At the end of one of the two beds in the room, Oliver himself was perched on a chaise lounge with his eyes fixed on the thick hardback book in his hands. He hadn’t a clue who was going to be his dorm-mate his year, and after finding out that it wasn’t Tobias he felt rather put off, but he was willing to at least try and be civil with whomever his partner turned out to be——as long as it wasn’t that Russian kid.
He had already removed his blazer and cravat, and the top few buttons of his shirt were open just to allow his skin to breathe. The sleeves of his shirt were neatly folded back up to his elbows, and his hair had become a little fluffier than what it was earlier; perhaps due to Tobias messing up.
When the handle of the door began to turn, he marked his place and carefully closed the book, placing it down beside him. This was going to be interesting.
Theo opened the door, coming inside. His eyes landed on Oliver, and he blinked. "Oh. Hello." he greeted after a moment, setting his suitcase down on the unclaimed bed. "So you are to be my roommate?" he asked, blinking over at the other male. He sat down. He didn't know Oliver well, that was true, but the other seemed to be a rather decent sort.
Oliver studied the boy as he walked to claim the other bed. There was something almost hesitant in his very movements, not something he expected from someone who had been so quick to talk to a new society member. He raised an eyebrow slightly at Theodore’s question and stood up from his seat. “I wouldn’t be here otherwise.”
He moved to stand in front of Theodore with one hand stretched out towards him. “I suppose we should be properly introduced. My name is Oliver Valentin Arquette, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
Theo stood, shaking Oliver's hand. "I'm Theodore James Holden. You can just call me Theo, if you like." he replied. "It is a pleasure to meet you, as well." he nodded, letting go of Oliver's hand after a moment. He was hesitant because he didn't know what would happen if his half-breed status was found out. He almost would rather have roomed with someone who was not of the Praesidia, because then maybe it would be easier to hide. Easier to pretend that he was a normal human, that there was nothing wrong with him.
When Theo let go of Oliver's hand, he tucked both of his hands into his pockets and nodded his head while shuffling back over to his seat. He picked up the book and continued reading from where he left off, and crossed one leg over the other as if that made him any more comfortable. "I don't do much in the way of idle chatter, though if you have any questions I will be more than happy to answer."
Theo nodded a little bit. "Alright." he replied, looking over at Oliver for a moment. He started to work on unpacking some of his things, putting them away in their places so that he could find them easier, instead of leaving them in his bag for the rest of the school year. He was actually rather glad that Oliver didn't make much idle conversation; less chance of him accidentally spilling what he was.
(Should we do a time skip to the daytime and their classes or something, or did you have something in mind for the nighttime?)
(time skip sounds fine, as i had no plans. Would you like to do the timeskip, or should I?)
(I don't mind, though did you have a specific lesson you wanted to be in?)
(Nah, pretty much anything is fine. I don't know if they would share many of their classes though)
(No I don't think they would, ignore that last bit then XD)
A bright and early start welcomed Oliver, though while he never had been a morning person, impressions were everything. An unnecessary amount of time was spent on straightening his outfit, making sure every inch of his uniform was neatly in place, and his hair was another matter entirely. After having a bath, he spent most of the morning making sure that every wave was tame as it dried. Not a single strand was allowed to be out of place, not for the sake of vanity but purely because he wanted to uphold a respectable impression in front of not only his classmates but his professors as well.
Once he was confident that he looked the part, he left his shared quarters and made his way down to the dining hall for a light breakfast. He decided not to wake Theo up, no one deserved to be needlessly subjected to an early start.
(Alright lol)
Theo eventually woke up on his own, with plenty of time left before class. He glanced around, and, when he saw that Oliver was already gone, began to get ready for school. He did his best to look presentable, though his hair refused to be fully tamed, falling down into his forehead no matter how much gel he used to try and tame it down. No matter how hard he combed it, it sprang back up. Eventually, he gave up, and just made sure that the rest of his uniform looked presentable, and then he grabbed his bag and headed to get breakfast.
Oliver had made himself comfortable at his usual table. The dining hall consisted of long tables with enough seating room for eight persons, though if two smaller groups of friends decided to sit at the same table there was always a space to separate them. This was the layout of the table where Oliver and Tobias were sat, with a four person group near them.
"So, who's ya dorm mate?" Tobias yawned into his hand. The boy hadn't fully woken up before he had made himself known to the school, and his hair was a wild mess that didn't look too bad—or so Oliver thought, Tobias seemed to be the only person who could get away with still being good looking with bed hair.
"Theodore Holden, the one who was talking to William yesterday evening." Oliver replied before taking a sip of his tea. "He's a quiet lad, so I don't mind sharing with him, he doesn't get in the way." Hopefully it would stay that way too, because they were going to have issues should Theo prove to be a nuisance.
Theo got his breakfast, sitting down at a table that was mostly empty, and got out his book to read while he ate. He didn't generally make many friends; Praesidia didn't like it when they got too friendly with normal people, and if he befriended other Praesidia, there was too much danger of discovery of just what he was. And he didn't mind being alone, he really didn't. It meant he had plenty of time to think and plan and discover things, to read about the world around him, both the Spectris and the Corporis. He had happened to sit down at the same table as Oliver and Tobias, though he didn't really take much notice of that fact beyond a faint wave in greeting, hoping that if he looked engrossed in his book they would leave him alone.
(I haven’t forgotten about this, just tryna think of what to write..)
(Alright! Eep, sorry. Would you like me to change it so that he's sitting near Oliver and Tobias instead? Would that make it a bit easier on you?)
(Perhaps? It might make for interesting conversation between the characters, plus I think Tobias and Theo would be in the same class?)
(Alright! They might be, yeah)
(Alright give me uno momento)
Tobias noticed a boy sit at the table with a book and slid a glance over to Oliver while he whispered. “Say, is that Theodore? What’s he doing sitting around you, he realises that could bring some odd looks in this direction, no?
Oliver didn’t acknowledge the boy’s arrival at the table, it was better to know each other on a strictly dorm mate basis. The older boy picked up his teacup and brought it gently up to his lips. “I imagine he’s here so as to not look alone. Aren’t the two of you in some of the same classes?”
Tobias leaned his head back in thought, letting out a yawn as he shrugged. Perhaps? Not that he remembered the names of everyone in his classes…
Theodore was silent. He didn't really register that the other two were there; he was merely here because it was strange to sit alone. He let out a faint breath, closing his eyes for a moment, then going back to his book and eating quietly. He was soon fully engrossed in the book, not registering the flow of conversation around him. He kept eating and reading, reaching to adjust his shirt for a moment.
Tobias had started rambling about some article he'd read in the papers about the economical situation in Germany, but Oliver wasn't paying much attention. He tried to look interested, after all, it affected Britain too, however he couldn't draw his attention away from the book that Theo was reading. He hadn't pictured Theo as a bookworm, but then again he hadn't really paid attention to what the boy was doing the previous night.
He set his cup down on the table and quietly cleared his throat. "Say, Theodore. What book do you have there?" From the angle he was sat at, he couldn't see the title.
Theo jumped a little bit when he was addressed, looking over at Oliver. "Oh– it's, uhm, an old book of my mother's. Some collection of fairy tales, I guess. The printing wore off the cover so I don't know anymore." He held it up sheepishly, revealing that the cover had indeed been rubbed blank, the words no longer legible that would have told exactly what the book was about. "She wrote notes in the margins." He knew it was childish to read such books, and he knew that with his bloodline maybe he shouldn't be, but…he couldn't help it. Reading those notes in the margins was the closest he could come to his mother.
“Fairytales?” Oliver asked, squinting one eye at the book. After a moment he put his hand out, his palm facing he ceiling, and took another sip of his tea. “Fairytales are much more than silly old stories made up for children, did you know?”
Tobias has now stopped whittering and was listening to the conversation between Oliver and Theo.
Oliver added, “and the stories are written so cleverly to hide the messages we now use in day to day society.” He paused for a moment, thinking he had phrased that wrong, but with a firm nod he decided it sounded correct.
