Welcome to Gaia! ::

Topaz thumbed through a small notebook, refreshing herself on all the little points about Asterion that she had researched while she lounged in front of the university building, waiting. The Academy was sending over a student who was close to graduating and interested in attending Asterion University. There was no official guide program in place, but it was a simple thing to check among the students to see if anyone was willing to volunteer. The dean probably kept such a list in his office to be consulted at a moment's notice if needed.

Topaz had just returned to campus grounds after looking at some nearby housing when staff had asked her if she would be willing to act as a guide. She readily agreed; she was always happy to help others, especially in academic pursuits! They hadn't given her many details besides the name and race of the student who she would be guiding, so in preparation Topaz had researched everything she could think of that would be of any use in giving a tour. She was pretty sure she had everything covered, but made notes in her little notebook about where to find more details to certain potential questions just in case they came up.

At least the weather was nice. It was still cold out, and being near the ocean there was always wind, but it was a gentle breeze today and there was a cheerful sun with just a few clouds dotting the sky. Of course coastal weather could change pretty fast, but everything looked like it would hold for several hours at the least!

She flipped a page in her notebook and kept reading, though in the back of her mind she hoped things went alright. Relationships between Baphomets and Chimera were a bit rocky sometimes, and if this one was not from the cache they might be wary of Topaz for that reason. Another Chimera or maybe a Demon would probably have been a better choice. Well, she personally held no grudges against Chimera, and she was determined to do her best and be at her most welcoming! Yes, things would be alright.

[quote"Huni Pi"]

Topaz finished looking through her notes and was now people-watching, hoping to spot the student she was to guide. It shouldn't be too difficult, since there weren't a ton of Chimeras here, and most of those she recognized from just seeing them around the university. She was playing with a strand of hair, casually braiding and rebraiding it, when she believed she spotted the person she was waiting for. No way someone with those vivid colors had been going here without her spotting them at some point! Add to that the way the Chimera was glancing at a slip of paper and then looking around as though searching for someone, and she was pretty sure she was on point.

Topaz straightened up and finished unbraiding the lock of hair she'd been holding, tugged at her sweater to make sure it was straight, then took a deep breath and approached the Chimera. She didn't try to smile, since she was nervous enough that she was afraid it might come off as fake.

As she got within comfortable conversation distance she paused. "Mytrax," she asked, hoping she was right, otherwise she'd look quite silly.

Now Topaz did smile, a genuine smile of relief. She had gotten the right person! "It's no trouble at all," she said warmly. She took a moment to look Mytrax up and down. Her general attitude seemed a bit stiff. Formal. It went with what she knew of Chimera's from her studies, though she hadn't really talked with one before. She couldn't get any read on the girl, what she was like, but Topaz had the feeling that personal questions wouldn't be tolerated. Shame.

"I'm afraid I wasn't given very much information about you beyond your name and race, and that you were interested in learning more about the university," Topaz confessed, deciding to try a straightforward approach. "I have no clue what you might be interested in seeing. If you have no objections, perhaps we could walk the grounds first? I can show you good outdoor places to study or walk, and we can chat a bit so I can get a better feel for which buildings you'd have the most interest in." She smiled a bit shyly. "Of course if you have any questions of your own, I'll be more than happy to answer!"

Topaz nodded. "Of course. You'll probably pick up some of that from me as we talk. I have a habit of musing aloud sometimes, if it ever seems like I start to ramble don't be afraid to interrupt." Her smile was full of humor. "The curse of being a student of history and anthropology, I suppose. Well, let's get started."

She started the two of them on a path that eventually looped around the campus, with many criss-crossing branches detouring to the various buildings. They were heading towards where most of the dormitories and gardens were. Hopefully by the time they reached the area where most of the classrooms were, she would have a better understanding of what Mytrax would be most interested in seeing.

"So what is it you hope to do when you graduate the Academy? I don't mean majors or universities, more like what you hope for your profession to involve," Topaz asked, figuring she'd start with some of the basics.

Topaz's face brightened. "Anthropology," she said with a nod. "That's actually one of the majors I'm working towards myself. That, and history." She hummed a little in thought as they walked.

"Ah, over here are the dorms, if you choose to live on campus. This is also a good spot to study when the weather's nice," Topaz said, pointing off to the clusters of buildings and the lovely little garden niche that the path branched towards. She kept them on the main path, still going around the university.

"How involved do you plan to be with other races," Topaz asked, jumping right back into their conversation as soon as she had her thoughts straightened out. "I'm sure Leviathan can teach you how to treat the different sorts of physiology unique to the other races. I have a friend in Leviathan who could certainly make the inquiries to find out if he doesn't already know. Anthropology teaches you more about culture and society.

Don't get me wrong," she added. "I love the subject and think it's quite useful. If you think you're going to be traveling into different territories, knowledge of other races will help you fit in better. But if you think you might stay primarily in Chimera territories, it might be more beneficial to do self-study rather than a double major."

Topaz peeked over at Mytrax, hoping her forwardness hadn't come off as offensive or busybody-ish. "Just something to consider. You said you were interested in treating physical injuries? Did you ever consider treating mental or emotional injuries as well?"

"So anthropology would probably be a better bet than psychology," Topaz mused, half to herself. She hummed thoughtfully. Both were actually perfectly valid. Just because one took psychology classes didn't mean they had to use them strictly for healing. It was almost like a language class, with physical cues being the language rather than spoken word. There were probably plenty of situations were it would be useful to know how to read people.

"Well, anthropology is a little more broad and tends to deal with a race as a whole, while psychology will be a bit more about individuals. I can take you around to both buildings and you can chat with the professors here if you'd like, to decide if one or the other does actually hold an interest for you." Topaz grinned. "If it's travel you want to talk about, I could probably share a personal story or two! I've traveled through a lot of Euros and Zephyros when I don't have classes going on."

She looked a little surprised at Mytrax's question, but answered readily. "I am. I'm double majoring in anthropology and history." She thought she'd mentioned it, but maybe she hadn't been clear? "A lot of people focus on a single major, but there are quite a few who like to double. Some even go for a triple major. It really depends on how much time and energy you want to devote to a particular subject, and if you think it might be helpful towards what you want to do. You can even switch between universities once you finish your studies for one major and want to move on to another that isn't offered at that particular university."

Topaz wasn't at all offended. If anything she was prepared to latch onto the subjects and start talking about why they were different, then give multiple examples. She loved talking about both subjects, and would gladly have chattered until the Chimera tried to smother her to make her be silent. As a junior it took exactly those kinds of threats to actually get her to stop. She'd learned to rein it in as an adult, but the urge was still there in the back of her mind regardless. All she did was chuckle and say, "Careful, if you get me started on the topics you'll probably regret it!", then moved on.

"I believe a triple major is the most professors will let you do for now, to help you from being overwhelmed and to make sure you have a decent knowledge of what you're majoring in rather than a dabbling of knowledge." Topaz frowned thoughtfully. "You can always talk to the professors about it though. It may require more than the average amount of schooling, and they may still tell you to stick to only three, but it never hurts to ask."

Her eyes brightened to hear that Mytrax was interested in her travels, though internally she vowed to keep it short and brief. This visit wasn't about her, after all! "I like to visit ancient cities to try to learn more about their history and culture, and if it differs in any way from modern day customs. There's a lot of small towns that were abandoned in the 50 Year War. Most are ruins, and very hard to find, so I trek through wilderness a lot. I actually got to this continent by traveling up through Zephyros and crossing through the southern section of Boreas. Thankfully I'm very used to traveling through mountain regions, and it was summer when I went through Boreas! It's still unbelievably cold there, but I found several cave systems to shelter in. There's not many people who live that area, just small villages here and there."

Topaz nodded thoughtfully. "I'm not sure how nearly I actually was to the Scepters. It's possible I ran across remains of old settlements, maybe when when space was a bit hard to come by or from a family who was eventually able to move to a better location. I doubt the location was old enough to be from a time Chimeras settled in the valleys, but that would be very interesting if they were."

Topaz laughed a bit at Mytrax's question, both for the question itself and little at her reaction. She wasn't really laughing at the Chimera, but it was interesting to her how sensitive Mytrax seemed to be. She seemed to want to be polite and mingle, but she wasn't sure how to do so. "All the time. Boreas is a dangerous place in general if you aren't careful. Imps are usually nice, but there's a chance you could run into a grumpy Litch or territory Chimera." She winked at Mytrax.

"There's also wild animals, and the locations themselves. I try not to explore caves or tunnels too far unless I'm in a group. I'm great at climbing, but I'm not very useful in underground locations, especially the smaller tunnels. I don't really have an eye for telling what might be structurally unstable or not, at least with underground locations. I'd rather not be in the middle of a cave in!"