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((Well, overall, Lin is a very strangle-able character. But in that post, she sounded pretty cool!))

History class ended, and Caroline exhaled as she packed up her notebooks. She liked Bai Ching, everyone was so nice to her these first few days. It was a breath of fresh air after dealing with so many snobby people before.

By the time Caroline got back to her room, she was smiling and humming some background music from Final Fantasy.

"Hey Aurora! Hi... Okay, sorry, I forgot your name... but hi! What are we staring... at?" The girl saw the map once she walked in a few steps, and could see around her friend.

"What's that?"

"Thanks, Lin." Ophiuchus walked to the large door, and knocked. He hoped the Headmistress was in, and he hoped she wouldn't bring up what happened yesterday, with him childishly insulting Ares (even though it was fun). At least, not until AFTER he told her what he knew.

Which, frankly, wasn't much. But it was important.

Aurora greeted Caroline with a distracted nod, and followed Akira into the bathroom. To be completely honest, she had almost forgotten about finding some room--of course, then it seemed that it would be in her shower... Wait. No, that can't be right. She had showered in it many times and it had never--

Never say never, as her mom would sometimes say.

Aurora blinked at the shower wall as it seemed to morph. The smooth marble wall was changing, seemingly rearranging itself. A shape began to protrude... a door, just one, with a crystal doorknob. It wasn't anything particularly fancy. It seemed to be made of a dark wood, and it was fashioned fairly simply. There was a plaque on it, at approximately eye-level, but the writing was too faded to read. At any rate, it was not in English or any other recognizable language, so to try and read it would be useless.

The door looked so innocent, and Aurora stared at it for a moment. "I did not expect that..." she murmured. "We... should go in... and get Evermore..."

Ophi looked at Headmistress Krause as he walked in. His expression was serious, and his voice, grave.

"Setsuka may be back," he said simply. "That's all I could pick up from... Headmaster Enlil."

Aurora actually smiled for a moment, and it was a pretty smile. "Let's open the door." She reached a hand out and grasped the crystalline knob, and it felt oddly warm under her fingers. She turned it slowly, almost reverently, and pushed (not pulled) it open, revealing a room that looked very homey.

It was not very clean, though. There were books sitting on almost every available surface, and many were open, as if someone had been reading them, but then had left. There was a fireplace, and it was going, the fire warm and bright. Old-fashioned furniture from various ages was settled around the space, and very few pieces matched--those few that did may have even been coincidence, for some seemed more worn than others.

There was a slightly stuffy smell in the air, but it was not uncomfortable. It was... almost nice. The whole room smelled of papers and burning wood, with some fleeting other scents mixed in--ink, cinnamon, vanilla, leather, the smoke of a cigar. Aurora walked in slowly, gazing in awe around the room.

It was almost impossible to see the walls for all the bookcases, and there were some corners deep in shadow. The room did not seem to be in any particular shape. Random niches and corners were scattered in the same manner as the books. A window, covered in dust and seeming to have never been too clear anyways, let in some feeble light to one side.

She wished, with a brief pang, that Altan was there. He would love this room. Such a wealth of knowledge was hidden here, she could tell. It was beautiful in its own way. She had to watch her step as she continued forward, for there were places where the floor would step down, almost platform-like in the set-up. The only consistent thing was that the fireplace, with two tall-backed armchairs and a low coffee table in front of it, seemed to be the center, the focus, of the room.

Ever felt the tapping on her shoulder, and she sighed before she opened her eyes. When she saw it was Akira, she took off her headphones and put the song on Pause.

She arched an eyebrow at her friend. "What?"

Arielle immediately sat up straighter. "S-Setsuka?" No, why did she have to stutter? Why did Setsuka return--how did she return? This was bad. Very bad. "What do you think has happened?" she asked, standing. "We must... we must figure this out, and warn the other schools."