Vayond: The Shadowed Hunters

Jack smiled widely when he spotted Grace. "Ah! There you are!" he said, sweeping in and over to the bar, were he jutted out his jaw, and got in her face "How are you tonight?" he said with a stupid grin.

Vayond: The Shadowed Hunters

Grace gave Jack a disgusted look, then said. "Fine, till you walked in." She backed away from the counter wiping her hands on her skirt. "So, what do you need? Ale? Some supper?"

Vayond: The Shadowed Hunters

"Neither" he cleared his throat, "I had both over at the tavern already. I actually came to see you!" he said, staring at her very tentatively and slinking around the counter. "I wanted to ask, who do those two horses belong to?"

~*~ Brywahr Academy ~*~

“I apologize if I startled you,” Nan said with a sweet smile, “but I have been looking for you all day. Ms. Tivvens told me about you. We’ve been assigned together. That is, I have been assigned as your Guide. For three week’s time, I will teach you -- lessons and rules and such.”
The sound of the great clock chiming rang through the halls.
Nan gasped. “It’s Lockup! Hurry to your rooms children, and I’ll do the same. First thing in the morning, Lilly, meet me in the Theatre!”
And she turned, running to her bedroom.

~

“Yeah, I’d better get to sleep too,” Lyssa admitted.
Then the clock struck.
“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow. And Dorothy… well… good luck with that… problem.” Lyssa stifled a chuckle, and headed back to her own room.

~

That night, after Lockup, all the Givers gathered in the Hall of Prismel. Wryorden had once again called them to meeting.
Tivvens stood at the front, frozen in fear, as the shadow of Wryorden loomed over her on the screen. She had made a grave mistake.
“When you gave Nanette the name of her assigned Receiver, what did you call that Receiver, Tivvens?” Wryorden asked, his voice shaking in anger. Yet, he remained calm. Eerily calm. “You called her Lilly -- a nickname -- a name only Receivers call her -- a name that you, as a Giver, are not supposed to know in the Receivers’ eyes.” He was silent for a moment. “The girl never told you a nickname. Oh, I know how you heard of it -- we all do. Everyone knows The One Who Hears all the Receivers say when they think they are alone. And no doubt, he told you, as is his duty. But that is a thing that is meant to be unknown to the children. And if you talk of things they think you know nothing about -- they might come closer to the truth. Be. More. Careful.”
“Yes, Sir,” said Tivvens, stepping back into line.
“Now, for other matters. Givers, have you begun to assign Guides to Receivers?”
“We have, our lord.” resounded the group of Givers all at once.
“Very good. And remember this: they must not be like the Guides we have assigned of latter years, but like those we assigned over ten years ago. The Old Days will come back for the newer generations.”
“Yes, our lord.”
“The new Code is about to take effect. The guides were Step One. Now for Step Two. The Receivers must begin to speak only to those we mean them to speak to. We will begin this tomorrow.”
“Yes, our lord.”
There was a pause where (though it was hidden by the shadows) Wryorden’s mouth twisted into a smile.
“And now for the most important business. It is time to bring in new Receivers. We must have more children from that old world -- that world they call Earth. And -- “ here, one could tell he thought this much more exciting -- “I will start a new collection: the children of the world of Ahlverite.”
A few of the Givers shifted on their feet slightly, including Tivvens.
“That is all,” said Wryorden. “Depart! Bring the new Receivers to the Academy at once.”
“We hear and obey.”

~

Blue sky… green grass… sunshine… the smell of flowers… Was that the sound of bird’s singing? Opening his eyes, Brownie could not believe all the beauty he saw…

It was over in a moment. Brownie suddenly woke up from the dream. All that he had seen in it felt very familiar…
Then, he realized he wasn’t in his own room. He was in Whitfey Square -- the most beautiful room at Brywahr, located in the very center of the Academy. How did he end up there?
He didn’t have time to think about it. He had to get back to his own room before someone saw him. Not that he would get punished anyway…
Suddenly, he had an idea. His brain started working, planning.
He could not put his plan into action yet, of course. It was the middle of the night. But as he got into his own bed in his own room, he made a mental note to talk to a certain person the next morning…

~

A male Giver, Kanthro, stood in the Room of Arrivals. He had been at the Academy since the beginning, and had seen over a hundred children come into that room from their home worlds.
Now, in front of him, stood three new arrivals, looking confused and frightened, as all new Receivers do. Two of them were clinging to each other.
“Welcome,” said Kanthro, none to friendly. “This is Brywahr Academy -- your new home. You must forget about your old homes; you will never return to them. You will stay in this room the remainder of the night. In the morning, you will be brought out and sent to First Class. As a Receiver, you must learn. As a Receiver, you must obey us, the Givers, lest you be punished. Hear me, remember well, and obey.”

End of Day One.

---------------------------------------------------

Day Two

Every child of Brywahr Academy woke to the Early Morning Bell, dressed into their uniforms, and filed into First Class. First Class came before everything else -- even breakfast. No one learned anything there. It was meant as a place for Givers to announce news. And normally, since not much happened that Receivers were allowed to learn about, they came only to be dismissed to breakfast almost immediately. But not today.
As the children sat down at the desks, they all noticed a piece of parchment for each of them on their desktops.
“Receivers,” Tivvens announced. “Today, changes will begin. Some of you will have Guides and some of you will be Guides. But this is only the beginning. Many more changes will come, and the next will start now. Today, at breakfast, as well as every other meal from now on, you will not be allowed to sit wherever you want with whomever you choose. Your table, your seat, and the Receivers you sit with have been chosen for you, and are recorded on the piece of parchment before you. Study it well.
“In other news,” she continued, “We have three new Receivers.”
Three children were half pulled, half dragged into the room by Kanthro.
“This one,” Tivvens gave one of the children a rough push, “is called Tess. She will room with Daniella.”
“And these” -- she roughly held up the arms of the other two, a boy and girl around the age of 14 -- “Are the Greersons. At first, we thought they were siblings. But apparently--” she glared at them, “they’re married. They will room together.”
Tivvens stared at all the children. “That is all. Dismissed.”

Alder stood up from her desk, taking her piece of parchment with her. All the children were filing out, going to the Academy Cafeteria. She had to find out where she would be sitting from now on. Out in the hall, she looked at the paper.
It was a dialogue of every table, with every student’s name drawn on their proper seat. Three of the tables would seat the people that she knew the most. The diagram told her the following (the dashes representing the part of the table between them):

Table Five (located in the middle of the Cafeteria) --
(left side) (right side)
Alder ------- Kasey
Henry ------ Brownie
Janiece ------ Lilly

Table Three (Located at the North Wall)
(left side) (right side)
Darek------ Stevie
Atom ------ Lyssa
Stella------- Will

Table One (Located in the Northwest Corner)
(left side) (right side)
Daniella---Tess
Kevin------Sam
Dan--------Dorothy

Strangely, Nan wasn’t on the list at all.
So Alder realized that she would be sitting across from Kasey, and next to Henry Greerson.
Alder frowned. She was disappointed that she wouldn’t get to sit with her best friend Stevie anymore. But she liked Kasey a lot, and was also glad she would get to meet two of the new kids right away.

~Riella

~*~ Brywahr Academy ~*~

Stella looked at the parchment. She was sitting near Will and Lyssa, both of whom she liked very much. A smile spread across her lips as she saw that Dorothy and her charge were at an entirely different table. She wouldn't have to be near them, at least during meal times.

She skipped up to Will and pointed to her parchment. "We're across from each other." She smiled. "Looks like we'll be seeing a lot more of each other, which means you can't hide your writing talent from me anymore."

Stella shot him a smirk before catching up to Lyssa. "Hey, looks like we're at the same table, too."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dorothy walked out of the class, trying to stay close to Sam. "Please don't run ahead like that. A lady should rarely run."

~*~ Brywahr Academy ~*~

Will watched the three new arrivals from where he was standing. He knew exactly how they felt, having been in that same position just a year ago. I hope they get used to living in this bloody perpetual Charles Dickens book. Will was disrupted from his thoughts when Stella began to talk to him about the new seating arrangements. “Yeah, I guess so.” Will responded, slowly taking his eyes of the three new arrivals, then looking at Stella. “I’m actually working on a new one called, The breeze Below the Willow Tree. You might not like it though, it’s a happy sort of story.” Will said with a smile, knowing that his friend liked stories that were dark and Edgar Allan Poe-esque.
“Now that we have nice seating, I wonder what we’ll be eatin’.” Will said.

Vayond: The Shadowed Hunters

"Those are just some horses. This is an inn..." Grace said as if he were stupid for asking. She hadn't thought about Stendar and Liam's horses, so she made it out as if that was a silly question, hoping that he wouldn't say anything more about them. So, in a loud voice hoping Stendar might hear, Grace said. "Besides, how am I supposed to know who's horses belong to who? I'm not a stable boy!" Grace gave him a sarcastic look, then continued backing away at the same time. "Anyway, I'm closing down for the night, and I'd appreciate it if you would leave now."

~*~ Brywahr Academy ~*~

Dan noted his seating and groaned, must I sit across from Dorothy?, he wondered? Well, I have no choice in the matter so I'll just be glad that I get food at all, even if my appetite be ruined by lectures on the correct way to hold a spoon. He wander around to where Dorothy was 'torturing' Sam, he could only assume that Dorothy had been made a guide, "poor Sam." he mutter under his breath so no one could hear.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lilly had glanced at her parchment and taken note of her seating and was now in her spot at table five waiting for the rest of the group that was assigned to this table to arrive. Her head was still sore and she rubbed around the spot gently. She'd left her hair loose today cause when she'd tried to braid it it had pulled painfully at the cut, it wasn't so bad, not really, it was just a little bit sore, that was all.

~*~ Brywahr Academy ~*~
Daniella sighed, as she placed her self next to Kevin. Most girls would love having to sit next to their boyfriend, but not her. She glanced at Brownie's table, wishing she were with him. Then, at Sam. "So what the heck you get in trouble for yesterday? Breathing?" She hated this school and the stupid uniform she had to wear.

~*~ Brywahr Academy ~*~

Dorothy cleared her throat and shot a glare in Daniella's direction. "Perhaps you should mind your own business, hmm, Daniella?" She flashed a smile, though it was not a kind one.

~*~ Brywahr Academy ~*~

Will made his way over to his table, and was soon seated, awaiting his meal. He looked around the room at all the faces of all the children. some of them seem fine with their seating, where as others seem utterly against it. Will looked at his seat and at his friend sitting across from him, I guess I wouldn’t know since my seating is nice, unlike some unfortunate others. Will looked towards Dorothy’s direction and those who had to sit at her table. Though I suppose this place does bring out the worst of everyone.
"So what do you think of the new arrivals?" Will asked Stella, "The girl, the one she called Tess, looked frightened, like all the new comers. Then the other two, its strange that they are married at such a young age. We'll have to find some time to get to know them."

~*~ Brywahr Academy ~*~

"Well this is cheery," Dan stated sarcastically "I just love how well this morning is going. What's next? walking only on specified stones on the floor? or perhaps only being allowed to speak to one person for the rest of your life? I know, what about only being capable of thinking what they want you to think!" Anger poured from every syllable and he thwacked the leg of the table with his foot in defiance. "If I could, I would dangle each and every one of them over a burning pit of lava by a thread and listen to their screams, watch the looks of terror on their unfeeling faces." Sometimes Dan couldn't help but be morbid about these things. "What are we supposed to do, bend to their every whim until not a single one of us yet lives?" His tone was bitter and resentful and feeling burned from his angry eyes, he hated them, and that was one thing that they could never change in him.

~*~ Brywahr Academy ~*~

Darek darted out of the room after being dismissed and held his parchment to the light to see what it said. His best friend strolled out after him and tried to stand on his tiptoes to peer over Darek's shoulder, thrusting his hands dejectedly in his pockets. However, his lack of height forced him to give up the endeavor and he moved around to stand in front of Darek.
"So, where do we sit?"
"Read your own newspaper, Atom," said Darek sarcastically, but in a good-natured sort of way. Atom was the nickname Darek had given his friend when no-one could remember his real name. Atom's height was one of several reasons for this nickname.
"Can't, I left it on my desk," complained Atom, in an equally good-natured tone.
Darek gave him a mock scathing look over the edge of his paper, and said in a mock severe tone, "You should fetch it right this instant before you are punished for your lack of memory."
Atom shrugged, "Eh, it's faster if I just ask you. So come on, spill the beans!"
Darek gestured in the direction of the dining hall and began moving towards it. "We're sitting together, and on the north wall."
"North wall? Which wall is that?"
"The wall that is approximately 87 degrees to the right when you walk in."
Atom stared at him for a moment. "That's about as clear as mud."
Darek opened his mouth to explain again, but Atom waved his hand dismissively. "Never mind, you can just point me in the right direction when we get in there." He winked.

When they arrived at the dining hall Darek dutifully pointed Atom in the right direction and the two of them made their way to their table. They seated themselves in their appointed spots then glanced around their table at those already seated.
"Hello folks," said Atom cheerfully, "enjoying your new seats?" He bounced on his experimentally, and his brown curls bounced with him, "Hmm, seem comfy enough." He glanced around the room, caught sight of Brownie at another table, breathed a sigh of relief, then turned back quickly.

~*~ Brywahr Academy ~*~

"It is strange!" Stella whispered to Will as she gave a nod. "We'll have to talk to them later. Make them feel at home...if that's possible."

"I'm not sure what I think of them yet...Not everyone is like Dorothy. I had an opinion of her as soon as I saw her..." Stella snickered. "But she's not all bad. She's good company once you get to know her and ignore her snobbishness..."

~~~

"Dan!" Dorothy exclaimed. "If you want to avoid Punishment, you will hold your tongue and your fork properly." Dorothy held out her fork to him, showing him the way it was supposed to be held and handled. "Honestly, why do I always have to show you? Haven't you learned how to hold a utensil correctly yet? You're 17; you should have learned that skill years ago."

~~~

"Hello, Atom, Darek." Stella said as they sat down.

In reply to Atom's question, Stella nodded. "Yes, actually, I do like my seat. Don't tell anyone at the other tables," she leaned toward Atom, "but I think I'm sitting with the best of the Academy."

One minute she was at her birthday party, with her friends and family! She had just put her new puppy down to blow out the candles on her cake, next minute she was in a hall next to two other people wearing weird clothes!! She was shoved into a room then told to sleep... she couldn't! Next morning she was dragged in front of a class and introduced. She was told that she was roommates with Daniella! Now she was in the lunch room sitting across from Daniella and next to a wild looking girl who she guessed was Sam because it said on the sheet. She looked around, scared and leaned forward to Daniella.
" What am I doing here? I as told to forget my life because I would never go back! Is that true are we stuck!! And where are we?"

((OOC: this is my first time posting so tell me if I did anything wrong!!))