Rosea · Alium

Mayari sighed as guys stepped out of her way and looked at her as she passed, making her subconscious of herself.  Yes, she dressed in skirts and such, but she didn't necessarily want their attention, not in wolf-whistles and 'damn baby, call me sugar daddy' and all of that.  Though some of the girl's reactions were cute, yet some were disturbing...  She shook her head to herself and paused as she stood outside an older looking building, stone, the name of it pretty hidden.  Though as she had noticed each dormitory seemed to fit the name description.  Rockwell seemed like a mini castle on the vast grounds.  Or, at least it appeared vast.  She also noticed most people stopped paying attention to her when she got within 20 yards of the door.

Minus one.

A girl with deep red hair popped up out of almost no where, "You know, chicka, you are supposed to go inside the building."  The girl was wearing lose pants that hung down around her hips, a black thong clearly visible by about three inches and a short crop tee that looked like it had gotten in a fight with scissors and barely lived to tell the tale.

"Really?  Inside... Wow."  Mayari replied but the girl put her hands on Mayari's shoulders and guided her inside.  There she saw a table underneath a canopy of crepe paper and balloons and other decorations saying 'welcome' and 'Rosea Alium High' and such.  Mayari nearly puked.

"Wow, you are a little gothic Lolita, aren't you?  Now what most people do is walk up and give their name, get their little packet and then go find their room and then socialize!  I can give you a tour of normal social practices if you want."  The girl continued.

Mayari twitched, ready to punch the girl but stepped forward, "I am sure I can figure this out all on my lonesome.  I am 16 for a reason."  She said bitterly and looked at the man behind the table.  "Vo, Mayari."

"Ænæv'iprëna, Khufru."  The boy replied, smiling finding a folder, opening it to see if the papers were there, but there was no mortal evidence he read them considering her closed it so quickly.  "This is the packet that will give you all the rules and regulations, as well as dorm mate and class schedule and such.  You may want to go over it as soon as possible, and if you aren't too busy would you like to get a cup of coffee tomorrow at 10:00?  There is a little cafe that isn't too bad."

Mayari was shocked by his abruptness and smiled gently, "I should probably take a rain check, I am still new here."

"Oh!  Your new?  Says you are a junior though... oh well, at that case I also need to see an example of your magical skill to make sure you can take care of yourself while on campus."  Khufru added, still smiling, looking her over.  He wasn't half bad looking, black slacks and a deep red tee with chin length deep brown and black hair with big green eyes.

Mayari had been prepared for some type of test and with some concentration the water in his glass rose, creating figures of dancers and ribbons until it turned into a phoenix and then an ice spear, striking the table hard, not shattering but lodging itself nicely.

Khufru whistled lowly, "Water element, nice, nice."  He picked up the ice spear and dropped it into his glass, "Have fun Mayari."

Mayari shook her head, pulling out the dorm information.  Luckily there were stairs and elevators, though the latter was no doubt built far later in the building's life.  Her dorm mate was named Jaenae Satsu, same year, in room 216.  She sighed thinking it was time to find her dorm, and the person she'd spend the next term with.

High School life. It was going to be dorm life. Odd, huh? Mayari could not understand why her father decided to move her here and have her go to a fucking private school. One of those snobby live-on-campus types with girls she would never get along with and boys that she'd never meet. This was hell. Living hell. May she would leave...

"Hey! Open up in there! You aren't going to get the bed you want in your dorm if you just sit there!" A girl said knocking on Mayari's window. She twitched to herself, wondering who dared knock on a Maserati GranSport Spyder. She twitched again as the girl knocked harder, and Mayari got out of the car, locking it and the alarm set, which then proceeded to go off because of the girl standing next to her. "Whoa! Turn that thing off!"

Mayari grumbled to herself and turned the alarm off, "Move a bit and the alarm wont go off next time. This car is worth more then your family, so I ask you not to touch it again." The girl backed away and Mayari set the alarm again, and started walking. Why did she have a feeling this pathetic life form was going to be in one or more classes with her?

Well, it was clear that the pathetic life form didn't take a hint and walked in stride with Mayari. "Kind of cranky, aren't we? Why? Shouldn't you be happy that you are at school? I know that's what my parents tell me." The girl laughed though, clearly being sarcastic. Maybe she wasn't so pathetic after all.

"Oh, I'm looking forward to school alright. Didn't go to sleep all night just at the mere thought of going to a new school with new faces. Doesn't that always enthrall people?"

The girl grinned, "I thought you looked knew. What's your name?"

Mayari paused. People always scoffed at her name. It was Egyptian, and she was clearly Caucasian. "Mayari. Yours?"

"Mayari... pretty, suits you! I'm of no importance." The girl looked anxious suddenly, "I'll be off then!" And with that, the girl vanished. Literally.

What was even worse was it had no impact on Mayari. The girl was probably some enslaved sprite that was sent to check on her, see what new flesh was about. She shook her head, whatever it was, that was depressing. She shouldn't have been so cruel, but it was hard not to be. It was a defense mechanism. Blame her father, military and all of that... She sat down as she saw the first available bench. She wasn't lost, the school was pretty straight forward. She needed to find Rockwell and then she'd be set.

Speaking of Rockwell, was that an angel that walked past her? Mayari now actually looked at the people around her. A slow realization dawned on her, and she sank. She was no longer just around mortals. She shook her head, feeling the fight leave her. She was meek again. After a moment she stood up and went in search of Rockwell.

In one smooth movement Mayari had tumbled out of bed and into the bathroom, flipping on the lights and the cold tap, dousing her face in water. Her heart was still pounding. She leaned back against the wall and looked at herself in the mirror. She wasn't shocked by what she saw.

The girl looking back at her through the silver-backed glass had fair skin that was drained of color, a softly curved chin and small defined lips that gave her a cameo appeal. Her eyes were fairly large and almond shaped with blue irises, though the whites were now bloodshot. She looked scared, and Mayari was. Though she didn't know why. She never knew why...

She stripped out of the satin nightgown and got in the shower, cold water poured down on her before becoming warm, shocking her awake then washing away the fear. She sighed and tilted her head back, the water dropped about her so softly. She gently cleansed away the sweat with a lathered puff, replacing the scent of fear with roses then left the shower and bathroom, dried and anything but content.

It was five o'clock and she was awake. That was Mayari's number one issue. She either woke up early, or late. Never, ever, on time. So she dressed herself, cotton white panties with black lace and a matching bra, then her school uniform. The black plaid skirt (though she barely got away with it) and white button up polo. She brushed her hair, placing silver clips in it and took a black jumper, tying it around her waist before putting socks in her shoes and carried them downstairs.

Another issue was the fact Mayari typically lived by herself. Her parents didn't know her, and she didn't know them. Her mother had died at a young age, not that she minded, and her father worked with the Government and was rarely home. Yet, food was always in the kitchen, and she opened the refrigerators.

At least... it generally was. When was the last time she went shopping? Mayari sighed and opened the cupboard, her eyes glancing over the items. Wheat pasta anyone?

"I don't eat that much, but you'd think there'd be something other then this." She mumbled and closed the door, now looking about the pantry, finding tuna and crackers. She had mayonnaise in the fridge... and some dill weed with the seasonings. Maybe a bit of cheese? She double checked and found some cheddar that she could have sworn wasn't there moment ago. "A-typical teen, eating typical low-budget and nothing-in-house breakfast." She sang to herself making the small sandwiches finally content. First day of classes, and she was already starting the day off like this?

At least the car was packed... Mayari paused mid-chew. It was packed, wasn't it? She didn't have much, but she did have some, right? She panicked and ran out of the house and into the garage, praying everything was there that needed to be there.

Ten minutes later she re-entered the house, feeling foolish. Everything was there, all the textbooks, her notebooks, pens and pencils, everything was where it should be. She then looked at the kitchen table.

"Damn it Toya... must you always eat my food?" She grumbled, glaring at her cat munching happily on the rest of her tuna.

Ding. . . Ding. . . Ding. . .

Voices were slowly heard as children and adults alike entered the snow. Shoes crunched the ice and laughter could be heard from the children running ahead of their parents, anxious to get home and warm, out of the Sunday dress and into more comfortable clothes. They couldn't wait for the smell of dinner to fill the house.

And of course the snow still fell, which a few flakes had to be promptly caught on a tongue or two.

However the children halted in their footsteps as their parents took long strides that were quickly shortened to a mid-step. The mayor of the town stared at the blockade of strangers clad in black. He took a few steps forward, his coat moving about him in the wind as snow swirled about.

"Who be thee? Why dost thou stop us?" The man demanded.

A man was standing across from him, his hair was long and black, his eyes danced in the gloom. A smile slowly stretched across his lips, sharpened teeth revealing themselves, "We stop thee for thy own sake, good sir." He said delicately.

The woman next to him, dressed in richly fabrics, making the best of the Sunday dresses among them look like cleaning rags, smiled as well. "We shall stop thee only once, my lord. For we are merely weary travelers, you see. Can any of thou turn away those in need? All we ask is for some land outside of the town and to make it our own."

The mayor was a good man, a faithful man, and nodded slowly, "Take the land if thou wishes it." He said slowly, not seeing a point not too. He already knew that this settlement was in ruins and probably would not last the winter. Might as well have some new faces to huddle with for warmth, "May it serve you well."

The woman smiled, "You have no idea..."