“What do you thinks wrong with him, Toby?” said Phiobe, from
where she sat watching Ubrin investigate the open space between the house and
the wall separating the foreign dorms from the rest of the campus.
“I don’t know, Phi. He did seem rather off though, and don’t
think I didn’t notice the way Ubrin was sniffing at him.” Toby replied, continuing
to place his belongings in order within the first floor room that Phiobe hadn’t
clamed for herself.
Tobias and Phiobe had arrived at the house shortly after the
midday bell to find their belongings had already arrived and been placed in the
first floors living area. The living
area was modestly furnished in neutral tones of white and beige, and took up
most of the first floor. Further inspection had revealed a small sink and
cooking prep area to the left of the main entrance as well as two large rooms
with adjoining bathrooms along the back part of the floor. Having taken that in
Reginald had shown the siblings to the second floor by way of a set of discrete
stairs. The second floor was much like the first except where the first floor
had only had two rooms the second had four, split into pairs with a bathroom
set between them and each having access to the large balcony which spanned the
back of the house.
The house itself did not appear to have hosted residents for
quite some time though it had, as Reginald had explained, been cleaned in preparation
for the siblings arrival.
The reason for the lack of other residents, Reginald had
also explained was that although the group of two story homes that sat in a
circle surrounding the open courtyard area were available exclusively for use
by all foreign students, because of the other options available to such students
often the six buildings went without residents.
Shortly before arriving at what would be their new home for
the length of their stay at TUAMA, Reginald had pointed out one of those
options. Across from the Foreign Students dorms were a row of dorms dedicated
to different campus groups. Slightly bigger in size then the foreign students
dorm houses, these Group homes served the housing needs of particular members
of the student body. Reginald had
explained, though he hadn’t pointed out specific buildings, that certain
abilities caused tension within other dorms or were simply easier on all involved
when housed separately from the general population of students.
For example, he had said, persons with natural or cultivated
ensorcellment abilities often chose to be housed in the group dorm dedicated to
those with that particular ability since they were often treated with distrust
by other students. While those with strong precognitive or empathic abilities
where often invited to join the NUCOGPATH house since it had been found that
certain types of Nulls helped temper the side effects of those gifts.
Faculty homes were
placed along the opposite side of the paving hosted the Group homes eventually
ending at the Headmistress’s home itself. While this path branched off from the
one ending in the foreign homes, it started at the schools gates and ran
solidly across the campus connecting the many separate buildings.
The campus tour had begun with that first step out of the
Administrative building which, while Toby had thought of the Administrative Building
as being a singular structure, Reginald had revealed, was actually part of what
the school referred to as The Quad. The square structure was actually four
buildings surrounding an open courtyard that had been built into each other.
The corner the siblings had been in was the Administrative Building, which also
housed business classes on it’s second floor, while the corner above it housed
the student infirmary and the medical arts classes. Next to the Administrative
building’s corner was the Library and Language spellcraft arts buildings corner
leaving the that corner to house the student cafeteria with general education
classes held on it’s second floor.
It had almost been time for the midday meal when Tobias and
Phiobe had finished speaking with Headmistress Imsenko, so Reginald had offered
to start their tour at the cafeteria and answer any questions they might have.
~*~
(to be continued)
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