forum Alfea College for Fairies [Elemental Fairies] (Closed)

Started December 03, 2022 by @emilyevewrites group

tune

(sorry, i was a bit busy the past couple days!)

Penny narrowed her eyes a bit, not wanting her anxiety to be acknowledged. Sure, she was nervous, but she didn't want anyone else to know that. Were her nervous habits that obvious? She would have to find a less assuming nervous habit from now on. Mia was also quite eager to get this started, and Penny wasn't sure how to feel about that. She was a little excited, sure, but also starting to wonder if this was the best decision. She didn't know the headmistress as well as her roommate seemed to, and she generally wasn't the best around new people, especially authority figures. Especially those who were mind fairies and could likely sense this sort of thing.

"Alright," Penny grunted, following behind the blonde. "I'm not nervous though. Just curious, or whatever."

“Really?” Mia asked, not making fun of Penny though she wasn't sure if she entirely believed her. “I was pretty nervous the first time Ms. Dowling had me come to her office. I thought I was going to shock myself on the doorknob.” she admitted with a laugh. “But she was very understanding and gave me some good advice on how to control my magic as well as some practices to use over the summer.” she said, remembering Ms. Dowling mentioned that last part when she and Penny first met.

Eventually, Farah dismissed Callum back to his desk. She decided that she could fix the remainder of the mistakes on her own. She was about halfway finished when she heard a knock on her door. Her eyes darted up in confusion. It was too soon for Penny and Mila to be arriving. Saul was teaching. Ben should be working on the potion she'd instructed him to make.

Then she heard Callum's voice through the door saying, "Excuse me?"

A younger female voice responded with an air of confidence. "I'll just take a water. Room temp. Thanks, love."

Farah rose from her desk and approached the door as Callum was protesting. "If the door is closed, it means she doesn't want–"

The headmistress interrupted him by opening the door and taking in the scene. Callum had risen from his desk and was moving around it to head off a girl who had knocked. Farah took in her pale skin and dark clothes. The girl's brown-reddish hair was pulled into a tight-looking French braid down her back.

"Headmistress Dowling!" the girl exclaimed, her brown eyes widening slightly when she saw Farah. Callum froze midstep, obviously surprised to see Farah opening the door. "I'm Beatrix," the girl continued without skipping a beat, "and I'm probably going to sound like an arsehole right now, but I'm literally your biggest fan." She paused a moment as if replaying what she'd just said over again in her head. "Probably shouldn't have said 'arsehole' in front of the headmistress. Bollocks. Shit!"

Farah arched her eyebrows, slightly amused while remaining wary of this girl. "On a winning streak, I see," she remarked plainly.

"Sorry," Beatrix apologized. "For all of it. It's just I've waited my whole life for this, to be here. I'm obsessed with this place. Its history." She made intense eye contact with Farah, and the headmistress didn't blink, unintimidated. "Your history."

"Noted," Farah replied shortly. She looked over Beatrix's shoulder and shot her assistant a look. Callum widened his eyes and shook his head in return. Farah turned her attention back to Beatrix. "Perhaps you'd like to study that history in the library? I have work to do."

"Everyone here seems to worship her," Penny commented to that, already on the defensive. "Is she really that great?" Of course, the headmistress had been nothing but kind to her so far, but she was still wary. And yes, she was a little excited about this whole meeting, but she wasn't about to just admit that. It was true she'd made a fool of herself more than once in Mia's vicinity already, but she realized that she was still quite determined to maintain her tough exterior. She really didn't want her possible misjudgment of this headmistress to ruin that. What if the reason everyone loved her so much was because of some sort of mind fairy magic?

No, Penny was just being stupid. People probably loved Headmistress Dowling because she was kind and helpful. But Penny was stubborn. She didn't want to give herself up that easily. She liked being mysterious, even if she hated being labeled a troublemaker. But she wasn't the nice, happy sort of person that generally became popular, and she didn't want to pretend to be. She was a cynical, suspicious, and combative sort of person, and she was going to let others know that. Sure, she wanted friends, but she didn't want to fake her entire personality to get them. Maybe once she became better friends with Mia, the other girl would get to see another side of Penny, but she still barely knew her roommate.

Mia couldn't help but wince at Penny’s observation. “I… don't think “worship” is the right word. At least not for me.” she admitted. “I respect her. Very much. Mostly because of how much she’s helped me. But, let’s be honest, Ms. Dowling is one of the most powerful fairies alive. Not only is she a mind fairy but she also has some degree of control over all the other types of fairy magic. And the fact that she was also a graduate of Alfea…” she tried to explain though she knew she didn't know everything about Ms. Dowling. Most of the information she just shared was a rather abridged version of what was readily available in the library. “I guess it is kinda hard not to see her as up on a pedestal. But she's very personable and seems like she genuinely wants to help all the students here that she can.”

Penny listened, a skeptical expression on her face. She knew that the headmistress was very powerful; any idiot could see that. Besides, she hadn't applied to Alfea without at least knowing the bare minimum about the school. Perhaps she could find some reading material that talked about Headmistress Dowling, which should be interesting. Maybe it would give a Penny a leg up in their future encounters. Either way, it certainly seemed like Mia was enamored with the older fairy. However, everything that Mia said appeared to be true, at least from Penny's experience.

"I guess so," Penny admitted, glancing ahead of her to see how close they were getting.
"Still, how much do you actually know about her anyway?"

She brushed a stray hair out of her face; her hair was styled down today. The red locks were spilling down to her shoulders, a slight natural wave tousling it. Her lip gloss was less of a statement today, being clear instead of a vivid color and her eye makeup was smokier. That and the cute sweater-skirt combo she was wearing helped prepare her for meeting the headmistress. Fashion was her metaphorical armor, and she was dressed for battle.

“Do you mean her past?” Mila asked, raising a brow at her roommate. “Honestly, not very much. Ms. Dowling is kinda private about that. But I don't think that someone’s past is always as important as what they’re doing now.” she explained. Though, of course, she wasn't naive and knew that there were exceptions to that line of thought. But she thought that she was a pretty good judge of character and would be able to spot the more dangerous types of people.

Being private about one's past was something that Penny understood, but it did make her wonder. Then again, the headmistress could just have a rough past before she got to where she was now. That wasn't any reason to write her off. But Penny still couldn't help but being a bit skeptical of any authority figure, even the nice-seeming ones.

"I guess you're right," Penny acquiesced. "Someone's past isn't as important as their present and their recent actions. People can change and all that shit."

She wondered how close they were getting now, since it felt like they had been walking forever. Penny wasn't the best at any sort of measurement, though, time included. She glanced at Mia to see if she could find any hint in the other girl's face.

"We getting close or what?" she asked, looking around. She still didn't know the campus well yet so it still seemed vast and mysterious to her. Maybe she could wander around to learn more of the campus later, though she wasn't sure whether she'd be able to get home after exploring too far.

Mila smiled when Penny agreed with her points and hoped that it meant that she would give Ms. Dowling more of a chance. “Oh. Yeah.” she nodded at the question. “Her office is just ahead. We gotta go through an outer office with her assistant first but it's no big deal.”

Penny nodded. Of course they had to speak with Headmistress Dowling's assistant first before greeting her. She was the headmistress, so it only made sense. It was still a tad annoying though. She just wanted to get to this meeting already, to further assess the headmistress and to hopefully get some instruction to better her control of her magic. She knew she was powerful–many accidental fires had proved that to be true–but she needed to get a better handle on her powers. Of course, with practice she might even be able to get more powerful still, and then she would truly be a formidable opponent. Right now the only thing she could really do without losing control (at least for a moment or two) was to reheat food or create a small, match-sized flame. Anything that could actually be considered impressive led to her losing control and making a fool of herself. Especially if she was feeling some sort of emotion quite strongly, like anger or frustration.

She wondered if the headmistress had any tips on keeping her calm in those sort of situations as well. Penny did have a good poker face, but that wouldn't do anything for her magic abilities. Inside, she was a mess of emotions which were quite easily set off. Maybe she could try meditating or something. Whatever the case, she was not about to ask Headmistress Dowling for help with managing her emotions, because that was much more embarrassing to admit–and much less obvious at first glance–than her runaway powers.

"Interesting," Penny said in response to Mia's reply. She couldn't be bothered to say more. Small talk had never really been her strong suit.

After being shut out of the headmistress's office, Beatrix pivoted on her heel and stormed away. Any remnants of the sweet, starry-eyed girl who had just told the headmistress that she was "her biggest fan" were shattered. Her dark brown eyes were enhanced by the shadowy makeup that she wore, and they narrowed in a brief moment of rage when her back was to the headmistress's assistant.

"About that water?" Callum called after her, and Beatrix ignored him, bearing her teeth in annoyance as she walked out back into the hallway. Between him and the headmistress, one more antagonizing comment and she might just lose it.

Except that she wouldn't. Beatrix had more control than that. Her mentor – a much more powerful fairy than the weak Farah Dowling – had taught her everything she knew about magic and control. And her pseudo-father had filled in the gaps with the help of his own training. With their influences combined, Beatrix was much more talented than any other first-year, or likely any other student at Alfea for that matter. And her powers were only continuing to grow as she followed her mentor's teachings.

But now, as she put distance between herself and the pitiful excuse for a headmistress, the air fairy scoffed under her breath. The library? How infuriating. How offensive. Like Beatrix was going to find something good in those dusty old records. She'd been through them all already. Not for her own leisure, of course. All she'd found was Ms. Dowling's list of accomplishments as headmistress, a shortened list of her abilities, and some documents she'd written about runes, magical theory, and control while channeling. Maybe if she really wanted to look harder, she could find some old records about Dowling's time as a student at Alfea. But then again, maybe not.

Farah Dowling had attended under the previous headmistress, and all records of anything that happened under the previous headmistress had been removed from Alfea's public library. Everything that even contained the former headmistress's name was stricken from the shelves.

At Ms. Dowling's request, sixteen years ago.

Silva and Harvey were her creatures, and they did as she asked without questioning it. The thought made Beatrix's lip curl with disgust. Though if there was a single thing that she did admire about Ms. Dowling, it was her ability to keep the men under her thumb.

Beatrix was so enveloped in her thoughts that she wasn't paying much attention when she rounded the corner and walked smack into a pair of girls, presumably on their way to meet with Headmistress Dowling. After all, her office was the only note-worthy room down this corridor.

Her surprise overtook her, and Beatrix quickly put back on her winning smile. "Oh! I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention," she apologized quickly, though every fiber of her being wanted to get back to her room and pour desperately over her instructions again. "I really should start watching where I'm going. Where are you headed?" It was a stupid question, obviously, but maybe she could get some information out of them.

Mila had raised a brow at Penny’s simple response but decided to drop the conversation since she felt that it was a good enough note to end on, and started focusing on controlling her magic. She couldn't deny that she was anxious about the lesson, as her nerves had caused a bit of a charged atmosphere around her, but she wanted to make a good impression. Ms. Dowling already knew her, of course, but she wanted to prove that she had been practicing. She had managed to refocus enough that she didn't think she would shock anyone when she felt someone crash into her.

“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry!” her apology nearly overlapping that of the other student. She giggled a little when she realized, reaching her hand up to her hair… Only to discover that the collision had caused her magic to backfire, resulting in a new “perm”. “Oh… Great.” she swore softly as she tried to fix her hair.

Penny blinked, surprised as well. Her mind had begun to wander as she and Mila had walked, so she hadn't noticed the other girl until it was too late. Her eyes narrowed, taking in the newcomer. Unlike the others, she didn't apologize, merely studying the stranger.

Penny answered the girl's question with another question, blowing a strand of hair out of her face. "What do you think?" she asked, doubting that there was anything else interesting over here besides the headmistress's office. She crossed her arms, not making any attempt to be friendly. Too late, she reminded herself that she probably should be nice and actually try to make friends this year. But to be fair, the girl had bumped into her and Mila, not the other way around, Penny was certain of that. She didn't really have the patience for this.

Beatrix's eyes widened slightly. Not only from the blonde's insta-perm, but the difference in reactions between the two girls. She knew her bubbly persona would mesh well with the blonde girl, but the other? Well… Beatrix liked her style.

Her dark eyes studied the redhead just as intently as the girl was studying her. And it didn't take her long to realize that the stunning red color was most likely dyed. But between her clothes and her attitude, Beatrix hoped they would be able to talk one-on-one sometime soon.

She clicked her tongue against her teeth. "Obviously you're going to see the headmistress. The question I should have asked is why," she replied evenly, arching an eyebrow. "It's only the second day. Have you two gotten into trouble already?"

It was a thoughtful response: designed to jab with the intent of finding out more than the girls normally might say in an attempt to prove her wrong. Beatrix knew how to mold a conversation to her liking.

“No. Of course, we're not in trouble.” Mila answered defensively as she raised a brow at the pointed question. She wasn't sure why but something about this student made the hair on her arms stand on end. Or it could have been residual static from her magic “burst”. She cleared her throat and let out a slow breath. “I… Uhh, I didn't shock you or anything when we bumped into each other, did I?” she asked, trying to take the conversation away from why she and Penny were going to see Ms. Dowling.

Penny noticed the newcomer sizing her up, and studied her in return. This girl seemed bubbly enough, sure, but that gaze was intense. Something about her was a bit odd, but Penny couldn't quite put a finger on it. Maybe she was just that sort of person, the kind who acted one way but thought another. Penny had met quite a few people like that in her time: people who put on a friendly face to get others to like them, though they secretly didn't care for their so-called "friends" as much as they cared about their status or popularity or whatnot. Again, Penny tried to reign in her judgement a bit, but she couldn't help but be cautious.

At Mila's reaction to the question, Penny glanced at her roommate with a raised eyebrow. While what Mila said was technically true, Penny was still slightly uncertain on that note. She knew that Ms.Dowling seemed to truly be a kind woman, but being in the headmistress's office for any positive reason was not a familiar feeling for her. Still, she didn't want to give too much away to this complete stranger. Penny had the feeling that the girl was the type who could use any information as leverage, probably going to laugh about the two of them behind their backs with her little friends. No, Penny had to stop judging people she didn't know so harshly. This was not her high school. This was Alfea.

She didn't say anything as Mila kept talking, letting her guide the conversation. Most likely this girl was losing interest in them already and she would leave soon. Penny certainly hoped so; this girl seemed to be stressing out Mila, or at least the awkward collision had. Either way, Penny wanted this encounter to be over already.

"But why would you be going to see Ms. Dowling if you're not in trouble?" Beatrix asked, arching an eyebrow. But after a heartbeat, she shook her head. "Nevermind. It's none of my biz anyway."

She couldn't help but smirk at Mila's question. "Hardly." Beatrix lifted a hand, and her eyes glowed light blue. Electricity sparked above her palm and wove its way around her fingers in an energy web. "I'm an air fairy too. And control helps with…" She pursed her lips, studied Mila's static-y hair, and motioned to it vaguely. "The frizz."

Her eyes caught the redhead's as Beatrix was watching her. The blonde was a bit of a klutz and wouldn't serve Beatrix's purposes well, should she even be interested. But the redhead…

"Well, I'm off to snort the midday Adderall. Hope to run into you again. Well… maybe not so literally next time." She took a chance and threw a wink at the redhead before slipping between the girls and strutting off with a proud smirk on her lips.

"Have fun with that," Penny said flatly as the girl left. She noticed the wink with some confusion. Weird. It was likely some sort of joke though, because Penny highly doubted that this girl had any interest in her beyond some sort of prank or as the butt of a joke. Still, that could just be Penny hyper-analyzing the situation again. She really needed to get out of her head sometimes, or Mila would stay her only friend at this school, and while Mila was nice, Penny needed more than just one friend.

After the girl was gone, Penny turned to Mila with her hands on her hips. "She was definitely…interesting," Penny remarked, not having a better word to describe the stranger than that. "Uh, are you okay? You seemed a bit frazzled back there." While the newcomer's control comment had probably been true, it was not very helpful because Mila was going to see Ms.Dowling about that exact issue, so she likely already knew that. It was just like the kind of catty comments–disguised as advice, of course–that Penny had heard being made about herself.

Mila’s eyes widened at the new girl’s show of power. She had to admit she was curious to meet another air fairy, though the comment about her hair caused her to blush. “Yeah. You're right. It's just something I need to work on.” she admitted.

“Goodbye then.” she called back politely. She let out a sigh of relief when it was just her and Penny again. “Interesting. That's one word for her.” she agreed. “I’m alright. Thank you for taking over that. I don't know why but… That was more uncomfortable than it should have been.”

Penny shrugged, giving Mila a small smile. "Eh, some people are just like that, I guess," she responded. "I've dealt with girls that remind me of her before. Anyway, let's just get going. I don't wanna run into any more weirdos before we meet with the headmistress."

And with that, Penny went back to walking, assuming that the other girl would come with her. She already didn't love meeting new people, and meeting people that reminded her of others she did not like during high school was even worse. She'd gotten lucky with Mila; her luck might not hold with any other newcomers. Nonetheless, she really did need friends if she didn't want a repeat of last year, so she supposed she would just have to start actually talking to the few people whose vibes she did like. Ugh. What a pain.

Mila smiled back and nodded. “Yeah. I guess so. I haven't had much experience with those people myself since I try to avoid them when I can.” she admitted. “But you're right. We don't want to keep Ms. Dowling waiting.” she agreed, keeping pace with her roommate as they approached the headmistress’s office.