Water Dorm's Tour of the Grounds

<<DiMarcoh>>

From the Dining Hall DiMarcoh led them across the grass, pointing out the greenhouses, where Botany classes were held, and then he pointed out the caves towards the Air dorms, where the Crystallography classes occasionally were held, particularly when the students were supposed to gather their own crystals. "Come this way." He said, leading the others towards the lake, "Swimming classes are occasionally held here, usually at the end of the year, generally taught by myself. Come." He stepped out onto the lake, the water freezing beneath his step, "If any of you have signed up for Aquatic Studies, occasionally I'll bring you out here and show you some of the aquatic life too big to cart into the class room. Come on, come on." He gestured for them to step out onto the ice. "Careful, don't slip." He said, "The water's pretty chill." He said, moving back as the class slowly started, hesitantly, stepping onto the ice.

<<Chrysth>>

He followed after the teacher, rubbing his horns, pulling Kevin behind him, so they kept up better. His wings rustled and shifted, "So." He said to Kevin, his voice low, "I see you were pretty taken with the Headmaster." He said amusedly, bumping shoulders with the other as they were led around, looking towards the caves, "Shiny." He said, "I'm taking that class."

The quickly reached the lake, where as DiMarcoh stepped out onto it and it froze, he glanced at Kevin, dragging him on first, before the rest of the students. The ice was surprisingly strong beneath them, "If we fall, I'll catch you." He said, opening his wings a bit, before the rest of the students stepped on, slowly, warily, Chrysth laughed softly as DiMarcoh led the way, the water freezing as he made his way across. He looked down through the clear ice, fascinating they could look down at the water, in the water. Strange fish and odd creatures paddled beneath the ice, "Wow." He said, pointing down.

"Kade! Ooo, Kade!" Sing-song voices called over the lake, a small group of women lay on the rocky island near the middle of the lake, "Kade! Are you coming to say hi?" They called.

The students got an interesting view in which Professor DiMarcoh turned bright purple as he flushed.

<<DiMarcoh>>

Of course they were out here, why wouldn't they be? For now, he willed away the blush on his pale blue cheeks, "Our resident mermaids, you can see sitting out there." He said, "Leena, Kalira, and Singh, they're triplets. That happens often in merfolk."

"Do they professor? Did you study this?" One student called from the crowd and DiMarcoh turned.

"I study many things." He said and continued moving.

<< Kevin Bishop >>

He would be dragged and pulled and otherwise jostled by Chrysth until he was out of the Dining Hall, and out of visual range of the Headmaster. Only then did his attention start to wander towards anything else. It would take time, but by the time they reached the icy grass towards the lake he was feeling far more clear-headed, and really cold!

As he was questioned about the headmaster, he flushed a wonderful shade of pink on his slightly chubby face. "Yeah well.. hes rather interesting isn't he. Iv never seen anyone like him." In the harsh light of the day out here in the freezing cold (he would be surprised if his nuts didnt fall off from it) he was growing in awareness that he must have been acting like a bit of a loon in the dining room. What on earth had come over him?! Sheesh!

Of course he was being yanked forward onto the ice, and he slipped only for Chrysth's strong grip to hold him in place. "shit" he said, looking down through the ice. He was not liking this at all, seeing through ice.. surely if it was clear enough that he could see things beneath it, it was too thin to hold their weight. In fact he felt a bit sick. "This isnt safe" he said, his hand gripping at Chrysth's as the other students made their way onto the ice, obviously trusting more in the 'magic' than he did. This wasn't safe! Not unless they had hardened glass underneath the surface or something, reinforcing it. He didn't like the water much at the best of times, and the thought of walking out further onto this otherwise unfrozen lake was too scary for him. He stubbornly refused to move another pace. "Im not going out there." he said, backtracking towards the shore. "That isnt safe! He shouldn't be taking students out onto an unfrozen lake!"

<<Darcy>>

The shadow followed after the rest of the Water Dorm, staying close within the large shadow the winged one, Crysth, offered. He was excited; the Tour of the Grounds was the one time all year that he was like to get away from the main campus and experience the school.

Lux moved primarily between library, classrooms, and private study room. And the dorm, of course, but sometimes he fell asleep over his books as he worked on his spells. He almost never went into the Rec Room, and often skipped meals. He enjoyed the solitude, but Darcy did not, and he hated being confined to the dorm while everyone else got to wander and have fun.

All the dorm masters did something to impress the students. Professor Cloudrunner walked on air, and Professor DiMarcoh liked to freeze the water. Darcy found water fascinating. He could float on top, but he couldn't penetrate the medium, or get wet, as everyone else did.

He sensed Kevin's fear and wanted to twin about his ankles for comfort, but he remembered that his previous attempt to cheer the boy up had backfired rather spectacularly, and he was also forbidden to reveal himself to anyone, so he lingered in Crysth's shadow and fretted.

<<Caden>>

Caden had only managed to keep up with the other students, having fallen behind as he was finding himself reluctant to leave the headmaster's presence. It took a lot more effort than it should have to walk away from the guy, but at least he managed somehow. He wished that he did not have to see much of the winged creature that ran the the school, since he had no doubt that it would only get more difficult, the more he was around the Headmaster. He breathed deep when he did catch up to the class and glanced around him, finally being able to hear what was being said about the grounds.

"Wha-?" He stared in shock at the ice on the previously liquid lake. As far as he knew he himself had no talent for water. Of course, he hadn't wanted to believe he had any talent for wind either and wasn't that the reason he was here? He didn't move as he watched the others step onto the ice after the teacher. Don't slip indeed. He set one foot onto the ice, testing it with his weight and stepped back. "I'm not so sure abo-" He cut his sentence short as another student stepped off of the ice and loudly announced that he wasn't going. He could agree that it probably wasn't entirely safe, but a part of Caden really wanted to know where the instructor was taking them. He looked from the ice to the one who refused to get on the ice and back to the lake, the others were walking safely. Taking a long breath and letting it out, he stepped slowly onto the ice. Once both feet were on the ice, he bounced lightly on the balls of his feet. Not too bad. He tapped the ice before him and then took a step and bounced again, good. Another careful tap and step and another quick bounce. Like a dance. Tap, step, bounce. He was okay and near the instructor in a few moments, having found a rhythm.

<<Chrysth>>

Chrysth huffed, dragging Kevin behind him and onto the ice, "Yes, you are and it's perfectly safe, the teacher wouldn't lead us on, just to drop us." He said, grinning a little. He turned to the bouncing student, "See, he's bouncing and is perfectly safe." He dragged and forced the other along, "Look, we're fine." He jumped and landed hard on the ice. Nothing, but his feet went out from under him, and he yelped, falling on his back, his wings flapping to try and regain his balance. "Ow." He said, falling still, before he rolled, pushing up and regaining his balance, "Come on, or we'll get left behind." He said, following after the bouncing other. As they ventured out further onto the ice and rejoined the group, the ice behind them melted away as DiMarcoh released the spell.

<<DiMarcoh>>

He kept an eye on the students, fortunately those that were nervous about the ice were pulled and pushed along by their classmates and he didn't have to extend his magic too far. He pulled in his magic and the ice disappeared as he led the tour across the water. "Now if you'll gather around and look down, you'll be able to see a small gathering of turtles, no ordinary turtles, now, these are the red-shell turtles, only found inland from oceans, they're freshwater creatures and are one of the few species that travel in groups, and this is our resident pod."

The students gathered around and 'oohed' and 'aaahed' over the turtles before DiMarcoh led them on, farther out onto the lake. "Don't fall behind now." He called, as they moved closer to the mermaids, who were giggling, and cooing, crooning for Kade to come closer.

<< Kevin Bishop >>

He would find himself being pulled physically onto the ice, slipping and sliding until they reached the main bulk of the students and Chrysth started to jump up and down. "Don't do that!" he said just before the other fell. It was while he was helping him up that he noticed the distinctly fading ice from the direction they had come. "The ice.. the ice is melting!!" He scrambled back from the direction they had come, watching the ice start to break up into smaller bits, drift off and melt, sinking and merging with the rest of the pond. He was not paying the slightest of attentions to whatever was underneath the water, nor the mermaids. He hadn't even noticed the mermaids. Safety came first, and from his point of view, this was not safe at all. "The ice is melting.. what will we do?!" he really just didn't get this. Didn't get the magic, didn't understand that it was all under control and why.

Chrysth put the other in front of him, "Of course it's melting behind us, you can't honestly expect the professor to keep it up while we go out further." He said, "Will you pay attention. If you do that you won't even notice." He led the other up closer to DiMarcoh, listening to DiMarcoh as he spoke about the history of the lake, and about the school itself, dating back not too far, as it had been built by the current headmaster, but the grounds itself were said to be the meeting ground of the elements. Indeed, supposedly beneath the school there was a continuously burning pyre, that had been there upon its building. Generally though, only the Fire dorm went to go see it, "That's pretty cool." Chrysth said to Kevin. "Hey look."

They were approaching the rock where the mermaids were preening, weaving seaweed into their hair, "Oh Kade..." They seemed very interested in the water dorm master. They had nothing to cover their tops as they lay on the rocks, shells woven into necklaces, and bands around their waists, their greenish blue hair matted into dreadlocks and various shells woven up into them. They cooed over the new students, sliding along the rocks, "Look at the new students!" they said, their bottom halves, long and sleek, scaled in various colors, not terribly bright, but in reds, and greens and blues and blacks, their tails fanned out horizontally, thick paddles, to propel them through the water.

DiMarcoh stepped up on the rock, greeting the trio of girls as he helped the students up onto the rock, "Leena, Kalira, Singh, this is the new water dorm, you'll probably see these three about halfway through the Aquatic course, so if you're thinking about taking the class, you should take the opportunity to meet with them." He said.

"What the hell are you talking about" he said, having to be literally pushed and shoved in the right direction. He just wasn't getting the whole 'this is magic' thing, that everyone else seemed to be taking pretty much for granted. No matter the advice to listen, he was clearly more worried about the potential for drowning in a partially frozen lake. Even if he didn't drown, there was the potential for hypothermia or something! And he couldn't swim very well. In fact he had shown a distinct lack of enthusiasm for the whole water theme, which was rather uncommon for someone in water dorm, for they all seemed to share the same enthusiasm for the swimming pools and different aquatic things on offer. He found no such allure.

He would continue to pay very little attention until he was dragged and shoved towards the large rocky outcropping. Only then would he move with a direct purpose, hauling himself up off the ice and onto firm ground, of a sort. He looked out from where he found himself standing only to realise how very far they had come. A long way to get back there, but he supposed, in the semi-panicked semi-cynical mindset that either a boat would be offered, or the same trick with the ice would be resurrected when they wanted to get back to the school. One thing was certain, he was certainly not going to be coming out to the lake again. He was studiusly avoiding looking at the women, not only because they had the whole 'im so obviously meant to be a fantasy creature' thing going on, but also bcause they had nothing covering their ample breasts, and call him a prude, but he was brought up better than to look at a woman in a semi-naked state. Others, he noticed had no such qualms. He looked back to the school and ignored the 'lesson' and encouragement to talk to the 'mermaids'. Whatever. This whole place was a farse. Once he got off this rock and back onto firm land he was going to go and start to pack before seeking out a teacher to talk about leaving. Not only was this place a joke, but it was clearly breaking numerous health and safety rules.

He would sit down on the rocks a bit, feeling a bit ill, likely caused by the stress of the trip out here. It was kind of pretty, with all the frost on the grass across the water, but he was not really of a mind to pay it much attention. He was cold, disgruntled and feeling a bit out of sorts. The sooner he could get off this fairground ride the better.

<<Chrysth>>

He didn't bother climbing, just followed Kevin up with flight, his wings beating the air making several students wobble and fall onto the ice, "Oops, I'm sorry." He said, after he'd landed.

"I'll ask you not to do that again, Donis." DiMarcoh warned, giving the student a sharp look.

He landed next to Kevin, taking a seat next to him, "This is fun." He said cheerfully, grinning at the other, "The lake is so pretty." He grinned at the other, curving a wing over his shoulders.

<<DiMarcoh>>

The mermaids met most of the students, though he noticed that Bishop did not greet the women, he came from a human family though, understandable. "All right, ladies, I thank you for your patience."

"Be sure to come back Kade." Singh said, her voice a bit husky as she hopped further up onto the rock, "So we can have more fun, and bring your students, it'll be great fun in the summer time." She said, her eyes had a bit of a playfully menacing look in them.

DiMarcoh herded his students back to the water, the ice fanning out again so they could step on, "We'll see Singh." He said, "All right, step lively, we'll be headed to the Oak Gorge next, then we'll take the tunnels back up to the school. Come along, come along." He ushered the students along the lake again, pointing out a variety of aquatic anomalies in the lake, fun things, facts, stories and and some vague references to Harry Potter followed them all the way back to shore.

<< Kevin Bishop >>

He glanced up as Chrysth came up to him, feeling a wind before the other touched down beside him. He didn't see the other flap up, perhaps he was specifically not looking because the special effects seemed so well organised that he was ending up just looking stupid continually searching for them, or perhaps because he was scared to start to believe in the whole magic and wings thing.

He did glance up when the wing settled around his shoulders. It was warm, compared to him, and he couldn't help but snuggle in against the other man, because he was cold. Very cold. They hadn't stopped off or been told beforehand to grab jackets after all. "I suppose" he said, looking out over the lake that melted away from the rocks towards land. It was pretty, in a 'health and safety nightmare' sort of way.

He took the help the other offered to get down off the rock, but he didn't trust the ice, but what sort of choice did he have? Chrysth was obviously not going to leave him behind, and so he was dragged along like a well loved stuffed toy at the other's side. He was feeling sick again, but the trip over the ice was very nerve-racking for him. Needless to say he heard or listened to none of the comments on different types of water creatures.

Oak grove next? That didn't sound nearly as bad. He liked trees. What sort of trouble could there possibly be in the forest, unless there was some sort of serial killer in there.

<<Chrysth>>

He looked at the other, "you guess?" He asked, letting the other snuggle into his warmth. As they got down off the rocks he tugged Kevin along, "You doing okay? You look a little pale." He moved out onto the ice, whispering to the other as they went along and finally, after a bit, they reached dry land again.

<<DiMarcoh>>

"All right, follow me, we're heading into the forest now, and I mean this very, very importantly, you stay close to me because there are things that will not be very nice to you." DiMarcoh called, instructing the students to follow him. He led them into the forest at first, trailing into the thick forestry. "You'll notice the trees are close together, so please be sure to stay together, it's easy to get lost." He led them down a trail, and finally into a clearing, where he took a quick count before he determined that, yes, everyone was there. "I've asked a few more unusual creatures to meet us here, that you will probably meet in Professor Dacon's class. Does anyone know anything about centaurs?" He asked.

<<Chrysth>>

He followed the rest of the group, leading Kevin along, his wing still around the other, as he meandered along. When asked about centaurs, he raised his hand, "They're not hybrids, but a they're animals in the way humans are, they're able to think and communicate as well as humans, and oftentimes much better and clearer." He said.

"Very good." DiMarcoh nodded to him and raised his hand, "Lo-Dan." He called and the hoofbeats of a horse cantered out to meet them.

The centaur was a tall creature, decidedly male with a long, clean color through him from the top of his head to the end of his tail. He was a solid black with white stockings on his hands and feet. His hair went from the centre of his forehead, down the back of his head and along his spine to his withers. His forelegs pawed the ground, he nodded to DiMarcoh who nodded back, "Greetings and salutations, new students." He said, his eyes were a soft chocolate brown with a walleye pupil as he scanned the students.

Chrysth stared in fascination. "Wow." He murmured to Kevin as the class, some stayed back but others moved forward a bit.

DiMarcoh held up a hand, "I would ask you all to remain back. It is impolite to encroach on a centaur's space without asking." He warned as some got too close, including Chrysth who really wanted to touch.

<<Darcy>>

Staying meekly within Crysth's shadow and willing him to help cheer up Kevin, Darcy sighed with relief when the plan seemed to work. He snuggled closer as they walked, practically humming with excitement. Centaurs! He couldn't be stepped on, but he still flinched back as he got too close to the winged boy's heels and he stopped abruptly under Professor DiMarcoh's stare.

There were many more shadows under the trees and plenty of places to hide, but magical creatures were sometimes harder to deceive than humans, and Darcy dared not take the chance. He begged the boy mentally to get closer, because he wanted to touch, too. Wrapping around Crysth's lower leg, he tugged on his pants and pointed excitedly as Lo-Don came out to greet the group. He beamed at Kevin. Surely this would cheer him up!

<< Kevin Bishop >>

He would move along with Chrysth, not that he had much choice since the other had a firm grip on him and was propelling him forward with both his body and his enthusiasm. "No, I amn't really." he said when asked about his state of health. "Feeling a bit sick. Maybe it was something I ate."

There was no point in holding back the fact he wasn't feeling well. Indeed, it would hide a multitude of things, including the fact that he wasn't buying any of this crap. It was very well done, very atmospheric he had to say. Next thing he almost expected some ring wraith to come out of the trees, but no, of course not, not yet anyway, because what was a forest without a centaur. After all, they had had dragons, mermaids, an incubus, vampires, and werewolves apparently, as well as whatever Chrysth was. They really were missing a centaur. As the other students oohed and ah'd he would give the person a look, taking in how well the costume fitted and how real it really did look before turning to glance around at the forest around them. Maybe there would be a ring wraith, or maybe a dementor from Harry Potter, or even Predator.

The sooner he got out of this mad house the better. Needless to say, he was not one of those asking to move forward to touch the centaur.

<<Chrysth>>

He bowed to the centaur, his wing had slipped from Kevin in his enthusiasm to greet the centaur.

Lo-Den gave him a wary eye, then nodded, offering his hand, "As Kade has said, I am Lo-Den, one of the several centaurs that roam this forest, it is likely you will see either myself or my companion if you see our kind. The others are less receptive of prying eyes." He waved, ushering the others forward, "I am not so much. Come, come, I'm not unwelcome to touch, just so long as you are gentle and don't pull." He said, shifting the weight along the front of his body.

His forelegs were thicker than the average horse, to support the raised torso of the man shape on the shoulders and the horse's body was shorter than the average. He shifted a bit again and turned, allowing the students to get close and look, touch, the muscles and forms, rippling beneath skin and hair, as Lo-Den explained a bit about the centaur race, but of course more would come when they were enrolled in classes. He led them into the forest a bit more, pointing out dangerous plant life, as DiMarcoh trailed behind, making sure everyone stayed together.

<<DiMarcoh>>


He led the students through the forest, after meeting Lo-Den and letting him talk for awhile he moved the group out of the forest, pointing out the gorge, and warning them away from it, a real warning, as it had a tendency to flood during the spring and sometimes during the winter if it was a warm winter.


He took the students back to the manor, in through the front door and back into the Dining Hall.