When: Anesus 1, shortly after 1AM
Where The courtyard, then inside
No matter how much Harlan wished he could be inside, there was no way he was going. The newly arrived adolescents were flooding into the castle courtyard, and all he wanted was to find his sister. Not greet the other new human-folk, not count how many new Vrykola they had this year, not even crane his neck to see if any of the Anasiel tribe had made it as far as the gate before being chased off into the woods-- all he wanted was his sister. He tugged his cloak around him, shivering even though it wasn't that cold out tonight, and pushed his glasses up onto his forehead so he could see better, keeping his eyes open for a familiar face amidst the sea of unfamiliar ones, all with their light baggage and warm clothes.
Where The courtyard, then inside
No matter how much Harlan wished he could be inside, there was no way he was going. The newly arrived adolescents were flooding into the castle courtyard, and all he wanted was to find his sister. Not greet the other new human-folk, not count how many new Vrykola they had this year, not even crane his neck to see if any of the Anasiel tribe had made it as far as the gate before being chased off into the woods-- all he wanted was his sister. He tugged his cloak around him, shivering even though it wasn't that cold out tonight, and pushed his glasses up onto his forehead so he could see better, keeping his eyes open for a familiar face amidst the sea of unfamiliar ones, all with their light baggage and warm clothes.
Alarie had a mixture of excitement and anxiousness flowing through her, making an unruly, uncomfortable combination in the pit of her stomach as she headed with the others toward the castle. A lot of the others were chatting among themselves, some quietly, others not so much. Some people looked like they felt as she did. Some looked like they might throw up. Others were confident, not seeming bothered by going to the compound at all. Alarie could see some figures ahead, curious onlookers and wondered if Harlan was one of them. It was a bit difficult to see in the dark, especially when so many were wearing cloaks. However, the quick glint of the moon off of a pair of glasses caught her attention and a bright smile spread across her face as she recognized her brother. Wondering if it would be too cheesy to run through the crowd to him, Alarie quickened her pace and lifted a hand in a quick wave to get his attention.
The movement caught Harlan's eye and be broke into a bright grin, lifting a hand to wave enthusiastically, back. "Arie!" he called, trying to pitch his voice to carry rather than shout. Shouting wasn't particularly good for him in this chill. He started in her direction, still beaming. It'd been two years since he'd left home to come here, been separated from his family except by letter, and despite his misgivings at having her here to begin with, he was still glad to see her.
She heard him call her name, thinking it was probably the best sound ever. She hadn't actually seen him in so long. Letters were nice, but they really weren't the same. She waved enthusiastically again and quickened her pace into a brisk jog until she got to him. She flung her arms around him to pull him into a hug. "Harlan! You look taller! Are you taller? You just look really different! In a good way, I mean, but you know that." She tightened her arms around him. "I missed you."
Laughing a little, he fitted his arms around her, right back. "I look taller? You look taller! What did you do, grow a foot?" He was exaggerating, of course-- Alarie was still small, as she'd always been-- but he was sure she'd put on inches while he was gone, just as he had. He dropped his head to hers, hugging her close. "I missed you, too. Winds, it's good to see you."
"Is it really?" Alarie asked, pulling back slightly to grin up at him. "From your letters, I was kind of getting the feeling you were dreading me coming here." Which, really, she understood his hesitance and worry, but it was fun to tease him regardless. Because nothing would have stopped her from going to the compound, if only to see him.
She had a point, with her tease, but Harlan was sure she knew the truth behind his fretting rather than assuming he really didn't want to see her. She was still smiling, after all. "Well, if I could see you back home right now instead of here, that would be better," he grinned, back. "Let me help you with your things. If we hurry, we can get you a room with a window." And hope no one decided to steal it from her, or she'd be able to fend then off if they tried. She was a mage, or was working towards becoming one; she'd do better at it that he did, he expected.
Alarie was incredibly agreeable to that. She wasn't quite sure how things worked around the compound, other than what Harlan had told her in his letters. Honestly, she didn't get what the fret and fuss was all about. She was sure things were going to be incredibly interesting for her for the next few years. She slipped her arm through his to keep him near as they headed toward the castle. "It wasn't that bad getting here," she told him, letting him lead her as she tried to take in everything around her. "Some people seem to be really nervous, but I can't really figure out why. You'd think this is like some torturous experiment or something."
"Well, that depends on who was looking nervous, really," Harlan answered, picking up a bag in one hand and quite contently keeping hers on his other arm. "Lykos first coming here don't always do well for the first few months, so they're likely to be very nervous. Vrykolas don't always know what to expect-- how the whole hunting thing works here, so that's enough to make them a bit nervous. As for the rest of us...." He shrugged and grinned a bit. "It is like some kind of torturous experiment, sometimes. Weird and difficult things happen here, Arie. Even if they didn't, there's the fact that we've all got to live together, work together, for five years of our lives. It's trying." Thankfully, he didn't have to put anything down to get them into the main hall: the doors were already propped open. "Stairs are this way."
Alarie fell silent for a few moments as they headed to the stairs. She'd heard all of this before, after all, in his letters. But actually being here now, it all felt completely different. "I guess I can see that." So why didn't she feel nervous, herself? "But in the long run, it's for the best, right? There's a reason we're here, a reason for all of it." She smiled up at him, still inherently pleased to be with him. "I mean, you seem to be doing okay here, right? And I'm here now too, so it'll be even better for you." She nudged him teasingly with her elbow.
"Oh, yes, all my troubles will definitely be moot, now that you're here to protect me," Harlan said with a wry grin, teasing right back, and started up the stairs. Yes, there was a purpose to this compound, this place and its tests; sometimes it worked. Sometimes it didn't. It all depended on the person. "There's two free rooms in my block-- or there were an hour ago. Someone might have claimed one by now, I don't know, I've been down here since before half-past, waiting to see you."
"That's okay. I don't really have any preference as to what room I have." She paused and glanced up at him with hesitant curiosity. "Should I have a preference? Are some rooms better than others, or is it just the windows that everyone wants?" Though, really, she preferred to stay near Harlan, if possible. "The blocks of rooms are all mixed with different kinds aren't they?" She couldn't imagine that if the people in the compound were trying to get them all to live and work together, that they were divide everyone up by race.
"It's all up to what you choose and what you can keep," Harlan explained. "Most of our people pick something on the second floor. Most of the Vrykolas pick something in the basement. The Lykos kind of spread themselves between, but for the most part wind up in the basement, too. There's most rooms down there, and some of us tend to defend the ones up here pretty strongly. You get a few who prefer something unexpected-- there are a few Vrykolas who no one really tries to kick out of an upstairs room, for example." By the time they reached the top of the stairs, Harlan was a little out of breath, and he had to pause a minute before continuing, and before talking more.
She wrinkled her nose. "It seems a bit too involved given it's simply choosing a room, but I guess I can see why there may be some issues with it." Alarie paused when Harlan did, her arm slipping from his to rub his back. She had grown up around his weak immune system, so it didn't concern her too much that he had to stop for breath. She knew she was asking way too many question, and coupled with climbing a bunch of stairs, she probably should have known he'd run out of breath sooner than later. "You okay?"
A little embarrassed at having his baby sister... well, baby him, after so long entirely on his own, Harlan straightened sooner that he really would have, otherwise. It'd been two years since he'd had her around, he'd all but forgotten how the rest of the family treated him a little like glass. This was going to take some getting used to, all over again. Still, he smiled over at her, settling his glasses more comfortably on his nose.
"Fine," he promised. "It happens pretty much every time I go up the stairs, so I'm used to it. Here, the rooms are this way." He led her around the corner and into the hall. "It really isn't as complicated as it sounds. Vrykolas just generally don't like rooms where someone can open the window and hit them with sunlight, even on accident, so they mostly stick underground. And it's mostly just a free-for-all, picking your room, and sometimes someone else wants the same room, and then there can be, ah, disputes."
"Fine," he promised. "It happens pretty much every time I go up the stairs, so I'm used to it. Here, the rooms are this way." He led her around the corner and into the hall. "It really isn't as complicated as it sounds. Vrykolas just generally don't like rooms where someone can open the window and hit them with sunlight, even on accident, so they mostly stick underground. And it's mostly just a free-for-all, picking your room, and sometimes someone else wants the same room, and then there can be, ah, disputes."
"Don't they have something to help you? With the stairs, I mean." Alarie said, bypassing the mention of the Vrykolas, sunlight and disputes. Conflict and confrontation didn't worry her, nor was she scared of it. She was confident she could handle things herself and on her own. Unlike some people, lykos and Vrykolas didn't intimidate her. She knew she ought to not be, but thinking about Harlan having to pause for breath every time he climbed the stairs both worried and irritated her. He'd always been able to take care of himself, and he'd been here two years without incident - that she knew of - but what if someday he did need help?
"It's either up or down, which means climbing one way," Harlan shrugged, turning into block five. "So unless a Life mage decides to take pity on me and try finding out what exactly is wrong with me, I just deal with it. It's not a problem, really," he assured her, teasing a little. "I'm not going to die if I stop to catch my breath at the top of the stairs. --Here, this one's my room." He pointed to the first door on the left, securely shut and locked this time, thank the winds. "It looks like no one's claimed the other two, this one--" The second door on the left, one of the window rooms. "--or this one." The first door on the right, directly across from his room rather than adjacent to it.
"I'll find out what's wrong with you," Alarie said confidently. She was going to be a Life Mage after all. She turned and glanced at the door he pointed at as his. She poked her head in the others, thinking that maybe it was harder a decision than she thought. She liked the idea of being so close to Harlan in case he needed her, And the window room would fill with a lot of light when the sun was up. "I'll have this one," Alarie declared, walking into the window room. "And I'm pretty sure I can kick anyone's butt who tries to, er, dispute that with me."
Harlan watched her poking around the bedroom, and chuckled at her summing up of the situation. "All yours, then." He came in and deposited the bag he'd been carrying on the floor along the wall. "The key is under the pillow on the bed. That's where a lot of people leave them." He'd spent an hour looking for his before he'd found it, when he'd first shown up. There were only so many places to hide a key in one of these rooms, but it'd still taken him a while. He blamed his poor glasses. "And I'm just next door if you need me." He was, in fact, quite pleased that she'd been willing to room so close to him; it meant he could keep an eye on her.
She went immediately to the pillow, lifted it and found the key. Grinning she picked it up and held it up for Harlan to see. "I've got a distinct advantage having you here," she told him, slipping the key into her pocket. "And I'm just next door if you need me." She walked over and grabbed her beg, hefting it easily onto her bed. "So what do we do? I'm guessing I should probably sleep or something..." Though she felt too wired to actually rest properly. Alarie looked at her brother over her shoulder. "Are you going to bed? Or do you want to stay and keep me company?"
That advantage was something Harlan was dearly counting on to help her through adjusting to all this-- though she really seemed more confident and excited than anything else, which he both loved to see and hated to see. Seeing his little sister happy and excited was always something he liked, but he wished she'd be a little more cautious... Not that he ought to expect such things. It was Arie, after all.
"If you like we can lock up here and get a quick tour of the building before bed," he suggested. Sleep might have been a good idea, but he doubted either of them would get much. Wearing them both out would probably be a good idea.
"If you like we can lock up here and get a quick tour of the building before bed," he suggested. Sleep might have been a good idea, but he doubted either of them would get much. Wearing them both out would probably be a good idea.
"A tour would be awesome," Alarie told him, relieved that he wasn't ditching her yet to go to bed. She left her bag where it was, thinking that maybe she would just worry about unloading it in the morning. She walked over to him and tucked her arm in his again. "I guess the most important part is over, right? Choosing the room." She dug out the key with her free hand to lock the door, since it was claimed and all, and she didn't feel like coming back to find her bag outside the door and someone new inhabiting it. "Tomorrow you can introduce me to all of your friends and everything else. I feel like I have a ton of stuff to see and I don't want to waste any time."
"You have six years in this place, Arie," Harlan chuckled as he lead her back down the hall. "You have plenty of time to get things done in. You don't have to cram everything into your first few days, or else you'll have nothing to do for the rest." And in his opinion, the most important parts were yet to come: all the learning, the attempts at getting along and working together, and the tests of the next six years.