"Vine, have you seen him?" Rossie-chira asked me while I sat at a table set up just outside the guest house we had been assigned to since we arrived at the academy. It wasn't our main dwelling, we'd be moved to that later, but, since we arrived here, we have barely seen Urtuoi-kischu and it worried us. More so Rossie-chira, but, I can't help but feel worried for him as well as he is my friend and he seems to be getting increasingly bothered.
At least, that is what I assumed from the few times I have been able to see him.
"Attention all students. Attention all students. Please make way to the King Kaishelin Debate Chamber." the speaker system throughout the Academy then began to repeat several times before stopping.
"Would we go to that...?" Rossie-chira asked in confusion as I looked on in the distance at all the students suddenly on the move. If I wasn't bothered by other things, I might have been impressed with how it was a small city's worth of students. Some of which were travelling by magic or other means.
"We are students as far as I am aware, either way. It seems important so it will probably be best for us to go." I tell my friend as I got up from my chair and walked alongside her. And while I did not know where we had to go, the horde of students did work very well for getting us a rough idea of where we would have to go. But, after a certain part of the trip, it became clear without them because the building was very distinct.
Almost like a little mountain...
Rossie-chira then stopped, "Can't we go find my love first?"
I sighed uncomfortably first, "We aren't going to find him in this crowd, besides, even when this wasn't happening, we could barely find him, remember? You nearly collapsed from exhaustion when we did it on our first days here."
"You know I can't just leave him on his own..." Rossie-chira nearly cried out as she looked on at the guards which had begun to populate the grounds of the Academy since we arrived. They even set up a base or camp of some description on the grounds of the Academy which seemed a little excessive...
I pulled her in close and hugged her, "I know, I know. But we need to just try and keep positive about it, once this is all done and dusted we can get on with what we came here to do and forget it ever happened."
"Positive...? There's nothing to be positive about." she whimpered out as I stroked her hair before she returned the hug and cried harder. And while it wasn't really an appropriate thought to have, I was glad she was opening up to me more and more. It was very assuring to know she was willing to see me more and more as a friend.
"Well, let's just go to this thing first and then we can have another look for him? They have no issues with us using magic on campus so long as we aren't endangering anyone with it."
"Okay..." she said with a slight and very brief wag of her tail. A ghost of a smile appearing on my face before we began to walk again. My curiosity soon being stoked by how we were all being segregated by our associated House before we all went in. And, to my surprise, I was soon next to a girl with a fluffy tail.
"What's this all about? I have studies to get back to..." she complained bitterly while her claws tapped against the rest of the chair she was in. My head and focus going forward when she caught sight of my staring, but, she did nothing about it beyond maybe complain in her head. Yet, even with this girl offsetting the tone, something felt very off about the fact this building was all focused in on one spot.
That podium at the centre... I could only pray it wasn't going to be used for anything that could be called nefarious. Someone would soon go on to it, however, and it was the man who took us here. The one I had forgotten the name of as he had pretty much disappeared since we arrived.
"Quiet please." he said with an absurdly loud voice. A mixture of magic and the shape of the chamber likely echoing his voice.
"Finally..." the girl next to me complained.
"Quiet! Now, thank you. As I am sure you are all aware, these past few cycles and or days have been quite hectic with the current addition of Thrurstradturian security forces setting up on the campus of the Suhurlodst Academy of Arcane Learning and Understanding. You will now find out why. So, I now present to you the cause of it all, a new student of ours, one Nin Urtuan." he explained which left my heart sinking as he stepped aside.
"I'm sorry, what...?" the girl next to me growled out upon hearing that name. Her eyes going wide along with what must have been the eyes of everyone else as Urtuoi-kischu nervously stepped up onto the platform. There was no confidence in him at all, it was like I was staring at a child being called out...
"My love..." Rossie-chira whispered in disbelief as the chamber suddenly rose up in uproar with our section possibly being the quietest area. I assume it was because of how it was mostly filled with people like me, people who did not know of the gravitas of what Urtuoi-kischu was. That by no means meant it was quiet, though.
My face soon sank into my hands as I took it all in... My friend was right there looking like he was about to break down from the pressure and I could do nothing... He just had to be on his own and take all this nonsense...
"WHY IS THERE AN OSIBINDAH HERE!?" was the cry of outrage that shook this room with eardrum bursting force... A cry I don't think I would ever forget.