Of Magic and Nature (Interactive Story)

[TheFabulousHorse]

Plant Growth, Animal Charming and Water Manipulation sounds cool.

[Piefan]

Author's note;;
-

Inventory
$10
Saddle

Well, you think, it'd be best to choose water manipulation, animal charming, and plant growth. Strangely, you feel no conflict over this decision as you had with the others; they seem like the most logical things you could choose. With these, you could practically control the whole of the world if you learned hard enough.

Smiling, you look around, but you find that the field is almost empty. While you were thinking, everyone else had left, though you can still hear the voices of students. You follow the sound to outside the field. (Finally. You were kind of hoping to get indoors after all of this.) Your mare trots along silently behind you as you briskwalk, soon joining the group once again.

More forms are being handed out, and not noticing your only recent arrival, someone hands you one listing the subjects you can take, and asking you to choose from them. You quickly fill it in, using your earlier decisions, before handing it in. "You know," comments Earth, "You probably should've reconsidered your options, especially since you only knew the names of four out of the seven subjects you could choose from." You respond with a mental shrug.

***

A few hours later, you trail along a long hallway, clutching a slip of paper in one hand, and stroking Earth Beat's head with another. You search blankly for your dorm as your horse follows until you find it and enter.

In addition to being large, the room is also spacious, with just a bunk bed and desk being the only pieces of furniture inside. As you had been half-expecting to have to sleep outdoors, you find this far exceeding your initial expectations. Of course, you will probably be spending half of your time outside, but still. Better than sleeping there.

On the bottom bed, you find a card with your name on it - plain, written in black text. Beside it is a dark brown bag. Opening it, you find most of the things you think you'll need for school - as was mentioned earlier, the school provides most of it. Though you stash some of these things away, you pull the rest out and place them on the mattress side-by-side. These are the things you think you'll need the most, when not in classes.

Obtained saddle and (lettuce) sandwich!

Feeling hungry, you devour the sandwich anyway. Eh, you can buy another one. Shrugging to yourself, you begin to examine the rest of the items when someone enters the room.

"Helloo!" exclaims a feminine voice. "Are you my new roommate? My name's Amaryllis! I'm glad to meet you, mysterious person! Is that a horse? You got a horse as your companion? Cool!"

You resist the urge to groan; this person is almost definitely the kind of girl who'll disturb you on a daily basis, and if her name is any indication, she and her family's probably one of those ridiculous 'druids-rule-the-world' purists. Still, she might make a good friend, if you two bond enough.

What do you do?

[retroaqua]

If its about the girl then..

Make friends. She seems cool, she might help you if something bad happens.

Who cares if you judge a book by a cover XD She could be kind.

[Piefan]

Author's note;;
Your new name is kind of more linked to my own culture than what I guess is yours, really, but eh. It could be worse. I could have gone the self-insert route and called her 'Nurin' - my irl name. Also, I spent five minutes trying to decide exactly what shade of red Amy's hair would be.[/b]

Inventory
$10
Saddle

Earth Beat
Companion, friend.
Amaryllis
Roommate, acquaintance.

Forcing a grin, you turn to your new roommate. "It's nice to meet you, Amaryllis!" you exclaim, managing to fake a cheerful demeanour. "My name's Khairina. And yeah, this is my companion, Earth Beat!" You pat the horse on her head as you speak, and she neighs wordlessly, her white hair falling over an eye. You might want to get that trimmed soon. You had no idea manes could do that, in fact.

The more you know, the better.

Amaryllis is tanned, with curly, bright red hair that almost makes your eyes burn. You wince slightly, resisting the urge to squint. You instead continue to study her - she has blue, round eyes, and is relatively tall, standing almost a head above you. "Ooh, a horse! I'd have picked a horse, but then, I really wanted to get Ajax, so then I picked him! He's kinda not-nice, but still! I think he likes me." Her voice rings out again, high-pitched and happy.

Ajax. A strange name, you suppose, but then, you have a horse named Earth Beat, so you can't complain about something like that. Especially not in the presence of Amaryllis. "Ajax, you say? What's he like? Or, for that matter, what's his species?"

"Well, he's a bird, but then I think that's kinda obvious if you know me, 'cause I really like birds! They're cute!" You roll your eyes, but her voice is so infused with energy that you can't stop yourself from listening. "Mr Jordan says he's sorta aggressive, but he hasn't attacked me yet, so I think he's fine! I got him to rest outside on a tree branch, but he should be dropping by any time soon!"

Walking towards the window, she thrusts it open, and a familiar hawk swoops in, hovering over the ground. You recognise it; the one that just clawed you an hour ago. If you had fur, it would stand on end.

And then, perching upon Amaryllis's outstretched arm, you hear it say, through your apparent telepathic powers to animals, I like clawing people. Clawing people is fun.

How do you react?[
(Not necessarily to his line specifically, but his presence, the fact that Amaryllis actually likes him, etc.)

[TheFabulousHorse]

Surprised, but not trying to show it. Maybe take a step back and mention he scratched you earlier or maybe keep that a secret.

[Piefan]

Author's note;;
-

Inventory
$10
Saddle

Earth Beat
Companion, friend.
Amaryllis
Roommate, acquaintance.

Well, you've been pretending not to be annoyed this whole time, you can add another façade - specifically hiding your surprise - to that. Your false smile doesn't fade as you stare at the hawk, who spreads his wings, revealing them to be larger than expected, and fully brown, before folding them once again to his sides.

Deciding not to keep examining him for much longer, you say, "I noticed." Your tone is much colder than you intended it to sound, but then, it reflects your emotions anyway. "You clawed my head just an hour ago. Do you not remember?"

"I do." For no apparent reason, he ruffles his feathers, looking at you with a semi-threatening gaze. Amaryllis cocks her head, seeming confused about the sheer tension here. "I thought you seemed like the kind of person who would be fun to attack."

Your grin finally disintegrates into a fierce scowl as you contemplate using violence. You have never been the kind of person who likes hitting things, but it seems fitting for the situation. Before you can do anything, however, Amaryllis speaks, finally deciding to intervene. "Um, Ajax, I guess we'd better go then. Maybe we can find something cool outside!"

She skips to the door, casting you a meaningful glance as she exits, along with the hawk. Her message is clear - she wants you to try getting along with him next time you meet. Well, you aren't sure whether that's a good idea, but you could at least make a halfhearted attempt.

It is at this moment that Earth Beat speaks, her voice smooth and kind. "Shall we leave, then? I have not met your family, and you might want to visit your home. Alternatively, we could explore the school for a while."

What do you do?

[retroaqua]

Go home maybe.. get some items while your at it.

[Piefan]

Author's note;;
in midst of exams. Should be studying. Also asleep. Wrote this at 11pm.

Inventory
$10
Saddle
Postcards
Stamps

Earth Beat
Companion, friend.
Amaryllis
Roommate, acquaintance.

An hour later, you swing your leg over Earth Beat's back, landing roughly on the ground. This is the first time in several years you have ridden a horse, so you happen to be a little rusty. Thankfully, your mount was merciful, and you traveled at a slow enough pace to be comfortable. Now you are home, and your mother happens to be standing outside your home at that moment.

"Khairina!" she exclaims upon seeing you, thrusting her arms around your body and pulling you close for a hug. "How's your druid school going? Is everything fine?"

You nod, pulling away. "Yep, just wanted to visit for a while. Missed you and Dad. Also, I left most of my stuff at home." Although you try to make it sound otherwise, it's clear the last statement is the main reason you came, not because of any love. Meh. She never really minded anyway. "Please don't tell me you sold all my stuff or something."

She chuckles; her laughter is dainty and delicate. "No, no, of course not. Though I may have accidentally burned your pillows. Otherwise, we've still got everything I think you'll need. Unless you wanted that slice of toast... I burned that too."

Wrinkling your nose, you wonder what toast she's talking about. The last time you ate bread in any form was two m- oh, gosh, did you really leave your room like that for so long? Well, it's a good thing you're in boarding school, anyway. She can't force you to clean up your old room now, can she? Hopefully not.

While you were (mentally) rambling, Mother was staring at you, waiting for you to finish. She knows you well, after all, and she knows that you do that sort of thing all the time. When you pull away from your thoughts, she smiles. "Ah, great, you're done." She turns around, pushing open the front door to enter. You follow, and Earth Beat trails along. "Is it your companion? What's its name?"

"She," Earth corrects, though Mother doesn't seem to hear her. No surprise there - a wizard doesn't have the same telepathic powers as druids do, and through the mind is the only way an animal can communicate.

When you explain, she still seems skeptical of referring to an animal with human pronouns, but she simply smiles and says no more.

When you return to school, it is with an order to write home, several postcards, and stamps.

What do you do next?

[retroaqua]

Just write home, not like your very hated by your parents.

[Piefan]

Author's note;;
in case you were wondering, studying at the end of this post will give you more knowledge on this world + maybe more power. Leaving your room will lead to you meeting someone else. Possibly the 'romance' aspect.[/quote]

Inventory
$10
Saddle/saddlebags
Postcards
Stamps

Earth Beat
Companion, friend.
Amaryllis
Roommate, acquaintance.

So, mum, I just came to school. Amaryllis...

You frown, crossing out the words. You'll write a letter later, when you have something to talk about. Putting away your writing materials, you look around the room. You are alone - your horse has left, and Amaryllis is presumably socialising, possibly with her eagle following. Doubtful, though.

A neigh cuts through the silence, and you turn around to see Earth Beat walking through the door, her gait similar to a human's skip. A saddlebag is attached to the saddle she is currently wearing, large and probably heavy. "I just acquired some books to get you a head start on the year!" she declares proudly, using her muzzle to nudge open the bags and pull out a hardcover book.

Just then, Amaryllis runs in, her curly auburn hair whipping around her and Ajax following with a loud squawk. "Oh, hey, K!" she says cheerfully. "Just needed to get something, 'cause-" She pauses to look at the book Earth is grasping. A look of familiarity spreads across her face, and she grins. "Hey, is that The History of Mother Nature? I read that book when I was five! It was pretty good!"

You mentally facepalm, as Ajax makes a noise of amusement. This girl knows more than you? Ugh. She's charming, cheerful, good with animals, and now smart too. Damn, is there anything she can't do?

"Never mind," you mutter. "I'm going to go explore the school. New here, if you haven't noticed." Alternatively, you could stay and study, but then, you're in a bad mood anyway.

Which do you choose to do?