Seagulls

A small group of students had gathered. In the middle of them was a young man - probably about 17 or 18 - and a much older man. The older man was definitely Mr. Amarant, one of the school's powers teachers. The other thing that would stand out would be the large medieval suit of armor standing directly behind the younger man. The students were mostly deathly quiet, but a few whispers could be heard between some of them.

"You may have been given special permission to use our Library, Alistair, but don't expect me to let you have free reign. I got my eyes on you." Mr. Amarant said, nodding at the giant suit of armor standing behind the young man.

Alistair gave a half-smile, appearing slightly worried. He looked behind him at the suit of armor, which raised its metallic hands in a threatening manner. "That's right." Said the old man. "Every single one of these is mine. But you knew that already, I bet. Don't think I won't be able to catch you if you're somewhere you shouldn't. And don't even think about mingling with these students! You have a good talk, but I know a trickster when I see one!" The old man grunted.

Alistair turned back to look at the short senior teacher and bowed in an old-fashioned polite manner. "Yes, milord. I understand the implications, sincerely. I shall not disappoint you." He smiled. His words came off as sincere, and the students who had surrounded them seemed impressed enough. Alistair had indeed known that the various life-sized empty medieval suits of armor that decorated various parts of the school grounds were used by Amarant. After all, Amarant had an incredible ability which allowed him to take control of such things like some sort of puppeteer. Alistair figured this ability would be marvelous to have in the event that the school experienced some sort of security threat.

Amarant gave Alistair the stink-eye, clearly not believing his sincerity. "Hrmph, you may have everyone else fooled but I don't buy it. Get moving already, eh?" Amarant scowled and then turned to the crowd of students and waved his walking staff at them menacingly. "You lot, move on! Nothing to see here! Don't make me give you detention!" A sense of dread fell upon the students began to disperse. A few of them would even walk by Avian and she would likely hear them whisper about how much of a "hardass" Amarant was. Amarant himself would walk past Avian towards the front exit, his medieval suit of armor following behind him, a clank-clank noise echoing as it moved. If Avian was still standing there as he walked by, he would glare at her and say, "Come on kid, didn't you hear me? Get going!", before continuing towards the exit and going outside.

Alistair just stood there for a moment with his arms crossed, his face giving the impression that he was thinking. He didn't seem at all offended or flustered despite the scolding he had just received.

Despite his recent encounter with Mr. Amarant, Alistair was considering just what topic to read up on next. The Academy's library was filled with marvelous items of knowledge, and he had thoroughly enjoyed studying it - even if the original intention of reading those books involved a much more serious objective.

He definitely noticed though that some female student - or at least, she presumably was a student - who he had never seen before let a bird in through the window. The bird seemed to quite enjoy the young woman's company. Alistair found this exchange rather fascinating.

"A familiar of yours, perhaps?" He inquired. "If you were sneaking him inside, I do believe Academy rules sanction the company of familiars while traversing the grounds as long as they are not a nuisance." He smiled.

He frowned as the bird flew away. It wasn't his intention to scare it off. "Sincere apologies, milady, if I startled you. Such was not my intent, I assure you." Simply by the way she reacted, he could tell she wasn't much for social interaction. He considered that trait carefully and thus kept a fair distance between them so as to make her feel as comfortable as possible.

"The admissions office? It is not far from this location. Simply pass down this hallway and turn left." He pointed with a warm smile. "Incidentally, this is also the general direction I am headed, for I intend to peruse the library. If you wish, I can escort you until that point." He asked this with sincerity despite feeling like she wasn't really interested with the added company. "Before I rudely neglect to introduce myself, my name is Alistair Fordren." He provided a formal bow.

If she seemed really hesitant about accompanying him, he might decide to continue down the hallway on his own.

"Very well. A pleasure to meet you, Miss Avian." He would have used her last name had she provided it. He led the way to the admission's office just as he had offered. "Would this happen to be your first year here at Starlight Academy? There seems to be many newcomers each year of all ages. Even young adults have started boarding here." He said matter-of-factually.

A few students walked by and gave Alistair a weird look. What, does he give tours now? They whispered to each other, barely loud enough to hear. If Alistair did hear it, he ignored them.

By the time they reached the office, he would ask, "Will you require assistance reaching the girls' dormitory? Males are not permitted within the proper, but I could certainly bring you to the entrance." He smiled, leaning back against the wall across from the office door and folding his arms. "If you wish, I will wait here for you to finish inside." He offered.

When she returned, he smiled as if genuinely happy to see her again. "Very well, let us continue." He said, and started to walk away when her question caused him to pause. "Nice?" He repeated, giving her a quizzed look. "I apologize, but I do not understand your question." He fully turned to her now, a thoughtful expression upon his face.

"Have I offended you? If so, I sincerely apologize. It was merely my intention to help." He frowned. "You appeared rather puzzled earlier, and thus I considered it proper form to offer assistance. Have I erred?" The thought of having offended her upset him, and he wondered if maybe she truly wanted to be left alone but wasn't forthcoming enough to mention it.