Welcome to Gaia! ::

The student's lounge is on the ground floor, beneath the staff lounge. It is a cozy room full of assorted tables, chairs, and windows. The wall of windows to the south looks out on the front lawns of the Academy, with a few smaller windows on the north side looking out at the lake.

Brunch is served in the lounge to all students on weekends. The comfortable chairs are constantly being rearranged as students form study groups, go off on their own, or (occasionally) build pillow forts. With the staff lounge right upstairs, it's best not to make much noise lest the staff come down and berate troublemakers.

Electrical outlets are never too far for technologically inclined students. A few bookshelves containing copies of oft-used textbooks lean against the east wall, alongside a few lockers of blankets and wood for the fireplace.

The lounge is never locked, and students are free to come and go as they please.

Kenton entered the student lounge, finding it more or less quiet. There was a blonde girl sitting on the floor, fiddling with something. Hm. It wasn't anything with which he was familiar. She looked like another student. But what on earth was she doing? The wires looked live, one of them even sparked. He folded up his map. He could find the classrooms later on.

"What are you doing, madam?" he asked directly, trying to position himself in her line of sight so as not to startle her. "That looks informative but dangerous. Please be careful not to injure yourself."

He looked out the windows of the lounge, counting two students walking up through the grounds to the residence halls. The midmorning sun was still beating down on the arriving students, though there still didn't seem to be enough to call this place a school. His hand rested on his pouch of water out of habit, and he fiddled restlessly with the cork as he did when he was fighting off boredom.

"Forgive my intrusion. I am Lord Kenton Pelagius," he said, offering her a deep bow. "I thought I might explore the campus before the rest of the students arrive. Might the same be said about you?"

"Hm? Oh, no," said Kenton, replacing his map of the school in the breast pocket of his jacket. He watched the princess get up and curtsy, inclining his head in acknowledgment. "I do not work for the school." This was not entirely true, but how to phrase that particular part of his world? "I am here as a student, though I intend to work off my tuition in the school kitchens every night for dinner service," he clarified.

He peered curiously at the wires. "I know I do not look it at first glance, but my people, the Tidal Fairies, reside on an island in the Atlantic," he said, flapping his small, dragonfly-esque wings to illustrate his point. "We do not have... whatever that is. Electricity."

Kenton pulled up a chair beneath the sunny windows, inviting the princess to sit as well. "If it pleases you, Madam Princess," he said, nodding to the chair. They were quite comfortable. Definitely softer than what they had in the military barracks at home. "May I ask you where you are from?" he asked. "I am having a hard time placing your accent."

Kenton listened intently as the princess spoke, nodding. "You speak English very well," he said. "I am fortunate in that it is my mother tongue. I cannot imagine having to learn for years in an establishment that did not operate in my native language."

Kenton relaxed a bit, loosening the cuffs on his jacket sleeves. It was rather nice, not to have to be one hundred per cent on form every single minute of every day. It was a welcome change from the barracks, no matter how much he missed them. "Who is Santa Claus?" he asked seriously. "I have heard tell of him in my adventures around the Americas and Europe, but I have no idea who is is. Is it true he fills socks with presents once a year?"

He cracked a small smile, and fluttered his wings again since she seemed to be so intrigued by them. They made a quiet rattling noise as they brushed against the chair back. "I am nobility in name only. My father is the Lord Pelagius, and he oversees the military in Crescent Tide. Or, at least, he did until the war ended." He winked with his left eye. "I got lucky. My father lost his wings and nearly his whole arm. I hope to take his place when I return, if the prince does not do so for me."

Kenton folded his wings against his back, and his hands in his lap. "I have never known elves that made toys... most elves I meet make weapons and magic, not toys." He now felt slightly hurt; if this story was true he should like to believe that he'd have gotten at least one present in his obedient life.

He frowned as she asked about the war. "The war ended this past spring, between my people and the dragons of China," he explained. "We have always been at odds. My people control the waves and the tide, while the Chinese dragons guide the weather around the world. We came into conflict over a typhoon that no one wished to claim responsibility for, despite the fact that my kind cannot control wind."

Kenton chewed his tongue for a moment. The war was over, all the gory details were bound to be public knowledge at this point. "Our Queen was killed in the earliest days of the war, and our King remarried my aunt. My father and I moved from our local militia in the Pacific out to the Atlantic, where the King and the major forces of the military reside. My father was taken as a prisoner of war three years ago, and I filled his role until the conclusion of the war in spring. We all bear scars, those of us that fought." He inclined his head to Aurelie. "War is an unwelcome fate I would not wish on anyone, Madam Princess, but civil war is a particularly grievous evil. I hope such atrocities never visit your lands."

Kenton turned at the voice, and nearly toppled backward in shock. "Greetings, Sir," he said, trying not to allow his shock to get the better of him. "I am Lord Kenton Pelagius of Crescent Tide, and this is Princess Aurelie of Mount Aetherea."

He looked the newcomer up and down. "Please forgive my forwardness, but what war has scarred you so colorfully and plentifully?" he asked, nodding to the marks all over Chris's arms. They were unlike his own scars, and even had patterns that made no sense to Kenton's eye. "I have never seen such scars in my life."

Kenton stood up, and bowed to Christopher. Though he did not know why, Christopher seemed of a higher rank than he. He pulled up a chair for Christopher to sit in, and inclined his head to his inked fellow. "Art?" How peculiar. It certainly sounded painful and unpleasant... why on earth would anyone choose to be stabbed so many times? "How and why does one acquire such art?"

Still trying to wrap his head around the concept of 'tattoos,' he shook his head and tried to focus. He remained standing in deference to the other two. "As I was explaining to Madam Princess, my scars come from the past eight years my people have spent at war. I spent three of them leading the charge," he explained. He tapped his eye, then his left shoulder and right hip. "Dragon claws. I nearly lost my arm."

He cast a glance at Aurelie. "But perhaps we should not speak of such things in front of Madam Princess. I am sure she does not wish to hear of all our battle wounds."