Welcome to Gaia! ::

Looking at the large tome, she shook her head. "I think it would be easier for you to come up here whenever you have time, as it's quite heavy. However, once you've found the room, you're free to take the book to the room, so long as you let me know." She didn't expect that they would find the room for a while yet; after all, it could be literally anywhere within the school. Dorm rooms were not impossible, nor were closets or the old and currently unused servants' passages.

"But this does not excuse you from classes," Arielle iterated, giving them both meaningful looks, "and I still expect you to come here after you've finished for the day." She hadn't forgotten what had happened earlier.

Arielle nodded slightly. "I will charm my door so that it will allow you entrance whenever you need it--for both of you. Even if I am not here, the door will open for you. But you'll only be able to use the book and chairs unless I return, simply as a precaution to keep you from snooping." She smiled knowingly at the two.

Ever laughed softly at the last part the Headmistress said and then nodded her head. "Of course, Headmistress. Thank you. Thank you so much. Have a good afternoon."

She curtsied to her and then turned to smile brightly at Akira before she dashed out of the room giggling. She felt so free now that others knew of her secret finally! She didn't have to keep it solely to herself any longer!

Ever laughed as they were running and said, "I don't think we'll find it today or even this week. It will take awhile. In fact, I think I should read some of that book tomorrow and it might give us some ideas on even where to begin."

They got to a banister that overlooked the 2nd floor. Straight across and down was the bottom of the staircase that led to the 2nd floor. So, quickly, Ever latched onto the banister, vaulted herself on top of it, and then lunged across the opening and landed on the 2nd floor. She shouted back to her friend right before she continued running again.

"But I don't plan on worrying about it now! I'm too hungry! To the cafeteria for lunch!"

Holding up the skirt pattern so it was more visible, she pointed to the line of pins. "If you pin the fabric the way you want it to look when you sew it, sewing is simpler to follow. You basically make a road for the thread, and your needle acts as a carriage that pulls the thread in the right way," she pointed down one of her 'roads' as she spoke. She normally did not speak much, either, but sewing was an exception--as was family or acting. "This way you don't get lost by trailblazing." Metaphors were so nice.

"Pleased to have been of help. My name is Aurora, by the way." She gave a very brief, tiny smile, before returning to the skirt in her lap. It was nearly ready to sew.

Ever was sitting on the grass with her knees to her chin as she watched in fascination.

What she saw was a heftier, bulky woman with curly, shoulder-length white hair working with three other largely-built men making several trips in and out of the nearby forest. Each time they came out of the forest, they had either a mysterious creature nestled in their arms or were leading a taller animal out into a large fence at the edge of the forest. Ever assumed that that was where the class was being held.

She had hoped to see a unicorn being led out of the forest, but so far, nothing. But that was okay because she saw so many other awesome animals coming out. Large falcon-like birds in vibrant colors that could morph to the animal's liking, small mouse creatures, horse-like creatures that weren't unicorns or pegasus but still really cool. They were elegant and proud-looking. But she didn't know yet what they did.

There was also a rabbit-looking creature with long floppy ears and that seemed to be able to float right out of the holder's arms! It didn't go far, but it continued to float happily around the handlers. It was adorable!

((...I'm going to go ahead and timeskip Aurora into the current storytime.))

Aurora had sat in what she considered comfortable silence with the girl who was not a particularly skilled seamstress after their brief conversation (one that she'd noted drew a few odd looks, as neither girl was prone to talking), then set off for lunch. She rather missed her uncle's cooking--well, she reminded herself, he's not technically my uncle, even if he knows Mom well enough to be. His cooking was well-known in her family as being very delicious and innovative.

He could do things with fried chicken that made it seem gourmet.

Nonetheless, the school's food was quite remarkable in and of itself. She had heard quite a few horror stories about school foods, and this made her glad it was not the case at Bai Ching--although it perhaps also made her a more lenient critic of school foods. No matter; growing up with her uncle's professional-grade foods likely made her biased anyway, so she used this reasoning whenever she felt that she was being unnecessarily harsh on food that someone else made.

Just as she was finishing her meal, an announcement was made that spoke of some new class--one based on the relationships between people and familiars. Interesting. Perhaps I should scope it out, no? Though there was no one who she was speaking to, she often held conversations with herself when she was thinking. She felt it gave her a clearer idea of what was happening around her than simply taking it in and accepting it.

So, giving herself a mental nod, she headed towards the library, not a single halting moment occuring from the time the announcement ended to the time she reached her niche to wait out the next forty-five minutes or so. Though she disliked being late, she also disliked being early.