@Peri, yay! I'd sort of envisioned them as crushing on each other and then eventually confessing, but we can do whatever works best for you! I don't really have a preference :)

@pangolin, yes, they can definitely be roommates! I'd love that :) It'll be interesting to see the dynamics between them, I think.

-Aurora-

Aurora woke late that morning. Which was no surprise.

She usually had boundless energy throughout the day and most of the night, too, but there was something about waking up, still drowsy, warm and relaxed under a pile of blankets, that made it almost impossible for her to rise from her bed unless someone physically yanked the covers off. Her mom called it "a normal teenage thing," but that was small comfort.

She awoke from a wonderful dream. She and the other students had just done something brave and glorious - what it was, she couldn't remember, but it seemed to have been along the lines of rescuing someone - and she was still filled with the tingling satisfaction of it. But sunlight was pouring determinedly onto her closed eyelids, and outside early spring birds were singing. It was time to get up. Oddly, the room seemed quiet. She couldn't hear Elaide getting dressed or even moving around the room.

"Elaide?" she called. Usually her roommate was up before her. But this time, there was no response.

Opening her eyes, Aurora took in the room. Sure enough, it was filled with sunlight, but there was no one there. Odd. Aurora frowned, getting out of bed and crossing over to her closet. Then she glanced at her clock. It was a full fifteen minutes later than her usual time to get up, which, in the academy's time-oriented schedule, represented a Very Big Deal. 

"Step on it, girl," Aurora muttered to herself.

In a few minutes, Aurora had flung on her uniform, brushed her hair, used the bathroom, and entered the dining room, all with her usual quick efficiency, managing to make up for lost time. Several students were already there, their voices filling the room with a pleasant hum. Pancakes were being served, and Aurora hastily went over to get some herself.

With her plate filled, she looked for an empty spot to sit and found a table where Lauren and Aly were sitting. "Hey guys!" she greeted them. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

-Tyra-

It started out as a very ordinary morning. Spring had come - at last! Of all the seasons, spring was Tyra's favorite. It was the season she was born in, for one thing. For another, it was so beautiful - the flowers, birds, the snow melting, the longer days, the sunlight. Summer was nice too, of course, but it lacked the delicate beauty of spring, the evanescent joy of life's rebirth. Tyra resolved to keep an eye out for crocuses. She usually found some on the academy grounds at this time of year, and they were her favorite flower. 

Meanwhile, in the dining hall, pancakes were on the menu. This just made everything even better, as Tyra adored pancakes. She got a plate and settled down at an empty table. The history test was coming up, and Tyra wanted to be sure she was prepared. Of course, it was a little boring: all about how BIG was great and glorious. But that was the way the world worked, right? Tyra wanted to understand the history of her country, even if it was a little monotonous. She sat down and opened her history textbook.

{Aly}

"Hey, I like history," Lauren protested. "I just don't like writing essays or stuff for it... But yeah! Archery and combat. I might actually hit the middle on my first shot! And did you see me the other day in combat? I actually mastered that crazy kick and leap thing!"

"And tripped over air right after completing the move," Aly said, taking a sip of her drink and smiling.

She waved her hand dismissively. "The move was finished, that's the point! I think I was the second or third to fully master it!"

Aly smiled and said, "You did it wonderfully."

They continued eating in silence. Aly noticed Lauren glance over her shoulder just in time to see Relven turn his head away from her direction back to his friend. Lauren scrunches her nose and turns back to her plate. Aly could tell that her friend liked Relven. 

Aly gave Lauren a knowing look, and she slowly blinks back at her. Aly kept gracious silence though. 

Just then, Aly noticed Aurora, coming over with a plate of pancakes. "Hey guys! Do you mind if I sit here?" she asked.

"Not at all!" Aly replied, smiling. "How's your morning been so far?"

&Leskie&

Leskie finished her pancakes in silence, deep in her thoughts. Perhaps she should study for the history test a bit. 

She pulled out her notebook and began flipping through the pages, scanning the key points of BIG history and the section they were specifically being tested on. However, after a while, she began to feel as if all the information was overloading her.

Perhaps I should take a break, she thought. She stowed her notebook back in her bag and decided to go out on the archery range for a few moments and get some practice in before class started. This always helped to clear her head.

The archery range was rather empty when she arrived. She took out her bow and nocked an arrow on it, before drawing back the bow string until she could feel just the right amount of tension. She aimed, and fired at the target, watching the arrow sail through the air and onto the bullseye. It felt nice, like letting go of her worries and expectations and pressure and letting it sail through the air...

"Yeah, of course I'm going," Rel smiled. "It's in a couple weeks, right? Though we all know, of course, that it's going to rain right on the day it's planned for, because that's what weather is like. How's your practice coming along? The songs are sounding better every day, frankly."

Colin beamed. "Don't jinx it," he laughed. "And thank you. It's coming along alright, actually! This new song is tricky, but I think I'm getting the hang of it. Sometimes I wish I could just be a musician when I grow up, instead of working for BIG." Once he'd said it, he wished he hadn't. He forced a chuckle. "Um, I mean -- that's silly. Forget I said it." He looked around nervously, worried someone had overheard. 

>Via<

Vis startled awake from a nightmare and frantically looked over to Zinnie's bed to see it was empty. For a moment, she panicked, but then she saw Zinnie at the window, talking to another experiment. She decided she wouldn't interrupt them; she didn't know the other experiment very well and was still shaky.

Instead, she crawled over to Avi. While Via spent the most time with Zinnie, she trusted Avi and Nayr because they were Zinnie's friends. Sometimes Via imagined that Zinnie and Avi and Nayr were all her older siblings. 

"Avi," she whispered, shaking him. "Are you awake? I had a bad dream."

<Lauren>

A voice comes from behind me: "Hey guys! Do you mind if I sit here?"

I twist in my seat to see Aurora. "'Course not!" I smiled.

"Not at all!" Aly replied, smiling. "How's your morning been so far?" 

@Peri, yeah that's great! I'm always up for characters interacting!

-Avi-

"I had a bad dream." Via's sweet, innocent face looked up at Avi with wide eyes. 

"Yeah, I'm up, kid. Do you want to talk about it, or just want a hug?" Via leaned into him and he felt the warmth of her little body. Avi watched as Zinnie and another experiment he didn't know chatted quietly. 

"Via...." he started to say before thinking about it a little more. She didn't need to know that today the students were coming. Avi and Zinnie and Nayr would protect her. She didn't need to worry.

/Relven/

Colin laughed. "Don't jinx it," he warned. "And thank you. It's coming along alright, actually! This new song is tricky, but I think I'm getting the hang of it. Sometimes I wish I could just be a musician when I grow up, instead of working for BIG." He gave a nervous chuckle. "Um, I mean -- that's silly. Forget I said it."

For a second, Rel was shocked into silence. Wasn't working for BIG the most amazing thing you could aspire to? How could anyone not want to? And it was the assured future for most of the Valiants.

But after all, Colin did seem made for a musician...

"Hey," he said softly, checking to make sure that no one was listening. "Not everyone ends up working for BIG. Maybe you don't have to..." He paused and assessed what he had just said. Foolish. And yet he felt that it was the only thing he could have said. "Anyway, how's your archery coming? We have it today, don't forget."

@Pangolin, can Elaide and Colin start to become friends throughout the course of the rp? I think they'd bond over science :]

~Colin~

Rel was quiet a moment before he spoke again, this time more softly. "Hey, Not everyone ends up working for BIG. Maybe you don't have to..." He paused, seeming to think, before changing the subject. "Anyway, how's your archery coming? We have it today, don't forget."

Colin nodded, glad for the change in subject. "At least I'm not so bad at archery," he said. "I hate some of the other combat classes. I'm a man of science, not of war!" He straightened in his seat. "But archery's not terrible. Plus, we have it with Tyra…" Colin sighed dreamily. 

>Via<

"Yeah, I'm up, kid," Avi said. "Do you want to talk about it, or just want a hug?" 

Via leaned into him. "I just want a hug," she said. She looked up at Avi. "I lost Penny*," she said.

*The name of Via's stuffed bunny 

-Aurora-

Aly smiled back. "Not at all! How's your morning been so far?"

"Course not!" Lauren added.

"Thank you so much!" Aurora replied, sitting down. Happiness bubbled up in her. Did it get any better than this? Sitting at a table in a cafeteria full of people she knew, chatting with acquaintances, and with a plate of pancakes in front of her.  "My morning's been great so far! Though it was a little difficult getting to the cafeteria on time, I slept late - again." She mock-sighed, then busied herself pouring maple syrup on her stack of pancakes. "Getting an alarm clock is the top item on my Urgent To-do List! How about you two?"

-Tyra-

Tyra was a quick eater, and a quick student. It wasn't long before she'd finished her breakfast and her history lesson, both at once. Pleasantly satisfied, she looked up and gazed around the cafeteria. Her gaze lit on Colin. He was a slight boy, with brown hair and eyes that were blue - her favorite color. His eyes were probably the first thing she had noticed about him, honestly - that, and his intelligence and loyalty. At least, she didn't know him well enough to be sure he was like that, but she was naturally perceptive about people and felt sure that he had those characteristics - traits she admired deeply. He was talking with Rel at the moment. Half the girls in school had a crush on the aforementioned "golden boy", but honestly, Tyra preferred Colin. For a moment she debated whether she should go over and join the conversation. But shyness held her back. She couldn't just go up and start talking to Colin.

At a nearby table sat a pretty, intelligent-looking girl, about Tyra's age. Tyra seemed to remember having heard her referred to as Adine. The girl was sitting completely by herself. She looked lonely, Tyra thought.

So Tyra got up and headed over to her table.

"Hi," she said shyly when she had reached it. "I'm - I'm Tyra. Is it okay if I sit here?"

/Relven/

Colin looked relieved and nodded. "At least I'm not so bad at archery," he said. "I hate some of the other combat classes. I'm a man of science, not of war! But archery's not terrible. Plus, we have it with Tyra..."

Relven laughed. "Oh, yes, Tyra. The beautiful. No wonder you're not so bad at archery - I mean, you're scarcely going to be bad at something that she's watching you do, right? But I honestly think she might like you. You should go ahead and make a move."

Talking about archery made him remember the time he'd noticed a girl during it. A tall, brunette girl with a smile full of energy, but that had seemed a little hesitant. He glanced across at Lauren Moon's table again. At some point he would like to meet up with her again.

*Adine*

Adine's reverie was broken by a shy voice. "Hi," a girl standing nearby said. "I'm - I'm Tyra. Is it okay if I sit here?"

"What?" Adine said, startled. "I'm sorry - yeah, of course, I suppose so. Nice to meet you." She was saying it out of politeness, but there was also something about the girl that interested her. She didn't seem quite like the usual, nasty, rich girls who dominated the school. She seemed - like someone who could be a friend.

~Colin~

"Oh, yes, Tyra," Relven laughed. "The beautiful. No wonder you're not so bad at archery - I mean, you're scarcely going to be bad at something that she's watching you do, right? But I honestly think she might like you. You should go ahead and make a move."

Colin reddened. "Well, maybe I will," he said matter-of-factly. "The Spring Dance is coming up, and I need a date." He looked over at Rel. "You need a date. How about that Lauren Moon? You keep staring at her."

Colin wasn't quite sure why a school like BCA had school dances, but it did, on occasion. Perhaps it was to keep the students' morale up, or to help the kids - many of whom would be working together after graduation - form bonds with each other. 

Maybe Colin really would get the courage to, as Rel put it, "make a move." He fidgeted nervously at the thought and looked over at Tyra, who was talking to a girl called Adine. He didn't know Tyra super well, but a little. He'd heard the English teachers gush about her writing, which meant she had some appreciation for art. Colin appreciated this; it was somewhat rare to find someone who did in a place such as this one.

His daydreams were interrupted by the ringing of a small bell by one of the cafeteria workers, signaling that there were five minutes left in breakfast. He finished his food, cleared off his plate, and put it in the dirty dishes pile. 

/Relven/

"Well, maybe I will," Colin said, flushing but with his characteristic sensible view of things. "The Spring Dance is coming up, and I need a date. You need a date," he added. "How about that Lauren Moon? You keep staring at her."

"Staring at her?? No, I haven't been staring at her," Rel protested. "I don't know, maybe. Honestly, I have no idea who I'll take. Lauren seems nice, but I don't really know her."

Both boys lapsed into their own thoughts; Relven was thinking about how to take advantage of the spring weather, and what today was probably going to be like, and scrambling to make sure he knew most of what he needed for the history test. Before he was aware of it, the bell rang for the last minutes of breakfast. Colin rose to put his dish with the other dirty dishes, and Rel consumed what was left of his meal and put his plate aside too. "Why don't you bump into Tyra as she leaves? Accidentally, of course," he remarked slyly to Colin.

AERONA --- 

"yeah, i get that. i'd love to be able to fly. what's it like?" she questioned. 

she really couldn't wait to fly. would she get to fly? she hoped so... this was like a cage. too much like a cage. aerona frowned, deep in thought. well, cages could be broken, couldn't they?

she sighed.

"cages can be broken, can't they?" she asked. "or is this one made of some ... magic metal or something?"  

her gaze shifted to alistair, who was still sleeping. she wished she could remain in peace like that --- except alistair had special priveleges and was able to sleep in that underwater tank of hers. otherwise she "might die". 

that was a lie, and everyone knew it. she survived just fine out of water. 

 but she looked so... peaceful.

 aerona wanted that peace, too.  

== my apologies for the late response, life got a little hectic!