Anneliese was tapping her fingers lightly on the seat next to her in tune to the music blasting from her headphones. With her head resting on the train window, she watched the scenery zoom by in a blur of color. Her cabin was slowly starting to fill up with students, a few of them familiar faces she'd seen in her previous years at the school. The rest were the first years, fumbling about with their things in confusion.
Anne would usually have been more talkative, but for some reason, she just wasn't in the mood. Her stomach was a pit of anxiousness and excitement. Although she had been attending Magnus for a many number of years, she still couldn't help but be nervous. Her thoughts drifted to what the coming year would be like.
Her train of thought was interrupted by a tentative tap on her shoulder. Taking the earphone out of her left ear, she looked up at the person who had called her attention. It was a young girl who looked to be another first year. "W-Would you mind if I sat here?" she inquired quietly. "No, not at all," Anneliese replied with a smile. The girl gratefully sat down, but seemed to be wary of the while ball of feathers sitting in Anneliese's lap. Callidus turned his glittering eyes towards the girl and let out a piercing screech. The poor girl almost jumped out of her seat. "Don't worry, he's harmless," said Anneliese. "Aren't you now?" She playfully poked Callidus on his beak, to which he ruffled his snow white wings and turned away.
When the train arrived at its destination, Callidus perched on her shoulder as she got her stuff and headed towards the boats. She settled in a boat with some others and it headed over the water to the school grounds. Callidus hopped onto the edge of the boat and carefully inspected the water. By now, the stream of students entering the school had thinned out, as the ceremony had probably already begun. Her train must've been late. She walked into the great hall and quickly found a seat at the Arietem table with Harvey, Lucius, Ivan and Sebastian.
As quickly as she had come, the ceremony ended, and everyone started herding the first years to their respective dorm towers. With a sigh, Anneliese got up and joined the mob of people surging out of the grand hall.