U of K8P
"Woooooohoooooo!"
Hannah's voice rang out like a finger across a wineglass.
"Ugh, please, wait until I've got some booze in me, I am begging you."
"Dibs on the bath!"
Her roommates followed her in. Darna and Lessile, a dwarf and another human, the three of them newly met that afternoon at the terminal in Karag Lhune, where the freshman class was traditionally collected.
"Awww, what? Wait! We have a bath?" Hannah spun a quick pirouette from looking out the broad windows of their suite to pout and trail after Darna, the dwarf making a beeline for a second door to the south of the room.
"Yep," Darna said, a smirk on her voice as she left the way into a small grotto-cave, lit softly with runelight, "Every room has an en-suite bathroom, unlike the big public baths you get in Lhune. First Magister figure'd some of you foreign types might be a mite bodyshy." She looked back over her shoulder significantly, hands going to the laces of her outer chain vest.
Hannah eeped and excused herself. Back in the main room, a large L that she realized now was wrapped around the bath, she found her other new companion of the next four years leaning back on one of the beds scattered about, book and glass of wine already in hand. Three beds, three desks, three upright wardrobes. Bare walls. Well- that last she could do something about. Stepping roughly to the center, she raised an eyebrow and called over to the prone figure.
"Hey, Lissile? Mind if I put up some decorations?"
The Brettonian looked over at her, and raised an eyebrow right back, given the solid granite walls shot through with veins of quartz.
"What did you have in mind?"
Hannah grinned, raising her hand with a peculiar twist and a soft murmer, and a softly glowing stylized flame bloomed above it.
"I was thinking of putting up some MMAPs."
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"Bath's free!" Darna called, pausing as she exited. "Ok, who's the torrent crafter?"
"That would be me!" Hannah piped, bouncing up from where she had been sitting cross-legged on Lissile's bed. "Hannah Arcadent, Journeywoman of the Bright Order, at your service! We were just talking designs and we'd love to get your thoughts!"
Half the room was covered in swirls of blue and gold, pinwheels and fleur d'lis. The other was a surprisingly naturalistic sunset over mountains, all oranges and reds and negative space.
Darna's reply was a slow grin. "Well, I've less than no objection to the idea in principle, and I like what you're doing with those mountains there. But I'll tell you now, I'd consider it a trivial boon if you'd make all the rest of the locals jealous of us, and here's how..."
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Some time later, the work of claiming furniture and decorating and unpacking and unwinding done, the girls had drifted too talking about each other.
"Me? Well, there's not too much to say. I'm Brettonian, of course, here on the officer track- looking forward to the Undumgi commission at the other end of this. And yes, before you ask, I did read all the Soizic Adventures when I was a little girl and *yes*, I did really really want to be her when I grew up. So I'm double-majoring in martial studies and logistics, but I don't know if that means I have any classes with either of you?" Lissile looked over at the others.
"Maybe some of the pre-reqs," Darna answered, "I'm here on the academic track, Pre-Rune focus, so that's probably some of the math and history... Hmm. Forged Weapons 101? We'll have to check."
"Pre-Rune? I thought that was a dwarf boy-only sort of thing?" Hannah asked.
"Not quite," Darna frowned, "All the actual runework is taught in the apprenticeships after, of course, but the University is considered to be a good grounding in basic principals and theory, so it gets you looked at twice by all the better sorts of runesmiths when you ask to apprentice- that's why all the boys do it. As for me, well, given the Rune of Valaya they couldn't exactly keep me out on principal, and I'm actually aiming to see if I can help on the project of re-discovering the working runes, maybe get an apprenticeship in a few decades if I can score a post-grad position with a runesmith that can weigh talent a liiiittle bit more than the lack of a beard." She smiled over at Lissile. "I read about Soizic, but the First Wizard was really the one I wanted to be. Think of all she discovered, and in these very peaks!"
"Ooooooh, we've got ourselves a radical here Lissile!" Hannah cried, while Darna threw a pillow at her.
"But no," she said, sitting up, "You have a dream and I respect that so much! 'We can all change the world for the better'- school motto right? I promise I will be here for you to encourage you and cheer you on!"
"Well, what about you?" Lissile asked, "What's your dream?"
"Bit far afield from University halls," Hannah said, flopping back, "but I can tell you I'm journey-track, obviously, but I really want to just experience Eightpeaks while I'm here. Take a bunch of art classes, do the whole 'drink your way round the caldera' challenge, read in the library, go explore in the tunnels and caves looking for undiscovered treasures and dangers! Go to some of the hand-ball games, buy a bunch of gear with our little Wee Webber mascot on it, you know..."
"You should try out for cheerleading," Darna cut in, "You've certainly got the enthusiasm and we could certainly use all the enthusiasm we can get next time we go up against Barak Var."
"Me? A cheerleader?" Hannah seemed quite taken with the idea. Lissile laughed.
"You should! I'd go to the games regardless but I'd certainly cheer at your lead!"
"A cheerleader..." Hannah murmered.
The girls drifted off to sleep, the busy day finally catching up to them. Above, in soft grey mist in the middle of the ceiling, floated a MMAP of Karak Eight-Peaks, as complete as a talented artist and native dwarf could make it. A tiny replica of the grand MMAP that hung in the council hall, where few but the most important were ever allowed. Her eyes finally closing, Darna allowed herself a small, satisfied smile. These two, she thought, she could live with.
A/N- I had like four lines for the next Soizic price and this came out instead. I blame the thread discussion.
Plus I wanted to write dialogue. Parts 2&3 possible, I had a few more ideas and wanted to show, rather than tell.
