Chapter 3: The Girl
Zoey had had a long morning, making her way across the entire town on her own. To be honest, she was really rather nervous about this whole ordeal; it was the first time she was going to be living away from home and family long-term. Still, this had been what she signed on for, hadn’t it? A life of heroics and peacekeeping?
Like her new partners would a few hours later, Zoey stood outside of a very green fence, covered in plants. She was somewhat short, with a lithe build and long, scarlet hair. She wore a simple, grey, hooded sweatsuit having dressed for comfort in her crisp, early morning travels, and a large trunk hovered by her ankles seemingly of its own volition, and she had a guitar case swung over her shoulder. Zoey steeled herself, then stepped forward and pushed on the gate, which automatically unlatched itself at her touch and swung open. She approached the castle-house and knocked, and was greeted by an elven woman.
“Good morning!” Zoey said, trying to remain chipper.
“Morning,” The elf replied, “You must be Zoey, you’re a bit early, the other two aren’t here yet. My name’s Birel, I’ll be in charge of your training and such. Come in, I’ll show you to your dorm.”
“Dorm?” Zoey asked as she stepped inside.
“Yeah, each of you gets a little apartment, plus the common space here to the right,” Birel said, indicating the door as they walked. “There’s one set up for each of you, up in one of the towers, on the second floor of the main building, and one in the addition out back. Looks like you get first pick.”
“Oh, okay. I guess I’ll take the one in the main building.” Zoey replied.
“That’s fine, follow me,” Birel lead the way up a flight of stairs near the common area door, then a series of hallways until they reached a door with a small, bronze plaque on it, “This’ll be yours then. Go ahead and get settled in, I’m sure the others will be here soon.” She told Zoey, then tapped the door to unlock it and handed Zoey a key.
Zoey thanked the elf and slipped through the door, her trunk following her in. The door shut behind her and she was alone again. She quickly found the bedroom and deposited her luggage there before flopping onto the bed with a sigh, now quite tired from the morning’s activities. After a bit of rest. she began to unpack, her trunk flipping open on its own as various articles of clothing floated from it to their rightful places, hanging themselves up on the hangers already in the closet, or folding themselves into drawers of a dresser and a large vanity cabinet.
In most families her particular abilities would have been considered dangerous enough to warrant training under a specialist mentor, but Zoey’s family were Psychics, and in her case the man she would have been sent to in the first place happened to be her father. In a world of the more overtly magic-inclined, their inherent magic manifested not in great physical attributes or showy displays of energetic power, but power of and over the mind.
Judging by the kitchenette outside, she would have to go grocery shopping if she wanted to eat anytime other than group meals. For now though, she figured, she would at least entertain herself as the flurry of clothes put themselves neatly away. Ducking underneath a flying blouse, she scooped up her guitar case and stepped back out into the main room of her new little home. Like the other apartments, it had some basic amenities, kitchenette, bathroom, dining area, and a couch and television. As she looked the space over again, she noticed that what she had taken at a glance as a big window on the far side of the room was in fact a sliding glass door, leading to a balcony.
Pulling her guitar case up more securely onto her shoulder, Zoey approached the door and slid it open. Outside, she sat down, swinging the case around and popping it open, allowing her access to the beautifully polished electro-acoustic guitar inside.
“After a morning like this, this is gonna hit the spot, old girl,” Zoey told her old friend, strumming absentmindedly a few times before she began to play in earnest. She played for nearly an hour, sometimes improvising, then switching smoothly to popular songs and back again. Eventually though, even she couldn’t keep up the flow of the music, if only because she did actually need to drink water and such to live. And so she packed her guitar up snugly in its case and made her way out to the common area Birel had shown her earlier.
Down in the kitchen, a bit of rummaging in the cabinets yielded a glass to fill from the tap, and, having successfully acquired her drink, Zoey turned back to return to her dorm, only to find the other two new occupants standing in the common living room, looking back at her.
“Oh, hi,” she greeted them.
Zoey had had a long morning, making her way across the entire town on her own. To be honest, she was really rather nervous about this whole ordeal; it was the first time she was going to be living away from home and family long-term. Still, this had been what she signed on for, hadn’t it? A life of heroics and peacekeeping?
Like her new partners would a few hours later, Zoey stood outside of a very green fence, covered in plants. She was somewhat short, with a lithe build and long, scarlet hair. She wore a simple, grey, hooded sweatsuit having dressed for comfort in her crisp, early morning travels, and a large trunk hovered by her ankles seemingly of its own volition, and she had a guitar case swung over her shoulder. Zoey steeled herself, then stepped forward and pushed on the gate, which automatically unlatched itself at her touch and swung open. She approached the castle-house and knocked, and was greeted by an elven woman.
“Good morning!” Zoey said, trying to remain chipper.
“Morning,” The elf replied, “You must be Zoey, you’re a bit early, the other two aren’t here yet. My name’s Birel, I’ll be in charge of your training and such. Come in, I’ll show you to your dorm.”
“Dorm?” Zoey asked as she stepped inside.
“Yeah, each of you gets a little apartment, plus the common space here to the right,” Birel said, indicating the door as they walked. “There’s one set up for each of you, up in one of the towers, on the second floor of the main building, and one in the addition out back. Looks like you get first pick.”
“Oh, okay. I guess I’ll take the one in the main building.” Zoey replied.
“That’s fine, follow me,” Birel lead the way up a flight of stairs near the common area door, then a series of hallways until they reached a door with a small, bronze plaque on it, “This’ll be yours then. Go ahead and get settled in, I’m sure the others will be here soon.” She told Zoey, then tapped the door to unlock it and handed Zoey a key.
Zoey thanked the elf and slipped through the door, her trunk following her in. The door shut behind her and she was alone again. She quickly found the bedroom and deposited her luggage there before flopping onto the bed with a sigh, now quite tired from the morning’s activities. After a bit of rest. she began to unpack, her trunk flipping open on its own as various articles of clothing floated from it to their rightful places, hanging themselves up on the hangers already in the closet, or folding themselves into drawers of a dresser and a large vanity cabinet.
In most families her particular abilities would have been considered dangerous enough to warrant training under a specialist mentor, but Zoey’s family were Psychics, and in her case the man she would have been sent to in the first place happened to be her father. In a world of the more overtly magic-inclined, their inherent magic manifested not in great physical attributes or showy displays of energetic power, but power of and over the mind.
Judging by the kitchenette outside, she would have to go grocery shopping if she wanted to eat anytime other than group meals. For now though, she figured, she would at least entertain herself as the flurry of clothes put themselves neatly away. Ducking underneath a flying blouse, she scooped up her guitar case and stepped back out into the main room of her new little home. Like the other apartments, it had some basic amenities, kitchenette, bathroom, dining area, and a couch and television. As she looked the space over again, she noticed that what she had taken at a glance as a big window on the far side of the room was in fact a sliding glass door, leading to a balcony.
Pulling her guitar case up more securely onto her shoulder, Zoey approached the door and slid it open. Outside, she sat down, swinging the case around and popping it open, allowing her access to the beautifully polished electro-acoustic guitar inside.
“After a morning like this, this is gonna hit the spot, old girl,” Zoey told her old friend, strumming absentmindedly a few times before she began to play in earnest. She played for nearly an hour, sometimes improvising, then switching smoothly to popular songs and back again. Eventually though, even she couldn’t keep up the flow of the music, if only because she did actually need to drink water and such to live. And so she packed her guitar up snugly in its case and made her way out to the common area Birel had shown her earlier.
Down in the kitchen, a bit of rummaging in the cabinets yielded a glass to fill from the tap, and, having successfully acquired her drink, Zoey turned back to return to her dorm, only to find the other two new occupants standing in the common living room, looking back at her.
“Oh, hi,” she greeted them.