The Students' Rooms

Indeed, as each student found the numbered door that led to their room, they would step inside to find what was luxurious accommodations for some, and meager beyond bearing for others: A small room, with two beds alongside the left and right walls, and two desks beyond the foot of each bed, against the far wall. An empty bookcase stood between the two desks -- indeed, the desks and bookcase abutted each other, both being built directly into the wall.

There were two nooks to the left and right of the door, just as one entered the room. These were curtained off, with plain white curtains. Stepping inside, the students would find a dresser and mirror, as well as a space to hang their clothes. And those who had arrived without much in the way of clothes, whether through poverty or oversight, would find that their dresser drawers and hangers came stocked with a selection for them to choose from.

Peridot turned the brass handle and pulled the solid wooden door open. She peered out, looking up and down the hallway beyond, before stepping out. She twisted the bracelet on her left wrist subconsiously as she walked down the hall toward the staircase. Her brown, ankle boots clicked loudly in the emptiness. When she did reach the stairs, she grabbed the railing and peered over, before turning and beginning the walk back to her room.

"Of course not," said Alina, with a small smile. "They shall get better use of the windows than I, after all."

With that wry comment, she headed for the door, managing to find the door-knob without too much trouble. Assuming Phoebe followed, they emerged from the room together, finding themselves back on the long balcony overlooking the Great Hall. Nearby were two girls, presumably the 'neighbors' Alina had mentioned.

The dark-haired girl turned in their direction and offered a small wave. "Hello! Are you new students as well? I'm Alina, and this is Phoebe. We're in 118."

She then tilted her head, seeming to 'look' at Allyse, despite her sightless, milky eyes. Her expression was slightly bemused. "Is that... an animal of some kind? You didn't smuggle it in, did you?" Her voice was more intrigued than concerned, however.

Phoebe sighed in relief, thankful to have such a bearable roommate. She didn't know much about the school, but she had heard that many of the students could be rude and unkind. While she had her moments, she wasn't sure she could live with someone like that everyday. The brunette slid off the bed and followed her roommate back into the hall.

As they approached two other girls, she remained behind her guide. It was odd how much easier the blind girl seemed to get her bearings in this maze of a place. Once Alina had uttered her greeting, she joined in waving, but remained silent. She suppressed a girlish giggle when she sighted the cat. Phoebe had this quirk where any cute animal made her giggle a little and feel immensely happy. It was distracting and entirely inconvenient, but cats are cute.

"He's adorable. What's his name?" She asked with an excited smile.

Allyse heard the door to 118 open and glanced round to see a dark haired girl with misty eyes and a brunette walk outside, the brunette following behind the other girl slightly.

Allyse watched as two girls walked up to them, "Hay! My names Allyse, but call me Ali, and this is April," She than held up Coal out in front of her, "This is coal, and of course I didnt smuggle him in, he's my familiar! And I know right! I love how cute he is!" She said while drawing the animal back and snuggling into the creatures fur.

Allyse rushed over to stand next to the girls, "So you seem really nice. Do you want to come exploring with me and April?" She said while jumping up and down at the prospect of making more friends on her first day.

Phoebe, about to accept the April's offer, jumped at the sound of the resonating screams. Her eyes glanced around the room trying to decipher where the sounds were coming from.

She wasn't certain if she should be worried or annoyed, but she hoped that this was not normal behavior. With a nervous voice she asked the other girls in her party, "Do you think we should go check that out? I mean someone could need help.

She rubbed her finger tips together as she waited for their answer. She had developed this nervous habit over the years. It brought her comfort because she originally only did the act as she was about to tend to her garden. She looked hopefully at Alina, perhaps she'd like to join her.

"I'm not sure," Alina replied, her confident voice gone a touch uncertain, though it gets firmer as she continues: "It came from Room 218, if the numbering is logical. But I'm not sure how to get there from here."

For those who can look around to see, it became apparent that there were no stairs from the first level balcony to the second. They'd have to descend to the Great Hall, and then ascend the opposite set of stairs.

"Are we even allowed up there?" Phoebe questioned as she glanced up at the ceiling. "I wouldn't know how to get up there either." She shrugged a little, giving another worried look above. "Maybe some girls are fighting."

After a few moments of silence, she asked, "What do you think?"

"There's someone else up there knocking on doors," reported Alina -- and indeed, if they listened very closely, the others could hear a faint knocking from above. "I guess if something bad has happened, we'll hear about it soon enough."

April

Truth be told, she really didn't want to go looking around for what the scream was. In fact, instinct told her otherwise. Screams meant something bad was happening, and considering it sounded like a girl's scream...well she didn't want to think about it.

She still went along with her roommate, as well as the 2 other people they had picked up (who had ignored her, their attention drawn to the cat). She mentally tutted at the architecture of this place...it was pretty, but seriously. Who didn't have a stairwell connecting two floors? Whoever designed this place was an idiot. Really, having to go all the way downstairs just to go up one extra floor was stupid, in her opinion anyways. Maybe this was just some high-luxury thing. An 'aesthetic' choice versus efficiency. Ugh. She was glad she was dressed so lightly. It'd be hell to drag so many layers up those steps.

There was another person up here. A...girl? She thought? She wasn't entirely sure...the person reminded her of some of the strangely efeminine men who tended to walk the streets with the other prostitutes. Not that she really cared. She waited, arms crossed, as her roommate knocked on the door.

Phoebe resigned to leaving the disturbance alone, but when the two other girls had taken off in search of the source, she followed.

With a quiet voice, she turned to her roommate and asked, "They've left. Do you need help?" With Alina's permission, she would take her elbow and help guide her behind the rest of their group.

When Phoebe arrived, Allyse was knocking on the door. Unsure of what to do, she waited in the background. Phoebe didn't want to be in the way, but she also didn't want to be too far from the group. She'd followed the other girls into the hall and had no idea how to get back to her room.

"Oh no, I'll be quite all right, as long as they're actually going the right way." The blind girl followed the others with apparent confidence, though she did make use of the rail of the stairs leading down to the Great Hall.

"I see... souls, I suppose," she said conversationally, as she and Phoebe walked together across the Great Hall, towards the opposite set of stairs. "Not in any detail, mind you. But I can tell where people are, at least," she said, as she detoured around the Chatelaine who still stood in the center of the room.

The stairs led up to a balcony around the circumference of the Great Hall, similar to the one they'd come from, albeit one level up. Like theirs, it was lined with numbered doors, the numbers formed in brass. Allyse was knocking on the door labelled 218.

"Hello! No ones dead in there right?!" The lively brunette shouted.

"Don't worry," said Alina quietly to Phoebe, hanging back with her. "Nobody's dead."

Phoebe was surprised to say the least at Alina's confession. It wasn't terribly different from her own abilities. Being able to transfer life energies led to being able to sense them. She was sure it wasn't as intense as seeing someone's soul though.

"Wow, what do they look like?" Phoebe was genuinely interested in the powers of others. Despite living on the street, she'd never really known anyone else with powers. She added a little respectful nod to the Chatelaine as she passed.

At the quiet words of the girl, Phoebe sighed in relief, but then added, "Maybe they don't want to answer. It really isn't any of our business. Everyone seems to be alright."

Cecil, who had stopped knocking and was quietly following the other girls, peeked over the many shoulders and bobbing heads to see the same sight as before : a blood-stained girl who was grinning straight at another, who seemed to be backed up far away from her roommate. The latter seemed relatively clean, and the former's tongue was well intact.

Then what was a piece of muscle doing on the floor...?

"...um...is there anything alright in there, madams?" Cecil spoke over the other girls.

Phoebe wasn't able to see into the room past the group of people that had amassed. The small hallway was crowded with people and she was beginning to get uncomfortable. After Allyse's outburst about searching for someone with a missing tongue, Phoebe decided she'd had enough adventure for one night, perhaps for a lifetime.

She excused herself to those that heard her from the rest of the group, "I'm glad everyone is alright, but I still have some unpacking to do." This was a lie, she hadn't brought anything that needed to be unpacked, but she also didn't want to be rude and just leave.

She nodded a farewell to Alina and meandered down the hallway, if only to find her way to the Main Hall.

Phoebe would have a difficult time misplacing the Great Hall, for in a sense she was still in it -- the student rooms were accessed via balconies that ran along three of its four walls. She could look down from where she was and see the Chatelaine below, still standing in the center of the Hall. Once she had made her way along the balcony and around back to the stairs, she could then cross the Hall and take the other set of stairs back up to the first tier, where her own room was.

It was a bit of a strange arrangement, to have to go down two flights and then up one. It seemed possible that they'd missed some more convenient means of getting between levels, in their haste. If Phoebe looked around, she would note that in addition to the numbered student rooms along each of the long walls, the 'short' wall -- which was certainly only relatively short -- had three doors. The ones near the left and right corners were labelled 'Ladies' and 'Gentlemen,' respectively, while the one in the center was larger, an arched double door, and unmarked. Should she choose to enter it, she'd find that it opened on a small room that provided access to a set of stairs, as well as to a second door that led onwards.