Welcome to Gaia! ::

Sneaking out of St-Magsdalena's Seminary was the easy part, Gwendolyn Caspian told herself, as she all but sauntered down the sidewalk after making her getaway. For once, she was thankful to be vertically challenged, as it was all too easy to slip away undetected when the crowd was herded into the building during morning bell, and before too long she was a free girl!

A free girl, with the rest of the day ahead of her, and the first order of business was to get as far away from St. Mag’s as possible, as well as this outlandish garb.

’Seriously, grey and pink? Who came up with this design anyway?’ Gwendolyn thought to herself as she scrunched a bit of her sleeve with her open-gloved fingers. She wasn’t the type to care about fashion but even she was appalled at the sight of the uniform when Maddy showed it to her. ’Cheap fabric, likely to rip easily, which means horsing around in this won’t do me much good.’

She spent only a moment more ‘admiring’ the attire before casting it to the back of her mind. She wasn’t going to waste this glorious day whining about a stupid uniform, even if she had to wear it all day long.

“Note to self, pack extra clothing next time I make my escape… can’t risk going to the apartment. The landlord would tell Maddy, or worse, Sister Jeanne…”

At the very mention of that name, Gwendolyn glanced over her shoulder, almost expecting the kindly, overbearing nun to be standing there, waiting, with that patient yet smug look on her face. No one was behind her, at least no one she recognized, but now she was on alert.

’It won’t be long before she notices I’m missing… which means I should be looking for a good place to hide. She looked around for an opening, a building or perhaps a large group of people that she could blend into once again. No WAY I can do it again, not in this stupid get-up… there’s got to be something…

Gwendolyn looked around, searching, like a predator looking for its prey…

’Whatever I do, better do it fast…’ Gwendolyn said to herself mentally, glancing over her shoulder again and quickening her pace without breaking into a trot as it would only catch other bystanders’ attention. There was still no sign of Sister Jeanne or any nun for that matter, but she wasn’t fooled. For a woman decked in black robes and as tall as a basketball player, she could be very stealthy herself. ’My senses are tingling. Or that’s breakfast catching up with me…’

She saw a movement in the crowd behind that seemed suspicious and just like that, she was into full gallop mode. Whether it was Sister Jeanne or not, Gwendolyn wasn’t going to stick around to find out!

’I can outrun her,’ Gwendolyn thought to herself, darting down the street and finding her escape route. Like a giant ‘kill me’ light flashing during a boss fight, Gwendolyn leapt onto the empty bench and scaled the brick wall with relative ease, standing on the very top for only a second before leaping back down onto the other side, all without taking a single glance forward… or down.

It was a longer drop than she’d anticipated, and the young girl that was treading carefully on the slippery sidewalk caught her eyes too late. She screamed as she came crashing down, trying to twist and maneuver around to avoid a direct collision with her. “LOOK OUT!”

It was months of gymnastic training verses the laws of gravity, and Gwendolyn got out of that fight through the skin of her teeth, not only landing on her legs (and not breaking them), but right behind the girl, mere inches away from her. For a moment, she forgot where she was and stood in jubilation, striking an ending pose. “Ha! Perfect lan-“

Her foot slipped and she went crashing down on her butt, crushing the lunch in her book sack and her pride in a matter of seconds. She muttered to herself as she turned around, getting a good look at the one she could have very well killed. “Don’t be angry, don’t be TOO angry?”

"Um... are you alright...?"

Gwen’s response was immediate, if only a half truth. “I’m fine. I’m use to taking tumbles like that though the mats are softer...”

She didn’t mention how damaged her pride was, but thankfully it seemed that this girl was the only one that saw her. She accepted the hand graciously, taking a moment to whip the dirt and ice from her bottom and paying little attention to any scratches on the dress or her black stockings. Such things didn’t bother her in the least, and instead she turned attentive golden eyes to the girl she nearly landed on.

“How about you? I didn’t hurt you or scare you too much did I?” Gwen asked, any thought of St. Mag’s and the possibility of a tailing nun far from her mind now as her entire focus was on Anming. She wasn’t used to seeing other students outside of St. Mag’s but she immediately recognized the uniform, and silently envied her.

"It was pretty frightening for a moment; I thought you were going to crash into me," Her relief was plain to hear in her voice and Gwen picked up on that. "I'm glad to hear you're okay, though."


Gwen waved the mere thought away. "I survived worst falls from the uneven bars... there was one time I went down neck first. I think my ego cushioned the fall on that one."

Then, in a more sheepish, genuine manner, she apologized. "And sorry for the scare... I really should look where I'm going next time. I'm still getting used to this city with all it's twists and turns- how does anyone not get lost here is beyond me!"

She feared she was babbling, and before she could yammer on any more or be spotted by a truancy officer, she extended her hand to the girl. "Name's Gwendolyn Caspian, but you can call me Gwen."

"My name is Lin Anming- I mean, Anming Lin. It's nice to meet you, Gwen."

Gwen was confused but only for a moment, and she gave Anming's hand another shake before releasing her. "Anming, then. Pleasure to meet you, though I'd wish it'd be under better circumstances. Next time I'll look before I leap... promise!"

There was a beeping coming from Gwen's booksack and she immediately grabbed the watch that was in her smallest compartment. Her eyebrows rose in alarm, and she looked at Anming. "Hey, does Meadowview's classes start differently than St. Mag's?"

Gwen could sympathesize with Anming in regards to the icy patches, motioning to her now damp bottom and giving it a casual wipe, getting off as much dirt and remnants of ice as she could. "I'm not used to ice and cold, not from where I come from. We were lucky to get an inch every five years down there..."

She didn't want to bother the poor girl with such small talk, given the fact that she knew she was running late now. Gwen took one more glance over her shoulder to make sure there was no nuns or truancy officers around, before she made her decision.

"How about this. I make up for nearly scaring you half to death by accompanying you to your school? I have no immediate plans of getting back to St. Mag's any time soon, and I can move on ahead and warn you of any more icy patches."

'Not to mention if I do get caught, I can always use this charity to my advantage...' Gwen kept that part to herself, as she slung her backpack over her shoulder once again and trying to get her bearings as to where Meadowview was. 'Besides, it'll give me a chance to make a new friend here... lord knows I need one outside of that prison!'

"That sound good to you?"

Without even waiting for an answer, she ushered Anming along, knowing that they had little time to waste before she became super late. She at least owed it to Anming to get her to class on time...