“Welcome, welcome!” Tolfdir, an elder gentleman, greeted Icarus as he strode into the Hall of Elements. “We were just beginning! Please, stay and listen.” The tower was nowhere near as crowded as he anticipated. In fact, only three other mages were present aside from the instructor. In the corner of his eyes he spotted a familiar robe; apparently Ancano was also present in the hall. He was certainly right about his robes making the other mages uncomfortable, as he joined the small group. He could almost feel the cold coming from their stares, but what did it matter to him? He simply responded to their unwelcoming behavior with a smug grin. Tolfdir attempted to contain the growing tension between his other students and the Thalmor.
“A-as I was saying…” Tolfdir raised his voice to grab his students attention. “The first thing to understand is that magic is, by its very nature, volatile and dangerous.” Icarus shook his head, he was far beyond the basic levels of magic; to him, this lecture was all small-talk. “Unless you can control it, it can and will destroy you.” Icarus glanced at Ancano from across the room, his face begging him to pull him out of the beginner’s lecture. The elder mer responded harshly with a “Shut-up-and-pay-attention” glare, snapping his fingers towards the group.
‘Fantastic, you’re late.’ J’hasi shivered as his fingers laced around the cold bars of the intricate gate leading into the Hall of the Elements. He was still a little rattled from his earlier encounter in the Arcanaeum, flakes of snow melting in his fur and the chill of the coming winter (true Skyrim winter, lovely) still clinging to his recently-acquired robes.
His short trip outside had only made him more late as he had gone to his room to drop off his things and to change into something a little less conspicuous. The Khajiit had been told he wasn’t required to wear the robes, but he didn’t want to give that unsettling mer in the library any more reason to dislike him, not if he was going to stay here long.
Hopefully it wouldn’t be long, and would at least be relatively uneventful during his stay.
J’hasi nervously raked his fingers through his mane as he opened the gate as quietly as he could, slipping inside and heading towards the group, eyes down as he tried to steel himself for yet another round of reprimand. He felt more than a little rushed, almost like feeling out of breath; showing up after a long journey, only to have class shortly after arrival. He was exhausted, and was looking forward to either a drink or a nap after classes. The Khajiit pushed his mane up and out of his face as his eyes finally flicked up, readying himself for…
His heart stopped dead in his chest.
Not one, but two Thalmor Justicars were in the room; one hovering just on the edge of the light cast from the shimmering pool in the center dais, the other standing next to the other students. Had he been paying attention, he could’ve left the room before he was noticed by whom he could only assume was the professor. ‘And that must be Tolfdir.’ he thought, his stomach twisting uncomfortably as he swallowed and kept walking, even as he desperately wanted to go the other direction.
“Ah, another new student, eh? We were just getting started!” the man said cheerfully, smiling as the black Khajiit drew closer. He may escape another chewing out yet, though that was the least of his worries at the moment. Unfortunately the only space really left for him to take was right next to the shorter of the two Justicars.
J’hasi grimaced a little as he swallowed again, willing himself to appear perfectly calm as he stood next to the mer, albeit with some noticeable distance between them. His tail was perfectly still and stiff behind him as he pulled his scarf up a little higher around his neck.
vvardenfellcat 