Welcome to Gaia! ::

Pan loitered by the door as long as he could, waiting for the bell and easily ignoring the scent of the lab. It had never bothered him, and probably never would. It was his natural habitat, technically.

What did bother him was the dark, unpleasant looking Fae who brushed past without so much as a glance, leaving the room for, presumably, a class of his own. Cute, though. he thought to himself, watching the body disappear apathetically down the hall.

Finally, the bell rang, and after a steady ten-count, he half-pranced into the room, and stared directly at the teacher, daring her to do something. She ignored him, good for her, and told everyone to grab an apron and take off their rings and bracelets. Pan expertly tied the apron behind himself and began rolling up the loose, gauzy sleeves of his shirt while he waited for further instruction. From the corner of his eye, he spotted what appeared to be a blonde woman making her way down the hall with single minded focus, and not on watching where she was going. But, he ignored it, in favor of science.

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Horatio mentally listed all the classrooms she past by, counting the doors carefully. Last time she'd tried finding a specific teacher, she'd barged into the wrong room and nearly had her head blasted off by ...well, by something, at least.

Certain that she'd found the right door, she didn't even bother to knock before popping her head into the room. It was definitely the right one, though. All the roots and fiddly faerie things. And cat hair, definitely cat hair, floating around in the air currents. "Tasartir, you in here?" she asked loudly, her body following the sound into the empty classroom.

She spied the fae in a childish staring and glaring contest with her cat, and sighed with relief. "Right, then. I've found you, and I have a question." She didn't pause for breath or acknowledgment. "What do I have behind my back? Can you tell?" Now, she waited, hoping for the right answer.

Too-pallid fingers swept through long silky tresses that only brought out the digit's lack of melanin. Thin lips were pursed even thinner in thought as a pair of silver spheres studied a bulletin, the long vertically slit pupil contracting momentarily to become almost nonexistent. The enrollment must have dwindled even more, or the posted list in front of him had simply made a mistake. Several teachers besides himself had classes cancelled for that morning, and some more than just one. As for his own opinion, the Vampire was glad enough that his History class had been aborted; the subject was the duller of the two he taught. But then, there were still two other History classes he had to teach, and although it was the lesser of the two, Darian enjoyed it all the same. To learn from the past was important for the young, in order to prevent the same atrocities.

"What to do with the short time I have, then . . . ." The growing sickly feeling in the back of his mind he ignored now. I still have time left yet. The thought came idly, as if he had been over it several hundred times already, which in some ways he had. When he had to feed, he would be compelled to, and he knew that, but for the time being it was suppressed, and for as long as he could he would.

Turning slowly from the wall he had been studying with a fluid grace that spoke of his nature, Darian set off down the hallway, almost seeming to simply float across the tile floor if one were not looking carefully. Finger and thumb fiddled unconsciously with the silver cross revealed beneath his collared dress shirt, contrasting sharply with the midnight hue of the cloth. If the top buttons had not been undone, he most likely would have simply placed the fingers on his throat. The cross was a reminder to him, both of what he was and his heritage, as well as the irony of his name. Leveque . . . "Bishop" . . . The last thing a person like me would become. The oddity of seeing a cross on a Vampire still quirked an eyebrow every now and again.

The halls were virtually empty now, the bell signaling the start of the morning classes having rung while he was still looking at the schedule. He heard a few hurried steps here and there throughout the school, his keen ears picking up signs that some students had decided to sleep in. A sniff told him he was passing the Biology room, oranges and formaldehyde rushing upon him unbidden. He had never cared for the art. The more subtle smells beneath the first hinted at races, the strongest of which narrowing his eyes a bit. Werewolves seemed to be appearing more often as of late, and far less of his own kind. He recognized Kiala's scent easily even smothered by the rest, which caused a flicker of thought. I suppose as far as their kind goes . . . .

Still unsure what to do with himself, the Vampire found that he had drifted to another hallway where he caught the sight of a familiar wave of blonde disappearing through a doorway. Although no expression showed on his smooth, more than handsome features, another may have clapped excitedly and ran to the door. Instead, he simply glided forward, taking note of the Wolf passing behind him. The smell filled his nostrils. Too many recently. Without faltering a step, he spoke quietly, yet loud enough for the 'boy' to hear. "If you have a class to get to, I would suggest getting there. I know some teachers that would not be well pleased with tardiness. If not, then enjoy the weather." Whether the other had payed attention or not was of no importance; students should not wander the halls unconcernedly.

Stopping as he reached the doorway, Darian waited patiently for the two to finish conversing before announcing his presence. True, he was silhouetted rather nicely in the door's frame, but even when the Vampire was completely and obviously there, he could be difficult to notice. The Shadows around him seemed to add to this effect, even the smallest appearing to almost bend the light around him. Almost.

"Hm?"

Momo perked, breaking eye contact with the cat and looking about until her eyes fixed on the mage. She smiled widely at her inquiry. "I wonder..." She held a pensive hand to her chin as she focused on her visitor, then beyond her and on what lied beneath her golden tresses. Her eyes were wide then, as she finally identified what the strange aura was.

"It's a bird! A unique one at that. Did you build it?!" Her excitement was all too obvious as she tried to look around the shorter woman. "Horatio dear, you never cease to amaze." She didn't wait for authorization before lifting up the silken curtain of hair and peeking below. She sighed as a realization hit her.

"Ah, it's not autonomous yet, is it?"

((Short! My apologies, I just didn't want to say/do too much so Lumi can do what she wills wink ))

Evie enthusiastically returned Miya's hug. Oh yes, she knew she and the witch were going to get along very well. Hearing Ms. McDowell tell them what to do she nodded and followed Miya to get and apron. She was as happy as her friend that they were in class together, but she had a feeling she wouldn't be quite as energetic as usual. Ms. McDowell's demeanor screamed that she was in charge, and since they were both lycans Evie could not help but have that submissive feeling.

To Evie, Ms. McDowell was the Alpha here, and even though she obeyed the other teachers she believed she would obey Ms. McDowell even more then the others. Sighing mentally Evie tied her apron behind her and once again followed Miya to their seats. She barely heard what her friend said to Pan when her eyes met those of a cat. Her eyebrows rose when the cat slipped away from the girl he was with and walked over to her.

Bending down to further observe the cat Evie's lips curved into a smile. "Well hello," Evie greeted the cat. Whatever worries and thoughts had before disappeared from her head. That is how it always was when she met a member of the cat family.

Momo watched Selene sniff at the bird tentatively before reaching to grace it with her paw. "What do you know, she loves it already. I must agree, this one was worth your time, look at how splendidly it works even when it's not complete." She clapped her hands together as the mage walked past her. "Hmmm... Dinner. Sure sounds nice, but only if I get to do the cooking. I've grown rusty as of late. I wonder why I haven't been cooking as much. Hmmm."

The elf continued to speak to both herself and Horatio as she followed after the shorter blond. "Perhaps it's because I have been busy? I can't recall with what as of now. Maybe Selene has been mis... Ah yes, she has. tricky critter she is!" Her voice seemed to grow even sweeter as she spoke the cat's name, hinting at some kind of motherly pride. Of course, that was habit for her. Even the school's doorman was spoken of with unexplained fervor.

Bringing her thoughts back to the moment, she couldn't help smiling to herself, it was always nice when miss Horatio was around, and it was good to see her interact with things that had an actual pulse. She noticed the man at the door just a second before Horatio hit the floor. "Oh." She rushed to help the mage up while greeting Darian with the same familiarity she offered everyone.

"Ah, Mr. Leveque. Your presence is as always, most pleasant." She patted Horatio's clothes back into order before turning to look at the silent vampire. "You too need dinner?"


((Please do excuse her, she has a bad caring habit. razz I know some of her questions seem a tad out of it, but that just how she is. Let me know if I need to edit wink ))

Not even an eyelash twitched as the blonde traipsed directly into him, falling to the floor with about as much grace as a beached whale. He may have been amused, had he not seen it coming, yet he offered what he presumed was an apologetic smile - the Vampire had never been very well adept at social customs - and offered a pallid hand. To the touch, it would have felt like ice, yet the gesture was meant in warmth enough to where he hoped it would assuage the cold enough. Or so he could hope.

"Pardon my intrusion," he began, addressing them both in his smooth voice, hints of a French accent just on the edges, "Many classes seemed to have been cancelled, and I was simply searching for something to fill the short time until my next session." The offered hand lay perfectly still. "And no, Miss Tamaranth, I have not come to force any person into anything. Coercion, however, may pose as a possibility. And to you, Miss Tasartir, I would have to respectfully decline your offer. Subsistence and I do not get along very well, so I fear all I would stand as would be dead weight. I thank you, though."

Turning his attention back to Horatio for the moment, he studied her, from blonde tresses to delicate shoulders, though he let his eyes wander no further than her own. The silver-surrounded slits pulsed once, expanding and contracting before settling back to a sliver. She was pretty, in his mind's opinion, and if slightly unawares sometimes, the personality he had witnessed intrigued him slightly. No delusions of any intimacy even attempted to pervade his thoughts. After all, even if it was not obvious to anybody else, he could see where her preferences lie. A woman that loves women. I can not say I blame her in the least. A smile would have appeared on another's lips, yet this was Darian. His features remained stoic and smooth as he waited for Horatio to either refuse or accept his hand.

Miya was doing her best to pay attention when she got back to her seat, when movement caught her eye. She looked over to Evie to see what she was doing, and tilted her head curiously. What was her new friend looking at? Miya too, bent her body slightly to get a better view of what was under the table, her pointed hat almost slipping from her head at first. "Aww...." She whispered. "How cute!"

The witch jumped slightly when she heard Mrs. McDowell start to call names, and looked up quickly, waiting to hear her own name called. "Yes ma'am." She said sweetly, excited to start class and doing what she could to make a positive first impression. Still, she couldn't help but look again to the small animal under the desk with a smile.

She stood up again, when she heard the teacher giving further instructions, and looked over to Evie, wanting to walk with her to the sinks. Once Evie was up, she headed the same direction as the other students did, looking over when she noticed another witch's cap, blinking in confusion before quickly getting her materials so she go introduce herself. 'I can't believe it!! Another witch! This is so great!' Miya hadn't seen any others of her kind in the entire time she had been here, and it was comforting to see someone she could relate well to.