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 Posted: Sun Dec 08, 2013 6:49 pm
 Your first impression of the dorms is that you've walked into an addition of the library.
Unlike last year, where books were scattered around the room in precarious stacks, new shelves have been built to hold the copious amount of books in the Ekaterina dorms. Most of them seem to be overdue books that never made it back to the library, but there are some personal books that older students seem to have left behind. There are a few rare books that even the main library doesn't have. If you can't find information there, the Ekat Dorms are the next best place.
The walls, once covered in maps and charts of various ages, are now mostly stripped clean of the more ancient documents. In fact, the only thing that is clearly not a map on the walls is the painting of the house crest, a dragon prepared to breathe flame. There's a map of Wales with the main area written in detail, a fold-out map of the campus (it's quite large), and a map of Nimue's Forest. The forest map looks incomplete and has several different styles of handwriting on it.
More impressive than the forest map is the map of the Catacombs, made up of several pieces of paper. It looks like it's been pieced together over the years, but still isn't close to being completed. Some pieces lie behind others to exhibit the different levels of the Catacombs. It's kind of impossible to tell if the map is accurate or not, so you turn away for now.
Like the other dorms, this one has a simple layout. In one corner is a piano, which changes the music it plays based off the time of day and year. It won't play any music it deems "trashy" though, and only stops when all the candles in the dorm have been blown out. In the other corner is a table with neat stacks of parchment and a cup of quill pens for ease of note taking. Couches and armchairs are crowded around the fire.
To the right is the kitchenette, which is not quite as well-stocked as the Tomas dorms kitchen but certainly better than the other two. The pantry is usually stuffed with baking supplies, and the grocery list is on the fridge. Once a week fresh food appears in the fridge and pantry, thanks to the staff of the school. (Or maybe the groundskeeper just makes really big trips. Who knows.)
Upstairs, there are two large dorm rooms, simply labeled Left and Right. You can pick whichever one you want to bunk in; they're both the same so it makes no difference. Bunkbeds line the walls, with soft golden sheets and quilts, fluffy pillows, and a dresser in between each bunk. Both sides also have bathrooms with an adequate amount of toilets and showers.
However, the bathroom on the Left holds a secret, according to a map of the Ekaterina Commons - there's supposed to be a way to open a hidden entrance to the Catacombs, but nobody, not even the Council, has found a way to open it yet...
Welcome to the Ekaterina Commons and Dorms!
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Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2014 10:19 pm
Averill wandered in, dwarfed (ha ha) by his giant backpack.
He gazed around the main room, dropping his bag to the floor with a 'thunk' that caused a stack of books nearby to topple over.
"Well then. It appears I'll be living in a library." He stated to himself to break the musty silence, then began dragging his bag up the stairs.
Ka-bump
Ka-bump
Ka-bump
ALL the way up the stairs.
He heaved the bag onto the bed closest to the door and then shuffled downstairs again, this time paying closer attention to the walls.
Maps, maps everywhere.
He grinned, peeling one off the wall, laying it across his lap as he sat in a beanbag.
Dwarves loved their maps- mostly because when you lived underground it was difficult to find your way around without one- there was no sun or landscape as a point of reference.
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Questionable Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2014 10:52 pm
[boo.]ɴαoмι prιтcнeтт
With each ka-bump, Naomi's patience thinned. When it finally stopped, and nobody had stepped into the girl's dorm, she stood up from her bottom bunk and crossed the hall to investigate, but all she found was a backpack and some spilled-over books. Definitely signs that someone had been here, but they'd moved. Frowning, Naomi crept down the stairs to check the common room.
Yup, as she'd expected. A boy. Plopped on a beanbag in the corner, and getting his probably greasy fingers all over one of the commons' maps. Naomi realized she was scowling, rearranged her face into a pleasant expression, and said, "I'm guessing you're a first-year? I haven't seen you around."
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Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2014 10:58 pm
Averill stopped mouthing the labels on the map to himself for a moment, and looked up. And a little bit further up.
Surface girls were tall!
"Yes, I am a first year." He stated, nodded, then looked back down at the map.
There was something in the tone of her voice....something....disapproving.
That something ticked over his his mind after a split second, and he hastily stood, going to tack the map back up.
"I'm sorry I thought it was okay to take the maps down to look at them!" He apologized over his shoulder, stretching with all his might to reach the top two corners of where it had previously hung.
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Questionable Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2014 12:00 am
ɴαoмι prιтcнeтт
Geez, if he weren't so gangly, I'd peg 'im for a dwarf. "Don't worry about it, they get taken down a lot to get remarked anyway," Naomi replied, gesturing to the well-worn map of Nimue's Forest. "The upperclassmen go on mapping trips to the Forest and the Catacombs all the time. A couple of the maps are pretty old though." She pointed to another one, tucked away in the corner that was nearly covered by other maps. "That one apparently once led to El Dorado, but it's been outdated for a few hundred years." There's also the box of gloves that we wear when handling the older stuff right next to it. You know. Just mentioning it. "What's your name? Did you arrive today?" she asked, still maintaining that warm-yet-not smile.
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Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2014 12:27 am
Averill nodded, jumping a little to push the blu-tacked corner back on, then turned around, looking at all the places she gestured.
Obviously he figured he wouldn't be able to go on these mapping trips until he was more experienced, so he didn't find it terribly exciting. It was just a tidbit of information to store away and study later.
"El Dorado...?" He echoed quietly, eyes widening. He wondered how many beautiful pieces his dad could craft out of the fabled gold of that lost city, and his eyes went a little vacant for a moment.
"Oh. Right. I'm Averill Hammershod." He extended his hand in greeting to the girl, stepping up to her, once again amazed that she was over 5'3".
"I arrived at approximately 2pm today." He replied exactly.
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Questionable Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2014 1:35 am
ɴαoмι prιтcнeтт
Naomi waved a dismissive hand. "El Dorado," she echoed. "There was apparently plans for a big expedition there, but the rep my first year decided it wasn't worth the effort and closed it down early." She shrugged and accepted the hand. "Naomi Pritchett, third year. My mom put me on an early train so I came last night." She glanced around the room; there weren't any signs of any others just yet. "You're the first Ekat, then? Did you see any other first years?" Did you shower before you came? Like, you don't smell, but you look kinda grody.
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Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2014 5:50 am
Averill pursed his lips a little, rubbing the area where stubble might have been on his chin if he wasn't a halfy. That students had planned to do an expedition to someplace as fantastical as El Dorado, and then simply scrapped it, well, that opened up the opportunity to try again one day. Maybe if a different senior could be convinced- or if a tutor could realize what an opportunity it was..."It is good to meet you, Miss Pritchett."He finished shaking her surprisingly soft hand and dug his own hands into his pockets, feeling somewhat alienated by her un-ruggedness. It seemed so alien compared to girls he'd grown up with. He almost didn't know how to respond, except with automatic politeness. "I have not seen any other Ekaterines since arriving," He laughed nervously, realizing his mistake "Except you, of course, haha."That laugh sounded forced. She's not buying it."Ah, Er, But, I'm sure there will be others soon." He stumbled on with his explanation "The train wasn't empty..." His voice trailed off and his eyes flicked around the room. Evacuate! Retreat! You're not impressing anyone here!
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Questionable Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2014 4:36 pm
(I'll do something nicer in terms of coding laterr)
The doors slammed open with a loud 'BANG!', revealing Sylvia standing there with one of her legs up. She was adjusting the strap of a dufflebag in one hand and carrying a small palm sized bunny in her other, which seemed to have it's mouth attached to the side of her hand. "Wow!" Sylvia exclaimed after a moment of silence. "They really oiled up the doors this year! Usually it's a b***h to kick open."
With that she merrily strode in, humming a tune under her breath as her eyes flicked between Averill and Naomi. She seemed to be observing the two. "So," Sylvia began with a friendly grin. "Who are you two again?" Sylvia was pretty sure she knew who the girl was, but the kid sitting on the couch seemed new.
She seemed to be unaware of the fact the bunny was still biting into her palm.
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Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2014 5:25 pm
[man that coding's fine tbh]ɴαoмι prιтcнeтт
Well, he's nice, I'll give him that. Naomi opened her mouth to ask another question, but she was interrupted by a loud SLAM! Startled, she looked up and frowned. "Don't slam the door! You'll damage the charts," she said. Ugh, were you raised in a BARN? It took a few seconds, but finally the girl's face clicked. Her. "Hey, you're the one that ripped the 15th century sea chart last year!" she exclaimed. Crud, what was her name? It started with an S. Syllable? No, that was stupid. Silver? Ugh, too... ugh. Sylvester? Definitely not. Whatever, Naomi was sure the girl was going to tell them her name anyway.
"Naomi Pritchett, I was here last year," she said, folding her arms. She glanced at the rabbit... thing. Weird. Well, it was chewing on the girl's hand and not on hers, so Naomi didn't really care.
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Questionable Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2014 8:35 pm
((Screw pretty formatting)) Averill wasn't startled in the least by the loud noise, in fact, he was thankful. The girl with her leg in the air was a little strange though. He simply remained quiet and watched her cross the room till proper etiquette revealed itself. Naomi seems to be the cave co-ordinator for this area."Averill Hammershod, it is my first year." He followed suit after Naomi, but then stepped over and extended his hand to shake. This girl is even taller than the other one! At what point do humans stop growing? He mused to himself. Apart from that, she was a bit more what he was used to- all rough skin and scars. The flaw in his plan was that he'd expected to shake the hand of hers which the rabbit attached to it. He pulled a face and let his hand drop. Rabbits were smelly pests. "Is that a rabbit currently biting your hand?"
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Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2014 9:33 pm
(( LOL I guess. Here I am on my iPod so sorry for mistakes // goodbye 2 formatting. Actually and writing quality. Goodbye to everything ))
Wow, this girl sure was pissy about her maps. Sylvia had been accidentally putting tears in the map littered wall since she was new, so any semblance of shame had been put out of her years ago. Besides, she figured her contributions to the newer maps cancelled out her wrong doings. Probably. "Relax, these things are bound to get torn and messed up eventually." She replied with an easy going smile. "The gloves are good, but having a bunch of easily tearable maps plastered on the wall is just looking for trouble. Besides, maps can be redrawn!" Actually if Sylvia remembered right, redrawing maps was a punishment for Ekat kids.
She laughed a little at how Naomi identified her, completely carefree. She remembered a bratty second year with the same name, but it wasnt like the two had ever talked before. Oh well, Sylvia had dealt with her fair share of bratty kids. "Sylvia Wood, fourth year." She announced to the two of them, flashing a wide grin. "Nice to meetcha, Naomi and Averill. Feel free to come to me if either of you have some trouble, kay? I'll beat up your bullies and read you bedtime stories when you have nightmares."
She was a little taken aback by how tiny Averill was. Tilting her head to the side, Sylvia's expression morphed into something similar to awe. "Wow, you're short." She commented. Sylvia wondered offhandedly if she could pick up the first year, and watched him raise his hand before dropping it back down again. Sylvia held up her own hand when she noticed how he seemed to be giving it an apprehensive look, grinning at Averill's question.
"Ah, right. This is Cinnamon!" Dropping her duffel bag to the floor, Sylvia carefully wrenched the bunny like creature off of her palm. There were indentions in the form of a bite mark and some of the skin seemed to have ripped a bit of skin. "She may look like one, but Cinnamon is actually a small demon or something. Found her behind the dorms second year, I think. She's harmless but has a bit of a biting habit and likes to climb into people's beds at night, so I'd be careful if you like to move too much in the morning. Say hi, Cinnamon!"
Cupping her in her palm, Sylvia lowered the rabbit so she was face level with Averill. Unnatural blue eyes stared eerily at the dwarf before Cinnamon's mouth stretched open into a small grin. Cinnamon was in possession of teeth, and they seemed to be of the so-razor-sharp-they-are-literally-triangles variety.
"Aww," Sylvia cooed. "She likes you."
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Questionable Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2014 9:47 pm
The comment about shortness put him offguard. I'm not short! You're all just tall! He thought, but could hardly say that aloud.
"Pleased to meet you Miss Wood-"
Averill looked the demon square in the eye for a few seconds before taking a cautious step backwards.
"-Aren't demons....sortof...not allowed as pets?" He queried Sylvia quietly, then judged he probably wasn't entirely out of range yet. Another step back and he was half behind Naomi.
His eyes flicked back to the demon.
"Of course, no offense to you Cinnamon!" It was completely an offense though. He hadn't seen demons on the accepted pets list, so damn well he did not want one cuddling into his bed and biting his manly bits in the morning. He flinched at the thought.
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Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2014 9:48 pm
[in this guild the fanciest I'm gonna get is sticking an avatar in my post tbh.]ɴαoмι prιтcнeтт
Ugh, how uncouth. And SHE'S a fourth year? Naomi glanced at the maps that hung up behind the door; the ink had smudged on a couple of them, but the damage wasn't too bad. She could just get some naive first year to restore it in a week. Satisfied that no lasting damage had been done, Naomi turned her full attention the rabbit thing for the first time. Sylvia had had it last year, she remembered, and maybe the year before. She also vaguely remembered some rumor that had been around since her first year, of a demon sneaking through the dimensional rip in the Janus dorms and biting kids in their sleep. Now that she looked at that... rabbit... demon... thing... it wasn't hard to imagine where the rumors had come from. "How... cute," she managed, her smile faltering. "Where'd she come from, one of the dimension rips?" Does she have a muzzle? "How'd you get it approved by the school?" Why wasn't it tossed back where it came from?
She glanced behind her, at Averill, who was practically hiding behind her at this point. She didn't blame him; the first time she'd run into a demon in the Forest, she'd been scared too.
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Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2014 10:33 pm
Sylvia waved a hand dismissively. "Just callin' me Sylvia is alright." First years were always nervous by nature, but this kid seemed particularly flighty. It was a good thing he had ended up in Ekat and not Lucian. Troublemaking bunch they were. "Though if you really prefer saying 'Miss Wood' all the time, that's fine too." She added in after a careful moment of consideration.
"Don't worry too much about the demon thing." She reassured. "Cinnamon really can't do anything other than bite ya a little. Other than that her only defense is her stomach." The barrage of questions was a little daunting, but Sylvia had become a bit accustomed to it. Cinnamon seemed to be in her own world, sniffing the air in the direction Naomi and Averill were in.
"She is from a dimension rip though," Sylvia confirmed with a nod. "It got sewn up before she could return I think. Technically she's 'assigned' to me more than she is my pet, but the Headmaster personally gave his okay so it's all good. It's all kind of a long story." Sylvia gave another laugh, rubbing the small demon's head with her thumb. "She's useful in more ways than one."
"Ah, don't worry too much about the pet list." Sylvia said. "Students are trying to get crazy s**t in all the time. As long as you're a good kid with good grades and you ask nicely, who knows what you'll get as a pet?" Dragging her duffle bag to one of the couches, Sylvia practically threw herself backwards and relaxed onto it. Lifting her legs up so she was lounging and tucking her arms behind her head, Sylvia turned to the other two in interest. She wasn't planning on going to unpack anytime soon; she usually did it last so the other girls had more of a variety of the bunks to pick from.
"So, what are you two interested in becoming? Elements chosen yet? Know any fun tricks? We've got time to burn before the other kids arrive, I think. They probably got lost in the actual library." Sylvia chuckled a little to herself.
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