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 Posted: Mon Sep 23, 2013 7:42 pm
It wasn't hard to miss the fact that the school had garnered quite a few new students lately. Meixiang was feeling a bit out of touch with the whole social side of school life. Besides, she was a year two. She should of had plenty of friends right? Well, she hadn't seen most of her friends lately. And she supposed she was kind of avoiding her Zombros too. They were on the cusp of graduating anyhow and had other things to deal with she supposed. Though she did miss her DDD time with Alex. Maybe she'd pop in and see him sometime. Who knows. She was feeling kind of gloomy today so that didn't seem like a possibility for now. Somehow she found herself just wandering the halls on the main building. Casually stopping to glance at flyers for classes and clubs on bulletin boards. It wasn't busy in the halls but it certainly wasn't too quiet either.
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Posted: Mon Sep 23, 2013 7:51 pm
Tanita was striding along the halls, occasionally stopping to peer at flyers. She really needed to make up her mind what classes she was taking! This WAS a school, after all. It's why she was here, to learn! She just had no idea where to start, was the problem. It made her nervous, and worried, that she'd pick all the wrong classes, and make bad decisions. What was it about arriving here that had made her so self questioning, too? She needed to get over that, get back to the self confident dragon she was supposed to BE. She was about to peer at another flyer when she noticed another ghoul by it. Tilting her head, Tanita studied the ghoul's clothing. It was pretty, she liked it a lot! "Hello there! My name is Tanita... Are you thinking about taking this class?" There! No one could claim she wasn't at least TRYING to make new friends on her own, rather then trust to fate to have them happen!
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Posted: Mon Sep 23, 2013 7:59 pm
Brown eyes glanced at the other ghoul as she spoke as a large smile came to her dark lips. Meixiang brushed some white bang out of her eyes, the scroll on her forehead just flopped back across her nose. "Maybe. It feels like forever since I really took a class though. Are you thinking about signing up?" This ghoul seemed new. At least...Mei hadn't seen her before. Though that could be said about a lot of the students around here. For her at least. She turned slightly, tilting her head just a bit to study the other ghoul. "I'm Meixiang. It's a pleasure to meet you Tanita. Are you a new student?" The Jiang Shi slipped her small hands into the large billowy sleeves of her outfit. A common habit she had when she felt awkward about what to do with her hands while having a conversation.
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Posted: Mon Sep 23, 2013 8:06 pm
Tanita felt a small knot in her belly untie itself at the smile. It was a nice, friendly seeming smile, and she was glad that the other wasn't annoyed at the intrusion. "I might... I don't know." She reached up, and scratched her hair in a sort of embarrassed way. "I uh... honestly? I don't know what to take, where to start. There's so many options, and I keep feeling overwhelmed. I want to make the right ones, you know?" She sighed softly and shrugged some. At the question, she blushed a bit. "Is it that obvious? Yeah, very... Just came a bit ago. I'm still trying to catch up with myself, it feels like at times. Almost like my body arrived last week and my brain just made it!"
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Posted: Mon Sep 23, 2013 8:18 pm
The ghoul laughed lightheartedly, covering her mouth with a sleeve before patting Tanita on the shoulder gently. The heat from the other ghoul was a bit startling but she made no notion of it in her movements. "There is no wrong or right class to take. What is great about all the classes is that each is special in it's own way. All you need to do is decide what interests you most. If you want to take all the classes you can, of course without wearing yourself out, then by all means you should." Her smile grew a little bit wider. "Just try to pace yourself. If you miss a class or two no biggie. There are always more that pop up. The teachers like to keep us on our toes." Mei removed her hand from Tanita's shoulder to interlace her fingers once more. Ah good, her assumption was correct. Though she figured it would be. "Don't worry yourself too much. You'll have plenty of time to adjust to life at the school. Its all very overwhelming for some the first week or so but I'm pretty sure you'll get the hang of it." Mei winked. "And besides, there are plenty of other students around who would be happy to help you. Like me. I'm a year two so if you have any questions feel free to ask away."
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Posted: Mon Sep 23, 2013 8:52 pm
Tanita leaned on the wall, a serious look on her face as she listened to the advice of the older student, her eyes not blinking. The advice was good, and very helpful. "Oh I see! Yes, that does make sense." She nodded and tilted her head, patting her side and then sighing. "And me without a notepad or pen, to make notes, to help me remember 'don't panic. Do what feels right'. and so on. I hope after this initial period is over, I'll get into the flow of things. Then maybe I wont be so prone to panicking." She made a face at that last word. "Ugh, it's so weird feeling like that, too! I never had all these nervous issues before now. Then again, I never met any non-dragons before I came here." She looked down at her bare feet for a moment, then back up. "How do you... not step on anyone's toes, so to speak? I don't want to upset or offend anyone, not off the bat, but... there's so many cultures and I don't know ANYTHING about them..."
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Posted: Mon Sep 23, 2013 9:12 pm
An amused look flashed across her face. She didn't remember being quite this nervous when she had arrived at Amity. But to each their own she supposed. Different students reacted differently. "It'll all be second nature to you for sure. Have you found your dorm room and everything?" Mei at least wanted to make sure that the ghoul had found it and was settled in. "Its ok. Before I came to Amity I had very little interaction with other creatures that weren't Jiang Shi. I was too young to venture outside the compound then." The ghoul scratched at her cheek thoughtfully, looking down at Tanita's feet for a moment until it clicked. She didn't mean actually stepping on toes. Even still just the thought of having someone's big clodhopper foot stomp on her own small toes was painful. "Just ask. Most are willing to tell you more about themselves and their cultures and in turn you do the same." She'd never really run into any problems with other student's cultures or 'stepping on toes' in her time here. There was a certain sense of understanding that when it came down to it they all needed to co-operate and certain social standards of one's culture needed to be malleable. "Of course, if you have any plans to thumb your nose at any werewolves anytime soon I would highly recommend rethinking your idea."
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Posted: Mon Sep 23, 2013 9:35 pm
Tanita arches a brow at the unfamiliar term. She looked the other ghoul and tapped her fingers on her thigh, thinking for a moment, then decided to ask. "What is a Jiang Shi?" She bit her lip, then continued. "It is not a term I have heard of, nor have I met one such as you. Please, tell me about yourself and your kind. And a compound? What is a compound?" She blushed a little, but having grown up in a series of caves in the mountains, she had no idea what sort of ways others grew up in. "And I'll do my best to remember to ask others too. At least friendly faces." She blinked at the comment on weres, and giggled. "While I am sure werewolf fur is flamable, I don't think I want to start any wars in my dorm by pissing off one, toasting his fur and trying to fly out of range... assuming I was fast enough. Which, since I'm totally new, I might well be not and just end up torn to shreds. Naw, I'm good!"
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Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2013 12:14 am
She had to admit, in all her time here at Amity no one....ever really asked her about her species. Except how to pronounce it properly and for her to explain to them that it wasn't her given name. "Jiang Shi are Undead." She pointed to the scroll upon her forehead. "This scroll is what keeps me alive basically. It has special magic to do that, but is also protected by magic as well. So you can't snatch it off my forehead as easily as you think." Mei flicked it with a finger and wrinkled her nose as it fluttered then flopped against her face once more. "Only certain magic can destroy it and each Jiang Shi's scroll is unique. So you can't 'kill' two with the same spell or magic type." Her head tilted just slightly as she quirked an eyebrow. This ghoul must of grown up more in the wild, though her family's compound was pretty far away from the city anyhow. Or any other habitable places now that she thought about it. "The compound is where my clan resides. There are several Jiang Shi clans or...I guess you could say 'families' through out the world. Each have their own compound. Each compound has within its walls homes, a marketplace, various places for study of varying arts. Each it's own little community and self sufficient for the most part." A sense of nostalgia began to rise up in the back of her mind. It had been so long since she last went home for a visit. Longing lingered in her heart. "Of course, we're not all related by blood you see within the compound. I myself was adopted by my parents who are the head of our clan. Some Jiang Shi opt to have children of their own, some others adopt those that are re-born from the grave. Its just personal preference. We're all just one big family made up of many different families. Its the same at other Jiang Shi compounds." Smiling warmly, she leaned her back up against the wall. Brown eyes still locked on the other ghoul she was conversing with. "Anything else you would like to know?"Meixiang felt herself blabbering on as is. It was hard not to when one had a willing audience to listen. If she had to take a guess, she would guess that Tanita was some form of dragon or lizard type creature. "Tell me about you Tanita. Where do you come from and what is your family like?"The ghoul laughed. "Nahhhh, toss them a hunk of meat and scratch their belly I'm sure they'll be puddy in your hands."
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Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2013 10:06 pm
Tanita listened to all this, an honestly fascinated expression on her face. "I've... never really met anyone outside of my clan of dragons... I've heard of some groups, like the well known ones... Werewolves, vampires, etc. But there's lots of ghouls and boils here I see and go '... what ARE they I don't know!'. I see I have lots to learn!" She nodded her head, and pondered all of the information. She found herself peering at the paper on Meixiang's face, and almost reached to touch it, before jerking her hand back and flushing. "Sorry, sorry. I just... it's interesting, but obviously I shouldn't be touching a part of you without your permission!" "So a compound is... basically a walled village or community? OH ok. Got it. It's like the clans of dragons my family and distant kin gather in, but with less certainty of relatedness. Interesting!" She taps her fingers, then smiles. "No, I think that's it, unless you think of something I should know!" "Me? Well uh. I mean, I'm a dragon... My family are red dragons. We live in a clan type system, each clan finds a set of caves they live in." She paused, then tilted her head. "I don't know if all the dragons out there do that, but all the ones I actually know do. Anyways, it's usually family groups. Males go out to other clans and move in with their mates. Our parents have 1 scareling at a time, no more, til the scareling reaches a certain age." She sighs. "I have no sibs or cousins. My father passed away, and my aunt and uncle are unmated. My dad's sibs I don't know." She paused, thought about the rambling sentence, then continued. "We're... we have a tendency to hoard shiny things. Gems, gold, silver. When a new scareling is brought home from the pumpkin patch, all the close relatives in the clan donate a small tithe of their hoard to start the youngling off right." She wrinkled her nose, trying to think if their was anything else interesting. "We can breath fire, though I try not to unless really provoked." She paused and blushed, very red under her already bright skin. "Sadly, we have a tendency towards hot tempers." She paused again, then realized she was talking to an undead, and many of them are flamable, her mother had warned her. "This, however, is part of why I'm here. Practicing self control! Other then that, I um... I can't think of anything? We're not that exciting, if you ask me." She then giggled at the comment about the werewolves, and smiled warmly at the other ghoul.
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Posted: Thu Sep 26, 2013 8:18 pm
Mei's smile grew into a grin as Tanita spoke. She felt a bit sorry for those that seemed so cut off from the world. Though she too knew that all too well. The Jiang Shi knew of other species but until she left home to come here she had little interaction with any of them. "I know what you mean, sometimes it is hard to tell what someone is but eventually once you start to know more of the students it'll at least be easier to pick out if they are a monster, demon, ghost, undead or reaper. Some can seem like one of the other for sure." The ghoul wasn't worried about Tanita touching her scroll. While it was a bit unnerving at times when others touched it, in a sense since it was part of her it could feel weird at times, she never made a big deal out of it. "No worries."Nodding her head, she touched her nose. "Bingo. The walls protect us from the outside elements. My home is way up in the mountains. Without the walls all manner of creatures could sneak in and do whatever manner of evil do they might want to. These walls are also enchanted. There is...a lot of enchanting in my culture apparently." She gave a little chuckle. "Interesting. There are a few other dragon type students here, though I am unsure about their home lives. But I'm sure the way dragons live varies from student to student." A small frown threatened to tug at the corner of her lips but she fought it back. "I understand. I am a single child as well. My parents only wanted one and I was lucky that they chose me. I don't know where I would be if they hadn't found me all those years ago."She waved a hand in front of her face dismissively. The Jiang Shi was certainly not a fan of fire, fire hurt. Really bad. But she didn't expect Tanita to be spitting fire at her anytime soon. "Then you will find many friends with the same reasons as to why they are here that is similar to yours. Not only are many here to learn knowledge, many are here to hone their skills and temper themselves like a fine blade."
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Posted: Thu Sep 26, 2013 9:02 pm
"Are there... visual keys, that can help one tell? I'd hate to, say, offend some demon by thinking he or she was a reaper... Or is there really no definitive signs?" She paused, then added "I can usually guess when some one is a monster, at least, for a majority... But it's never 100% clear." She furrowed her brow, thinking about it, trying to figure out if she'd noticed anything in the various students she'd seen, then shrugs. "So the walls are very like the walls of our caves. Keeps the elements out, and... unwanted visitors, for the most part, from harassing your kin. It is nice to know that as different as they may be, our homes have similarities...." She blinked, nodding her head slowly. "Oh? There are? I hadn't yet met any, so I didn't know that. Hmmm I wonder what backgrounds they have, if it's similar to mine, or..." She shakes her head. "Well! I'll just have to find out." She notices the slight frown at the mention of being an only child and tilts her head. "Is something wrong? You seem saddened, for a moment, when talking about not having siblings... I am sorry if I upset you?"
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Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 7:37 pm
She placed a hand on her chin. "Well, most demons usually have horns and tails. Reapers are pretty easy, they look more like humans. Some will have familiars with them. Those without familiars can summon weapons." The ghoul didn't really think that Tanita would have too much trouble with it. "I think if you just focus on their name you'll be fine. At least until you figure out what species they are if you can figure it out right off the bat."Mei nodded. "Everyone wants to be protected. And if it works it works so why not use the idea?""I don't personally know the other dragon students, but I'm pretty sure you'll run into them eventually if you stick around. Participate in classes, school evens and the suck." Woops, guess she didn't hide the frown as well as she thought she did. She rubbed the back of her head, ruffling short white hair. "Oh no, you didn't upset me. I had a lot of kids around my own age growing up but sometimes I always wondered what it would have been like to have siblings. Ya know, a sister or a brother who I could share secrets and get into trouble with." She let out a small sigh, lacing her fingers behind her back and giving a singular rock on her heels. "But it's no biggie."
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Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 8:29 pm
Tanita again looked like she was taking mental notes on the words Mei was saying. It was important to her to get it right, after all! She wanted no angry demons after her, or peeved Reapers. Sure, she couldn't be friends with everyone, but... the less enemies she made, the happier she knew she'd be. "Thank you. Thank you so much." She gave the other girl a big, grateful grin. "You are... Really nice. You've helped me a lot, you know. I'm glad I met you today!" Nodding at the comments on being protected, and about meeting the dragons, she focused more on Mei's words about why she had seemed a bit unhappy. As she explained, Tanita's face relaxed, and then took on a look of completely understanding sympathy. "OH. Yes. Yes that I understand. I always wanted a sibling... But when my father died, that was unlikely to happen, and Mother very clearly does not wish another lifemate, so I will never have a sibling either." She gave a wistful sigh. "And I have no maternal cousins. I rarely get to visit Father's clan..."
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Posted: Sat Sep 28, 2013 3:21 pm
Meixiang steepled her pointer fingers in front of her. She was glad she could be of some help to the dragon ghoul. "Well I'm glad to have met you today as well, Tanita. You seem like a really nice person yourself and I'm sure you'll go far here.""Oh, that's too bad. Though I could understand not wanting to find another lifemate after loosing one that you thought you would spend the rest of your life with. Bonding is a serious thing for some species." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Well, perhaps now that you are out in the world you might one day get to visit your father's clan more often. The Jiang Shi clans that are friendly with my father's clan tend to gather at the least once a year. Though usually it is more often than that."
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