#strixhaven first year

[orcamorca]

Trying to figure out how to do armor. It is a never ending feeling of it looking wrong

[sirena-maga]

Meeting at the Commons - Part 2

Enzi didn’t know what she thought of this woman who just sat right next to her. It was turning out to be quite an interesting day and she hoped the student didn’t come to sabotage her pleasant time out of the dorm. The student seemed pretty confident and introduced herself at the ready.

“The name is Betzey, and these berries are delicious. I’m pretty food driven you know. Me and my pet Snooper… he is at the dorm right now. He is taking a nap this morning while I do a few things.”

“Snoopers?”

“He is my Blink Pup. I’m glad I could room with him during first year, would hate to Kennel him.”

“Oh…” How chatty this Betzey. She told her so many things all in one sitting and she carried on very confident of all she had to say. Maybe she would be a good orator. But then this pet of her was a different thing altogether. She was more familiar with sea and water creatures than four legged. Also some birds that were hunted for food as well as a few fish. But not Blink Pups.

“And your name…?”

Enzi had been more interested in her ponderings than of replying. “Ah yes…Uhm..I…I’m Enzi”. Her mumbling and stuttering really came out when she was not sure what impression she was about to give.

“Enzi…has a nice ring to it…I’ve seen you around, you are not as young as most first years. Kind of like me. Not that it’s unheard of but I think we are still the minority”

Enzi chuckled at her observation. “Right…? I did kind of noticed that too.” Then she came to the realization that Betzey had admitted she had noticed her before. Made her feel a freaky sort of double pulse in her chest, but she was not about to look even weirder than she was by showing she felt nervous. Instead she took one quick breath (still not sure what to make of this Betzey) and nodded while saying “Yes…” to herself, as if answering a silent question of whether she could continue with this interaction.

“Yes, what?”

“Oh nothing…uhm…how…how do you like the school so far.”

“oh pretty good…glad to be away from my Mom who doesn’t know what to make of all my talking to animals. She figured I had a talent but didn’t know what good it was for. So here I am, I am glad. I feel quite at home.”

Enzi nodded and let a little smile appear in response to Betzey’s comment.

“Me too…”

“Oh yeah…?”

Enzi grinned “..yeah…cept with me, it was kind of the whole village. But Yayi, that’s what I call my Mother…she knew I was meant to be here. She actually gets me a bit better than anyone.”

“Mom gets me too…in her own kind of annoying way…I guess we annoy each other.”

At this Enzi had to laugh. Sort of refreshing to hear someone being blunt and honest…in a non threatening sort of way.”

“We’ll I better get going before Snoops wakes up. Thanks for the delicious strawberries.”

“Sure, my pleasure…” She smiled, pondered the word pleasure, and she blushed.

She. Blushed. Like…when ever did she act all coy like her sisters?

This made Betzey grin sheepishly and she waved with one last “Bye…”

[sirena-maga]

Meeting at The Commons (part 1)

From the dorm to the classes and from the classes to the Biblioplex....and then back to the dorms. Enzi's life was quite the happy little solitary rhythm. Absent of social pressures that had nothing to do with her main interest, as it happened plenty of times at home. She decided this weekend, she would change it up a bit. The day before she had taken the time to sit on a bench and look at the surroundings of the Commons. It was prettier than what she had first remembered from orientation and touring. There were patches of grass and trees, flowers at the edges. But the sheer number of people had made her shy away from venturing out too much. She actually missed the outdoors, the option of bringing a book out to a beach, where she could look up from time to time and ponder on what she had just read. Or just relax to contemplate the horizons. Even in the busy commons, she was sure she could enjoy the shade of a tree and the softness of the grass. She would get ready today to spend the day outside. It was sunny, and the fall brisk air was at a comfort zone where knitted clothing could be layered over for warmth. She would go outside with her books, and a few goodies to take in the change of scenery.

Enzi was dressing very differently in Strixhaven then she did back home. Usually she went for tropic colors of blue and yellows, but in these fall days she chose a dress of rust red that resembled the falling leaves all around them. Weekends were made to be out of uniform, and usually that meant she went right into her coziest outfit, or even the pants and knits that would feel at ease with a morning walk to the library after grabbing some food. There the world would disappear in words tween the leather bind. The light reading she could do over the weekend before she delved back into her homework. Today was different because she would grab some coffee from the busy coffee shop and take a little blanket and basket to a grassy spot. Perhaps she would be able to watch people without earning too much attention.

Even if it was that small grassy knoll by Firebolt, she could claim a tiny space for herself. It seems her ancestors were indeed granting a strange sort of favor because the often boisterous commons and the vicinity of Firebolt seemed devoid of their usual amount of people. Everyone was unusually relaxed in their stance and not overly loud. This was great for Enzi, she draped the blanket over the grass, sat on it and placed the little basket beside her and her leather carrier with a few books right next to it.

She pulls out a jar of strawberries and the selected poems that would be her light reading of the day. The stanzas and lyrical verses moved her mind with beautiful images and emotions. Emotions that she was sure to hide away from plain sight. Eventually her studies pulled her attention back to the assigned reading and she left the volume of poems on the side to delve on Methods of Scribing. She had just began chewing on one strawberry when a voice filtered in through the thick veil of her studies.

“Maybe I should be friends with you to win some of those strawberries.”

She blinked twice to bring her attention to a young woman, about her age, who was talking to her.

“Oh no, you don’t need to be my friend to have some strawberries.”

That was a weird reply, but ok….she hoped the woman would not catch up with it.

“Is that some way of telling me to take some strawberries and leave?”

“Huh…?” She did catch it after all. “Oh…No…not at all.”

“Oh, so that means I can sit then.” A playful grin curled the woman’s mouth, but Enzi was too busy looking surprised. She was so reserved that people usually ignored her and if anyone displayed any interest- she was absolutely unawares.

“Uhm…yeah…it’ll be a better way to eat strawberries, that way.”

(To be continued…)