Welcome to Gaia! ::

Obviously, the office of the headmistress of this newly established school had to be in existence. She'd stay here almost as often as she would in her quarters, opting only to leave for assemblies and the like. This current headmistress kept an immaculate office, keeping it far past clean, with no plants. The hardwood floors gleamed in the blue flame of the gas lighting.

The office, rich with cherry-wood inlaid into the ebony wood, featured a desk, and bookshelves, filled to the bookends, two carved lion heads of alabaster stone, with texts about pedagogy, history, math, English, French, art, and music. On the walls of smooth-hewn stone was a map of the Empire, framed and matted, as well as the two previous headmasters. Her green felted desk was clean, aside from the black blotter, an inkwell, two pencils and a pen.

All events taking place in the HM's office will be played here.

Traversing the campus was a daunting task for Lucian, though it was made easier now by not having luggage to worry about and there being fewer people in the halls. Lucian had never seen so many people his own age in his life --granted, of course, he had never really seen many people in his life, but adding "his own age" seemed to make being here that much more important, for there were persons his own age.

He made decent time --or so he supposed --and needed consult his student map every here and there. Lucian had determined that, apart from the experience being wholly new, there was really nothing truly remarkable on the way from the dorms to the office of the headmistress; certainly, there were a number of fine apertures in the architecture, a handful of wall-mounted paintings, and the odd gadget or two --which would require later study --but overall, there was nothing truly exceptional. Even the families saying good-bye that Lucian passed on the first floor were rather hum-drum, for the most part; the most intriguing of them was a rather large gathering of tall people wishing off a rather tall child, and then they were only made interesting because one --and only one --of them was in a wheelchair, and so stood apart a head below his fellow's shoulders.

Such was not Lucian's main concern, at the time, however. He had yet to resolve this business his father had set him about at leaving. The antechamber of the headmistress' office was quite empty --a most unexpected circumstance, considering the general bustle right outside of it. There, however, was the door that plainly stated "Headmistress" and bore the seal of the University. His father had said that one should always knock before entering another person's chamber, so knock is what Lucian made to do --that is, he stopped halfway, with hand raised. He brought his hand down and paced a bit in front of the door.

"Right --um... knock, then wait... oh dear... um..." He spent a number of moments thus mumbling at himself before once again attempting to knock and once again halting short.

"Headmistress --um... guardianship. Right." Lucian stood still in front of the door and once more made to knock. This time, he managed three short raps upon the portal, and calmed himself considerably as he waited for a response.

Lucian couldn't help but tense a little as the voice from inside ordered him to enter. He did so quickly, and was struck by the sheer cleanliness and order of the room. It all seemed to work together to a message: "This is the University. This is where you are." Walking in almost felt like trespassing, but that feeling was one he had been slowly becoming accustomed to since leaving home. She had paperwork on her desk and an air of order about her; Lucian remembered he was here on business, and should go about it. His father had said before he left, to always introduce himself before speaking to new people. Lucian began in a tone befitting a student addressing the administrator of his school.

"My name is Lucian Rix; I'm a new student here. I hope I'm not interrupting anything." His father had told him to speak curtly and politely. The rest of what he was trying to say, however, seemed to lag a little behind. He could not, for the life of him, remember what he was supposed to say next --something about legal custody and great distances. His voice faltered, and he could only conclude his statement with a shaky "um..."

Glad of something to fill the void his voice was creating, Lucian crossed the room and sat in the indicated chair. She seemed to have a rather forceful tone, and Lucian found himself squirming slightly in the chair. Sit still, his father had said, and don't slouch. Lucian was finding it rather difficult to perform the former and avoid the latter. He had his hat in hand, and his fingers kept tracing the brim. The headmistress had a most unnerving manner about her.

It was almost as if, despite what she said, one was, in fact, interrupting something of such import that not even another's presence could deter her from its completion. She shuffled papers before speaking; she shuffled papers while speaking; and she shuffled papers after speaking. Lucian was desperately trying to remember exactly why he was there --the faster he could get that over with, after all, the faster he could get out!

After another brief moment of silence broken only by the incessant shuffling of documents, Lucian recalled his father's errand.

"Oh, yes, um, quite. I --that is, um... my father told me that I --err, should, I mean say. the thing, with... something about..." his own mouth seemed to rebel against him, even torture him --he knew what he had to say, after all, why couldn't he just say it?

The papers! The papers! At last, the headmistress stopped shuffling those terrible demons, and, with that action, seemed to stop shuffling Lucian's mind as well. The headmistress' tone seemed the sole drag that drew Lucian's response.

"When my father sent me off, he told me I should make fast certainty of my legal guardianship upon my arrival here in London." Finally! It was out! The situation, however, was no less unnerving than before. Perhaps he should have thought things out more carefully at first --the school, after all, was certainly full of responsible adults. Having considered that beforehand would have spared Lucian the need to see this most daunting woman. She did not seem very pleased by his presence.

'Oh dear! Now I've done it. Apologize. Apologize and leave.'

"My father told me that, with such distance involved... but, erm... you are right. I'm sorry to trouble you." He had really only wanted to say "I'm sorry to trouble you," but he started out different for some reason. Lucian decided the less often he had to personally deal with this woman, the calmer he would most certainly be. He forced himself to calm down a little, and concluded as his father told him he should --by asking permission to go.

"Terribly sorry --erm... by your leave, then, Headmistress?" She was back at the papers again. Lucian was hopeful she would simply dismiss him without further incident --then again, this woman seemed quite familiar with incident.

Lucian considered saying something, but decided for a nod instead, 'lest he once again make a fool of himself. As both he and the headmistress stood, Lucian saw she was the shorter of them, and was much surprised of it --after all, this woman was positively terrifying. Crossing the room felt almost like freedom, but he was once again stopped by the imposing headmistress.

Her words were kinder, or so Lucian thought, and she had smiled briefly. It seemed to take relatively little away from her image of utter power and constant business, but whisked Lucian out the door all the same. He was certain, upon exiting, that he had never been so glad to be rid of a room in his entire life. He took a few steps in the direction of the dorms, but decided to examine his student map once more. Perhaps now would be as good a time as any to familiarize himself with the layout of the castle.

There were still throngs of people about, however, so Lucian concluded that it was probably not the best time to get lost among them. Learning his way to the dormitory seemed as valuable as going to the library or some other place, so Lucian set off for the dormitories once more.

The hallways went endlessly on, but Kyne knew that in time, they would shorten as he became more familiar with the university. Ah, a door... but not just any door. It shone with a golden light; it was his destination. Kyne grinned. Bah. It was no golden light. There was some sort of plaque on the door designating the room's owner; the headmistress.

Kyne hadn't met the headmistress that many times. In fact, if he had, it had probably only been once. He sighed and raised his fist to rap on the door quickly. How would science ride at this univeresity? He was about to find out the admin view.