past couple of years, and his anxiety has just seemed to inflate over the summer. It might have just been the environment he was in, having stayed with a foster family, headed by two contributors to the most widely read wizarding newspaper on the east coast of the US, The Counseled Courier . Gaol's headmaster had arranged for him to be taken in over the summer holidays by various wizarding families, since he no longer had a real home of his own. Thomas wasn't so sure though that the environment of his last foster home was the cause of his nerves acting up. Another moan could be heard from just outside the compartment. "Oooooh! Oh my!"

Decidedly, Thomas approached the compartment door, sliding it open and poking his head out to see none other than the witch, Miss Nilaya sprawled about the floor with a bunch of loose chocolate frogs jumping about, leaving dark brown smudges along the her apron. Thomas was tempted to snicker at the scene, along with the few other students who had witnessed the woman's fall. Against his better judgement though, he decided that it'd be better to help the batty old witch rather than to laugh at her expense. He knelt down, holding out his hand for her to grab when he wand slipped out of his pocket falling behind him. Absentmindedly, he stopped and turned to pick it up when suddenly, a small bush of grey flashed between his legs, snatching his wand along with it as it sprinted down the hallway. "Hey!", he called out. That damn Eric Greene's stupid midget cat! Ironically enough, this wasn't the first incident Thomas has fallen victim to on account of that ridiculous feline. In a fit of irritation, he gritted his teeth as he started after the cat, hearing a few snickers and giggles at his expense. The cat rounded the hallway's corner, Thomas' quick feet following closely when -- CRASH! Thomas had ran straight into someone. He had fallen on his butt, a bit dazed. Rubbing his head, he looked upward at the person he had ran into, muttering a weak apology as his vision refocused.

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"Do you need anything else?"

Catherine's mother called out while sitting down in an old chair in the small kitchen. Meanwhile, Catherine was scrambling around, trying to make sure she had everything in check before she headed off to the ship to her school. Her dark hair bobbed around in it's ponytail that was tied up with a silk white ribbon. She was wearing a matching white dress that fell down to her knees. It was short-sleeved and plain with small buttons in the middle starting from her neckline going down to her waist. Usually she didn't dress so 'sweetly' but her mother had told her she should at least try and not look scary on the first day. Even though it took awhile, Catherine agreed to wear something nice.

So there she was, sliding around on the shiny wooden floors in her white socks. Her mother had cleaned the woodened floors just the day before, too. If she hadn't, Catherine wouldn't of been able to slide around in her socks since usually the floor at least has something scattered about on it to prevent her from doing just that. Catherine slid from room to room, trying to make sure she had grabbed everything she needed. Her mother just watched her daughter in amusement as she watched Catherine pop in and out of the kitchen door.

Catherine settled down and walked to the kitchen door once again, smoothing her dress out along the way. She had a large black bag slung over her right shoulder. The bag was carrying all her items and belongings she needed...but was quite heavy. It was just a little less then half of Catherine's own weight. Catherine had almost tumbled over to the side when she slung the bag over her shoulder, but remained her posture and quickly stood up straight.

"I had asked if you needed anything--"

"I have everything I need, mom. I'm sure." Catherine interrupted her mother as she stared at her with a blank face, going over the mental note in her mind just to make sure she just did have everything.

"Ok. Do you want me to go with you?" Her mom asked while standing up and walking towards her daughter. Her mother was quite short, shorter then Catherine now. She somehow retained a youthful appearance though, some getting her mistaken as Catherine's older sister.

"Mom, I'm fine. You don't have to come. I just need to stop at the bookstore to grab a couple things and then I'll be off." Catherine denied, insuring her mother she'd be fine. Her mother smiled and nodded her head as she got close up to Catherine and cupped her face in her small hands.

"Ok, hun. I hope you have a great time. I love you." Her mother said softly, reaching in to plant a kiss on Catherine's cheek. Catherine quickly batted her away with her hand and stepped back, trying to get out of the situation.

"Ok, mom. Goodbye. I love you too. I have to get going." Catherine said, biding her farewell to her mother. Her mother was the only other person she lived with...so she didn't have to say any other goodbyes to anyone. Her mother smiled again and waved goodbye to her daughter as she exited the front door. Her mother wasn't at all scared for Catherine, she just hoped she wouldn't cause any trouble out there.

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And there Catherine was, walking down the street of Rhiamon Way. Her flat shoes clicked softly against the ground as she continued struggling with that damn black bag on her shoulder. She huffed and puffed as she struggled to walk the busy street, people every so often bumping into her roughly. She had let her black, white and orange cat, Finn, out of the bag and he was now roaming around behind Catherine. She was keeping Finn inside her bag for awhile, but thought he was only adding to the heavy weight and decided to let him out.

Catherine could finally see the sign to the book shop, which she was pretty sure that Liam guy worked at. She sighed in relief as she approached it. Finally, she could get the thing she needed, and she could rest...

Suddenly, Finn ran up to her and somehow managed to run in between her ankles, causing her to stumble down. The cat got in the way of Catherine's path and turned back to watch Catherine fall with the weight of her bag, not having enough strength to regain her balance this time.

Catherine gasped as she fell, then landed into a pair of strong arms. A man, an older gentleman, had caught her swiftly. She innocently looked up at him, not knowing what to say.

"Whoa. Be a little more careful there, young lady." The man said with a kind smile on his face. Catherine quickly gathered herself together. "Oh, I'm sorry, sir..." She said quietly, but then quickly regretted her words and her face turned into a straight expression. "Thank you." She said, a little more stern then the last. She quickly smoothed out her dress and put her bag comfortably on her shoulder again before turning away from the kind man and walking away towards the book shop again. She didn't even bother to look back at him to see his reaction or expression on his face.

"Damn you, Finn." She cursed at the calico cat that was now walking beside her, loud enough only for the cat to hear. The cat, what looked like to Catherine, had a playful smirk plastered on its tiny face. Catherine glared heavily at the cat before opening the door to the book shop.

Finn ran in ahead of Catherine, almost tripping her over again. Catherine scowled at the cat that was now looking back at her and waiting for her to enter behind himself. "Ever heard of ladies first, stupid cat?" She said stubbornly, again, only for the cat to hear. She didn't even bother to look up and see if she saw any of her friends or anyone that looked familiar was there. She was just so exhausted from the heavy bag on her shoulder....and she also didn't want anyone she knew to see her flustered face from falling earlier.

Catherine's eyes darted in every direction of the small store to see if there was any chair or something she could sit on so she could rest for a split second. Her eyes landed on a small chair off in the corner by some book shelves and she quickly headed over to that chair, Finn following closely behind her. She mumbled something as she plopped down in the comfy chair, letting the heavy bag slide off her shoulder and onto the ground. She buried her face in her hands as she sighed. She could hear some familiar voices talking about the small shop, but she didn't even bother to look up and see if she saw anyone she knew. She knew she needed to hurry up and get the books she needed, but she didn't have the strength right now. Her shoulder was aching and she was already exhausted. Finn jumped up onto Catherine's lap and quickly plopped down on it. She sighed heavily again. Now she knew she wasn't getting up anytime soon because of this stupid cat...

Fifth year. The year when O.W.L.S took place. The year that could make or break her future career depending on her scores. Of course, Megan wasn't extremely worried on that aspect. She was reasonably confident that she'd pass the classes she needed for next year, but it never hurt to take precautions. Megan wasn't going to be one of those promising students that went down in flames just because they thought they would breeze through these exams.

"Are you sure that you remembered to pack everything?" Megan looked over at her mom in the driver's seat and smiled. Her mother always insisted on driving her to Rhiamon Way just in case Megan actually ever did forget something. This was probably the third or fourth time she'd asked that, each time sounding more worried than the last. She didn't quite understand her mother's concern. It wasn't like this was her first year attending Gaol. It wasn't even the first time she would be buying her last-minute supplies by herself. Megan had started wandering Rhiamon Way on her own two years ago.

"Yes, I'm sure Mom. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." The car stopped near the entrance and Megan jumped out. She opened the back seat and pulled out her trunks and pet carrier. Her mom stepped out of the car and silently hugged Megan. Before Megan could respond, she was already back in the car driving away. Goodbyes had always been hard for her. Megan waved until the vehicle was out of sight, and then she turned towards Rhiamon Way with a smile on her face. She'd already gotten everything she needed over the summer, so there wasn't any need to go shopping. A good thing, too, because the bookstore looked completely packed.

Once at the ship, Megan found an empty compartment and placed her stuff above the left side window seat. She always chose to sit near a window whenever possible. Watching the water gave her something to do while they were traveling to Gaol. Megan turned towards the door in time to see a small gray blur rush past with something in its mouth. "What the heck was that?!" She rushed to the door and stared after the thing, finally realizing it was just a small cat. Not really anything to get overly excited about, especially since it was now a ways away. Megan grinned and was about to go back to her newly-claimed seat when someone suddenly slammed into the back of her.

"Oof!" Luckily, the wall had kept her from falling to the ground, with the expense of receiving a large bump on her forehead. Megan turned around quickly and saw Thomas Erener on the ground, looking stunned. He was mumbling something, probably an apology, but Megan couldn't quite tell. What if he had a concussion? "I'm so sorry, Thomas! I should have been paying more attention." She held out her hand to help him up. "Are you all right?"

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Want me to kiss it better?"

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Gwen didn't think anything could be as exciting as a new school year. You were able to see friends you hadn't seen since the end of school, there were new things to learn and a new year load of first years to start. Not to mention that delicious smell of fresh books. Gwen had made sure to purchase her books and the majority of her supplies as soon as she received the school list. That way she had been able to spend the remaining days before Gaol started reading through the texts and browsing what she was to learn this year. Of course, she still had some supplies to purchase, generally those that she would use in potions. That was way she was now making her way through the crowd of witches and wizards towards the potions shop. Of course, with a curiosity as strong as Gwen's the simple trip was proving longer than she had anticipated.

The bell above the door jingled as Gwen pushed it open, sliding into the dimly lit shop and letting the door swing shut behind her. The shop assistant glanced up from his desk, gave her a weak smile and then returned to his book. Gwen turned her gaze towards the shelves, pleased that the attendant wasn't the type to push his customers. The small shop was known as 'Perdix's Paraphernalia' and seemed to be filled with all sorts of items, ranging from used brooms and decades old books to balls of shining silver and cages filled with sleeping pixies. Gwen's eyes glittered as she gazed from one object to the next and she craned her neck back to gaze up at the top level of the floor to ceiling shelves. She picked up a compass and jumped slightly as the metal became quickly too hot to handle. She hastily replaced it on the shelf, next to a sculpture of a bird, possibly a partridge to be more specific. She glanced quickly at the attendant, but he hadn't seemed to notice her little moment of shock.

Once her curiosity was sated some twenty minutes later Gwen exited the shop, a little brown bag under her arm containing her purchase. She hadn't been able to go past the little metallic sculpture. It was about the size of her palm and made up of a variety of different coloured metals. It had been shaped into an otter, possibly Gwen's favourite animal and coincidentally she form of her Patronus. She brought the small item out of the bag and held it in her hand, bringing it up to her eye level to get a better look at it. She brought her want out and gave the metallic otter a tap on its head. Immediately the device came to life, it's tiny paws moving in the motion of swimming and propelling itself through the air. Guinevere assumed it was some sort of life-animation spell that made the object move as if it were alive when you tapped it. Or perhaps the metal had been dipped in a potion after it had been crafted into the miniature otter. However it had been made, Gwen found it fascinating and captivating. She wouldn't rest until she learnt how it worked and was able to build one herself. For that reason, as she watched the miniature otter 'swimming' around her head, she made a promise to seek out the library as soon as she was able and search for spells.

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Marcus stood in a dark shop off the main street of Rhiamon Way, scanning the spines of the books lining the shelves. The shop catered to a more mature clientèle than the one run by the Madsen family, or so Marcus had always thought. It was much smaller than the other store, appearing to stock more specialised books and offered a book seeking service that Marcus found particularly useful. It was this service that he was now waiting on, the owner of the store having run out the back to search for the text that Marcus had come in seeking a week ago. While he waited he browsed the rest of the shop, noting items that struck him as particularly useful. Naturally, books that dealt with magical creatures were high on his list. "My man lost his eye brows getting this." The owner said, bringing out a large, leather bound book. Marcus moved forward to meet the elderly man at the counter, taking the book from him as he reached it. The edges were slightly singed, the pages delicate and the title itself was only just visible, 'The Encyclopaedia of Dragons.' .
"Not many of these in circulation nowadays." He added, tapping the cover with a long fingernail, "They stopped printing only seven years after it was first published and replaced it with a newer version. Course, the new version doesn't cover the all the uses Dragon hide has or..."
"Yes, thank you." Marcus cut the old man off before he could begin a lecture on the differences between the two volumes. Marcus was well aware of the deficiencies of the 'newer' version, of course 'newer' was a relative terms when the both books were over a century old. Marcus had read the current version several times and had found it extremely informative, however he had been curious to discover what had been omitted from the older version and so had sought it out. "The price we agreed on." Marcus added, handing over a rather large amount of gold coins. You couldn't put a price on knowledge and luckily for Marcus his family had plenty of wealth, enough for Marcus to generally afford anything he wanted.

With his purchase carefully tucked into his satchel, Marcus left the shop and made his way back towards the main street. He had bought all his supplies earlier and now was planning on finding a quiet place in the Gaol school ship to begin browsing through his new purchase. However, as he rounded onto Rhiamon Way he caught sight of a group of people standing in and around the bookstore. The only member of the group who he was anything close to fond of was Chloe, a fellow Ursus member. She appeared to be having an altercation with a number of other students. In fact as he moved closer she saw her fist fly towards Eric, hitting him in the face before pushing him aside and sprinting away. She didn't appear to notice Marcus as she passed him. Deciding to postpone his study of his new book, Marcus turned on his heel and made his way after Chloe. He didn't run, not thinking it would befit his status. When he reached Chloe it was to find her leaning against a stone wall, possibly regretting her brash decision.
"You've improved your punches since I last saw you." he remarked, casually leaning against the wall beside her. A rare smile flashed across his face as he brought up the image of the boy scout getting socked by Chloe.

Odessa found herself walking around the Rhiamon Way, trying to think of any last minute things she needed before going to the ship. She made a mental check list, ‘ ‘Supplies? Yep. Quills? Yep. Books? Yep.’ She honestly couldn’t think of much she had forgotten. She usually had someone with her to help remind her, but she hadn’t really run into any of her friends on the street so far, so she was left alone.

If one was looking at her, they would think she was unprepared. She had a yellow sun dress on, and with her carts already loaded into the ship, she was left with a semi-large red bag. The bag had a ton of things in it, mainly due to the fact she was now legal age to perform magic outside of school, so she had an expansion charm on her bag. It was a hard charm, but she loved it, no longer having to worry about space. She had a crossword book she was going to work on later, but right now she was just wondering.

She did a quick ran into the book store owned by Liam’s family, who she was on friendly terms with, and wanted to see his adorable little sister, but they were out. Finding she couldn’t really find anyone, she began to walk towards the ship, taking the odd ways around. New York magic strips were fine, but she preferred New Orleans’, way more plant life and in her opinion, friendliness. She did see the Barrow twins, and even gave a friendly “ Heya!” To Zane.

As she walked, she noticed someone’s back, who she could honestly tell from any angle; Eric Greene. She honestly considered him to be one of her closest friends, and he had spent the summer with her family, up until he left a couple of weeks ago. Her family saw what a mess she was after, her mom started to tell her to ask him out, and if they got married, to not take his last name. Her sister was a major player in that, having drawn up several pictures, which made Odessa sigh at her family. She actually did have a picture form his stay to give him; It was him and her standing beside each other, laughing in front of an old theater she loved. She walked close to him, and once she was close enough, she went “ Guess who?” while covering his eyes. Not waiting for a proper response, she got in front of him, still walking forward. ”Eric! ‘ow ya been? W’at has it been; now and a half weeks? I got some food in my bag, if ya wanna share on t’e ride over.” She said in her rapid fire style. She was glad to see him again, made a little part of her extra happy.



Zane was walking with his twin, his very hasty twin, his twin who this morning had tried to slip an itching cream into his bag, but was caught and busted by Zane. That stuff spilled too often for his liking, and not in the beginning of the year was he going to risk that.

“You are being melodramatic again, Zeke!” Zane said, while rolling his eyes. He was walking slower than his brother, and only for around 28% because of the itching thing, the rest because he was calmer, however slightly, more than Zeke. He saw a group of students near where they were, both older and younger. He was planning a prank when that Odessa girl had said hello.

Zane looked at his brother. “You know we have some time, and most of the stuff is already loaded, right? You see that group up there?” He pointed at the group, and then noticing the girl running away, he saw it was Chloe, the only girl who shared him slightly. She hated them, mainly because she couldn’t appreciate a good joke. “It’s little miss joke killer. You know it’s her last year? Maybe she should start it out with a bang, you have any mini dung bombs?” A completely stinky Chloe is something that mad Zane smile, plus the small size of a dungbomb would be harder to tie to them, all they needed was to light the fuse and throw.

Zeke Barrow:

"Am not! We don't have any other form of transportation to get there! Besides, we can't risk missing it!"

Zeke said hello. And when Zane mentioned Chloe, his head started spinning with ideas. "Yeah they are next to the..." He started, when a large firecracker dropped out of his bag. The kind of firecracker that explodes spectacularly when it hits the ground. "Shit....LOOK OUT!"

Awkward turned away as the Firecracker went off, a large portion of the blast going everywhere. Not so much an explosion as a magical light show, but it knocked Zeke backwards, distracted everyone, and sent this one kid (Max) flying backward. A large portion of the firecracker also went in the way of Chloe and Eric.

Zeke, of course, broke out into laughter. "That was awesome! Zane, did you see that? Those firecrackers are going to be a blast! We should have gotten more!" He stood up, and looked at Zane. "Those are going to be great".

He then looked at everyone else, and his mind immediately realized something. "Uhh...sorry....accidental firecracker use". He was still smiling though, clearly enjoying what the firecracker caused.

---

Claudia breathed a sigh of relief. They'd gotten around the group in the doorway, and had avoided conflict. She was about to breathe a sigh of relief when Eric insulted Chloe.
Claudia was very tempted to facepalm, but that was nothing like her. Letting out an audible sigh, she looked her sister in the eyes. "Flavia, stay here while I go and sort this out." She muttered. She doubted she would do as she was told, but it was worth a try. She walked out from behind the bookshelves to see Eric and Chloe in the middle of a shouting match. Vivian, a girl that Claudia didn't know too well, but was familiar with, had crept in too. Claudia sighed and watched as Chloe seemed to 'fight' with herself, and then punched Eric in the jaw. Claudia thought this was strange, the way the girl had used physical violence instead of drawing her wand. Claudia sighed.
A little boy, a first year, from the looks of him, rushed in with his older brother in tow. Claudia seemed to recoil, not physically, but personality wise. He was a lot older than her, and if she recalled correctly, was responsible for bullying Liam. She heard the bright and chipper words of Aurora. Oh great. Flavia seemed extremely happy by this fact, and Claudia made herself not look as her sister tackled her with a hug. Claudia shuffled through the crowd gently to get to Liam, holding a small slip of paper in her hand. "Um, Liam, if it's okay..." Her eyes gazed at the floor, at her feet that seemed to shift her weight and scuff the floor of their own accord. Signs that she wasn't feeling very comfortable. "They're for, um..." She trailed off awkwardly, looking at him in the eyes and pulling a face. A familiar Irish voice rang in her ears, and she turned to see Jim arrive. She smiled slightly before turning back to Liam and sighing again. "Only if it's not too much trouble." She told him.
The door opened once again, and Thomas Decius walked in. In his hands he held something sure to set her sister off. She cringed as her sister squealed rather loudly, obviously rather excited. She muttered a quick "Sorry." to Liam, and an awkward smile. She looked over at the first years.

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Flavia wanted to see some action, so she did. Totally ignoring her sister, Flavia followed Claudia out from behind the book case and watched as the blonde girl hit one of the older boys. This wasn't Liam, Liam was with his sister, who Flavia desperately wanted to talk to. She was about to wave at her, when she saw an Asian girl sitting in a chair in a corner, with a cat curled up on her lap. Flavia thought the cat was adorable, a bit like Fizz. She walked until she was a little way away, before asking; "Is it okay to pet him or her?" She smiled at her, and waited until she spoke.
The door opened once more, and in walked Aurora, Flavia's favourite person. With a huge grin on her face, Flavia squealed loudly. "Aurora!!!" She half skipped, half ran over to Aurora, and tackled hugged her. "I missed you!" She looked over and saw her sister shuffling away, with the arrival of more older people, and one first year. She promptly let go of Aurora and introduced herself to the boy. "Hi! I'm Flavia!" She grinned at him happily, feeling very full of energy, perhaps because she was so excited. She almost didn't hear a male voice talking about the broom shop, but she caught the tail end of it, and turned around to see...
Was that an Aether V?!
"That is NO WAY an Aether V." She stated, walking over to it, and examining it carefully. "No way. It is!!" Her voice raised slightly. "Oh my gosh. How did you manage to afford it? It's, like, the newest in the Series!" She walked over to him. "Can I touch it?" She asked, not feeling weird in the slightest. How jealous would her dad be if she said she touched an Aether V?

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C H L O E

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It is true enough when they say that there is no rest for the wicked. As for herself, she could not say that she even had a lick of sleep these past two nights. This was all fine, she was used to it. She usually just laid herself down in bed and shut her eyes because she assumed that it was what most people did, whether she was tired or not. Where most people needed sleep every night, Chloe found that as long as she made sure to recharge herself every now and then she could keep herself going for much longer.

But right now, in this moment, her eyes were lead weights. They flickered like a candlelight that was near extinguished, closing shut and then opening wide. She'd really never been more tired. The sad fact is, they were not even at Gaol yet, but really so many things had happened in the space of an hour. She was aware at this point that it was her fault the events had unfolded the way they had. Well, it was really the Lord's wrongdoings that put her in this position, but she had acted accordingly. Was there really a choice, Chloe?

"You've improved your punches since I last saw you."

She really knew that a remark like that could have only came from one person. Marcus Altius to be exact, and really one of the only people that she could class as a 'friend'. Sure, there were acquaintances that came and went by the day, but they were often false friends brought only by the notion that they could 'change her'. Fuck changing.

"Was that a smile, Marcus?" Chloe teased, letting one corner of her mouth perk up. She pushed her palms on to the ground and got up off of the wall. "But was there really that many people? God damn it..." She bit her lip, leaning against the wall once more.

Just as she did there was a familiar sound of an explosion- not one on a large scale, granted- and sniggering came afterwards. Obviously, it was those dreadful Barrow twins. With a look of disgust she muttered "How immature can you get?" before turning back to Marcus.

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L U K E

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Truthfully, Luke was worried.

It was not exactly a good idea to leave exactly four hundred and ninety one animals on their own. One would be bad enough- imagine the complete mess of his room and the state of the self-crafted sketches that graced his walls. But four hundred and ninety one... you are basically asking for trouble to be laid in front of you. Not to mention these animals are not exactly those of sorts. They are beasts or creatures or whatever you want to call them. They are wild. Luke knew he could trust them on their own, though, but there was a twinge of worry running through his mind. What if. It was a simple enough question, but one that caused most to worry, as there is not definite answer.

Stop it Luke. You came here and you will stay here. It was your own decision. The only thing you should be worried about is the goofiness of your Hawaiian style board shorts. Really, though, nothing made him worry like the endangerment of his 'pets'. They were his pride and joy, his responsibility.

Elbows rested against the railing of the ship, he stared out on to the sea. He liked the sea. Knowing that when they left New York that all they would see for miles is the ocean comforted him in a strange way. He was glad he'd shoved on some sunglasses, though, as the sun was shining directly on to the ship and setting the water ablaze with light as navy waves crossed over each other in a battle for space.

Sighing in mild contentedness, he sat back on a sun-lounger and closed his eyes, slipping in to a light sleep.

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Megan sighed in relief when Thomas was able to easily bring himself upright. She watched him carefully as he seemed to get his bearings. He looked fine, and he wasn't keeling over or anything, so no lasting damage must have been done. "I'm sorry... I wasn't paying attention." Megan waved away his apology. Apparently there was a distinct lack of awareness today already. Hopefully this problem wasn't an omen for how the rest of her year was going to go.

Thomas still hadn't answered her question, but Megan figured it would be strange to ask again. She looked him over one more time, just to make sure, and was about to say goodbye when he finally responded. "Oh yeah, sorry. Yes, I'm okay." Megan smiled. "That's good to hear. But maybe I should stop popping out of my compartment and you should stop chasing after cats. At least until we get to Gaol." She realized that her statement, meant jokingly, could be taken offensively and Megan bit her lip. "Sorry." It was quiet for a minute or two when Thomas suddenly asked if she was okay.

At that moment, the cat that had caused the two to crash ran past them in the opposite direction. Megan didn't even have time to try and grab it before it was almost out of sight. "Sorry... The er-- That cat has my wand." She grinned as Thomas began to pursue the wand-nabber. Megan waved and called out, "Good luck!" before gently feeling her forehead. Yep, there was already some swelling going on. If she didn't find ice fast, her head was going to grow two sizes! But Megan had no idea where to get it from.

Megan walked a little bit down the hallway to the next compartment and looked inside. It was Carella, a girl in Cerva as well. "Maybe she will know." Megan knocked on the door before opening it slightly. "I'm sorry to bother you, but do you know where I could get some ice? I ran into the wall."