everything was made for you and me

[ronstadt]

Who: Ronstadt and ... you, maybe?
What: Getting his bearings
Where: Valhudor Tower / Dining Hall / Kedrigan Hall, with a TL comment for those who want to continue TDM threads!
When: The first few days
Warnings: None yet! I'll add any in comment headers if they come up.

Valhudor Tower
He didn't arrive with more than the clothes on his back, so it doesn't take Ronstadt long to set up in Room 911... though he's amused that the tower's dorm numbering is a bit haphazard. He makes the hike up to the common room at the top of the tower, and proceeds to be absolutely awed by the ceiling, flopping down in one of the comfortable chairs. Once he's daydreamed long enough, he heads back down to explore, stopping in the entrance hall to look over the memorabilia and get vaguely distracted by the Bala-Inlota trophies and case. Mostly because he doesn't know what the heck any of it means.

Dining Hall
It had been a while since his last meal - a whole world, even - so Ronstadt's stomach led him to the Dining hall, where he was pleased and amazed to find that there was already plenty of food to choose from, and he didn't have to order anything or try to figure out what things were on a menu. As he filled a plate with what were hopefully homefries, a few sausage patties, and ... well, they looked like scrambled eggs, even if the color was a little odd ... he glanced over at whoever was closest by.

"You don't suppose the chefs here can manage anything resembling a chalupa?"

Kedrigan Hall
Stomach full, properly hydrated with some sort of iced tea, Ronstadt decided to try and figure out where his classes were. It had been a long time since he'd been to anything even vaguely resembling school, and even those memories were... Let's just say he wasn't sure he could rely on them well. Learning magic had been high on his list before he'd even arrived, so he was determined to not screw this up. And he had enough memories of being abysmally late for classes because he couldn't remember where he was supposed to be, or had gotten lost, or what have you. Armed with the map he'd been issued, he crossed the grounds to Kedrigan hall, checking his watch to see how long it would take him to get from point A to point B.

Unfortunately, the sheer amount of magic in the place tripped his Craydar before he was even ten yards from the front door, and he wrapped an arm around his stomach, gritting his teeth with a groan as the presence of so much magic hit him. Every blood cell in his veins felt like it was tingling, and he lowered his head, closing his eyes. The last time he'd felt something even a fraction of this strength, his eyes had lit up like tractor trailer high-beams, and he didn't want anyone coming up on him just to be freaked out by the new guy with the mop of blond hair in the red-and-orange robes.

Comments

Kedrigan Hall

[protectiveink]

"Oh, mother o' mercy, it's happenin' again, ain't it? Dinnae answer that. Where were ye headed?" The accent and voice is familiar, at least. "An' dinnae look at me, 'less yer scannin' only goes off once!"

Hell, it's not like Roisin knew how any of this stuff worked. She was definitely from the wrong side of the tracks, so far as this style of magic worked. But her hands are gentle enough as she grasps his elbow and stops until Ronstadt can get his bearing. If he can. She hopes he can.

[ronstadt]

The sound of a familiar voice, even when it sounded like it was far away and underwater, helped.

"R-Rosh...?"

He grunted it out, fighting to level out his breathing, to power through it the way that novice athletes had to breathe through a Charlie horse they got by not stretching before heavy exercise.

"Ya shoulda seen dis one comin' a mile away, mon," HeadVox chastizes him: a voice that Roisin would not be able to hear, herself. "It's da buildin'. It ain't gwine ta hurt ya."

Ronstadt swallowed hard, nodding slowly: though whether it was in response to the voice in his head or the woman beside him was anyone's guess.

[protectiveink]

Well, at least he heard her, and recognized it was her. That's all to the good. "Aye, 'tis me. Ye goin' ta do this ta every kinda magickal thingie on campus an' beyond? Can't think it won't get old ta ye right quick if ye do."

Nope, she couldn't hear Vox. Question was if Haage could perceive the voice. Then again? If he could, the demon wasn't telling. He usually existed as a smug presence in the back of Rosh's mind on most days. Unless she was overwhelmed somehow--mentally, emotionally. Then it was bad, because he'd rush upwards like a swimmer from an underwater hole and try to take her over. Sometimes, she fought him off (and that looked like a frothing grand mal seizure, most days). Sometimes, he got her. And that was worse.

[ronstadt]

It took a moment or so of concentration and very, very mindful breathing for the sensation to dull to a low simmer, the sort of hum he felt when walking in L.A. on a regular basis, the sort he'd been feeling in his bones ever since he stepped onto campus.

Finally, he felt safe enough to open his eyes. Rosh might catch the last second of a white-hot glow before his eyes returned to normal, and Ronstadt sighed.

"Thanks. God, that's a pain in the ass. I think - maybe - whatever drives this Craydar, the power that protects me? It wasn't expecting something to feel even stronger than the first building did. But this - wow. There's something really powerful, here."

He'd felt it, almost like sensing a living, moving thing, gotten a flash of a vision: something silver and winding through darkness.

[protectiveink]

Rosh gave Ronstadt a gentle pat. "I ain't up on me supernatural research, but tae be honest, it wouldna surprise me much ta know that there are a lot of really powerful somethin's around this place. Too bad ye can't have like. Shades fer yer Craydar."

She paused, then, mulling that word over. "Short fer Crazy Radar or somethin'?" Really, she had to ask. Rosh's inquiring mind just was dying to know, okay?

But he said it'd protected him. "Well. At least it's goin' tae cover yer six if things go pear shaped here, aye? Wish we were all so lucky." At least Rosh's expression at that was rueful. Sure, Haage might help, but...he might not. It was always a coin flip and nothing was promised.

[ronstadt]

"Yeah, that's exactly why I call it that." He grinned at her: even if the grin was exhausted and lopsided, it was genuine. "Good guess. But, hey ... If you ever feel like you need that kinda protection, stick by me. Like - I don't know, grab an arm or something. I haven't tried it, but ... it might protect anyone with me if they're close enough."

[protectiveink]

"Maybe. Uh. 'Ceptin' when I'm the danger, I guess. If that happens an' I'm not spewin' pea soup an' my head's turnin' around, I'm gonna be runnin' the hell away."

But for anything else besides Haage, it sounded like there might be merit to it, anyway. "An' that was a lucky guess, I suppose, I mean. Ain't like there aren't other words that piece together from radar an' somethin' else..."

Rosh gave a huff of not-quite-laughter. "So d'ye feel like ye got yer feet underneath ye again? The door's pretty big, but we're still blockin' some of it." Not that she really cared, but they were earning some stares, in any case.

[ronstadt]

"Yeah, I think I'm good. Thanks." He smiled - the awful feeling had dimmed down to normal L.A. street-walking levels, and that was something he could handle. He wanted to ask her about how having Haage in her head even worked: to see if there were any similarities to his experiences with HeadVox.

"Whadda you, worried about me now, brah? When I ever steer ya wrong?"

He tried real hard not to think about it. It was pretty difficult to wonder if you should trust someone when they were sharing the same brain and could hear your doubt. Maybe they both needed a distraction from the situations between their ears.

"Figured I'd try and find where all my classes are before we actually start. What're you taking? Maybe we're in some of the same ones."

[protectiveink]

"Modification's what I gotta take. Thaumaturgy seemed like a good idea." There was more, but. "They want me tae take math an'...alchemy and th' latter doesnae really seem like a great idea."

Wasn't some of that was what got her into this mess in the first place? Or somewhat? Rosh didn't know what her 'father' had been after--and Haage? He wasn't talking.

"What was that look for?" She'd noticed the momentary worry pass over his face, but she wasn't sure what it was for. "Yer idea 'bout findin' classrooms was a good one, though."

[ronstadt]

"I'm in Thaumaturgy too," he said, glad they had at least one in common. "And math. I'm really worried about the math. I have no idea if I'm any good at it."

Which was a weird comment for a guy who was clearly past school age to make, but he just let it lie, getting the door for her.

"Oh, it - it's a long story. I mean, if you're up for reading, I'm an open book, but. I'm not used to talking people's ears off about it on a regular basis."