<font color='#000000'>IC » Tessera; 49 3rd year Since you're in quite a few threads already, don't push yourself to write lots, please. :] I'd prefer if the post length was a casual length. (No novels! xD; So anyways, for 'ze principal only, please! ^_^; BIC » Today Sephiroth was an early riser. It was scarcely five-thirty in the morning, and yet she stood in the courtyard with a small bag slung over her left shoulder. It contained various folders of sheet music, the wooden cases which held her various intruments, and of course: the rest of her books. Which was not much, as her History teacher had excused her from classes today for this very reason, and she had a spare first. Ah, thank goodness for those breaks! Seth smiled and sat down on the front steps, awaiting the moment when Hart Demori would come out and do her usual morning rounds. She held her pack and fondled the handle, finally deciding to use her time constructively. Sephiroth selected a single sheet of music from her shoulder bag, and a tiny wooden case. Within the case was an elegant silver piccolo, carved by herself after years of practice. It was perfectly in tune, and she played a couple major scales before glancing at the sheet in front of her. She fingered the notes as she hummed the melody in her rich voice, dark and tantalizing all in one. Regarding the key signature, the teenager began to play. Rich, high-octave notes filtered from the tiny instrument, carrying far to the borders of the school property and even beyond. As her playing grew more intense, she slowed down with the music, following every staccato, accent, and crescendo. Seth repeated a single line thrice, making sure to hit the right tones. And then she was finished, laying the delicate woodwind at her paws and filing the sheet away. Done with the warmup, she would now wait for Hart, with the question she would ask her burning strongly in her mind like a white-hot brand. Yet it still burned, as did her stomach, as if flaming butterflies were coursing around inside of her. What would she say?</font>
<font color='#000F22'><center><blockquote><font color=dimgray face=verdana size=1><span style=letter-spacing:-1px><font color=black>;; out of character</font> Grrr... sorry for the delay, Mandaluff. <font color=black>;; in character</font> Hart had just recently gotten most of her work caught up. A smile of satisfaction flickered to life on her features, delighted eyes flickering to the "done" pile. Only two papers remained in her "to do" pile, both of them rescheduling. They were easy to do, anyways. That didn't mean she was about to put them off, however. Sliding both out, she considered them with a content gaze, then grabbed her pen, and began writing. It was easy to change classes around, to shift things so that the two changing students had the appopriate places that they needed to go. They were only slight differences, anyways. One of them was going to the Advanced class of their trade, the other merely wanted to add on a Ramathian class, and needed space made in which they could do that particular subject. A faint smile tugged into life. She was so close, so very close to finishing... and there it was, the last letter was scribbled into place, and both went to the "done" pile. Actually, her work wasn't quite complete. She needed to sort out the done pile so that she could put them in their proper places. A simple task, though, one that she would only begin right now. Pulling half of the stack off, and and sorting through it, she eased the schedules into one space, the registration papers into another, and various other ones into a third. Quickly sifting through the papers, and placing them in the proper places, she picked up the registration ones, and shoved them into her pack. They would need to go into the Basement, in files for the new students. The schedules needed to be brought to their dorms, but she'd do that later, when the pendragons who owned them would actually be awake. The rest could be figured out later, when she finished sorting them. Pulling the pack over her shoulder, and allowing it to swing appropriately, she padded effortlessly towards the door, easing out. No one was even here yet, it was just too early. Hart had wanted to get some of the sorting done before she did her morning rounds, though, so she had gotten up earlier then usual. As she walked outside, she was startled to see Sephiroth. She hadn't heard the singing, being within a mostly soundproof room... but she could tell that there had been some, especially since Seph was a young Master of said trade. Nodding slightly towards the younger pendragon, she smiled in a warm fashion, and tilted her head a bit. <font color=#330000>"Up a bit early today, are we, Sephiroth? I hope that you slept well."</font> She said, hoping that it hadn't been a lack of sleep that had drawn the youngster out here. </font>
<font color='#000000'>Ah, and there the wisened Master was; casually dispersing from the cage of school activities (or pre-activities) and entering the calm world of the outdoors. Rising, the quadruped smiled at Hart's entrance and cocked her own head a few degrees. "One is never too early, eh? Sleep is a mere by-product of hard work, after all." Sephiroth gave a tiny wink, always amiable in the presence of the principal at any time of day. It must have been the friendly atmosphere that hovered around the staff member, the aura that put aside all battle scars or gruff voices and opened one up to their real side. Seph' herself never got on anyone's bad side - or at least, the bad side of anyone who was actually important somehow to her grades, success, or overall welfare. The young flautist tucked a few stray threads of hair from her eyes and flicked the feathers of her wing, struggling internally as she fought the impulse to blurt out her intentions. One couldn't see the battle being raged out inside of her, but she supposed anyone even basicing in empathy or general pendragon demeanor would sense some sort of chemical imbalance. No, she would wait a little while, until at least some sort of conversation sparked up. That would help the situation. In theory.</font>
<font color='#000F22'><center><blockquote><font color=dimgray face=verdana size=1><span style=letter-spacing:-1px>Demori was naturally a rather easygoing creature, though she didn't always let it show. In a way, she was fond of Seph, though she didn't know the younger female as well as she would have liked. To have gained a Mastery at such a youthful age, it was pure fact that the young lady was a gem. In fact, Janardan was proud to have her. Then again, Seph also reminded Hart of her own daughter, which assisted in such distant affection. If she had had more time, then she might have tried to stimulate a friendship between herself and the student. At the age that she was, and the maturity level that Hart had observed, beyond that of her years, there was no doubt that Demori could find a friend within the heart of the musician. A kindred spirit, that was what the singer was, and the mere thought caused Demori's own soul to warm. It had been so long since she had found a student with promise, and, if Seph had owned either trade that Demori possessed, tutoring would have been offered in a heartbeat. But, alas, Hart didn't know much about music. Her husband had, but he was dead and gone. From him, she had learned an appreciation for good music, and a bit about playing, but not enough. Which was sad, for Demori's paws were made for that, and not for the weapons that she took, instead. That, she had had to train into her digits, forced them to adapt, as much as they would have preferred to be strumming a harp, or fingering a flute. At Seph's words caused Hart to chuckle. <font color=#330000>"Of course, but we all need to sleep, none the less. If only there was more time in a day, or we didn't need sleep, eh?"</font> The Principal commented with a chuckle. There was something about the other that made her hesitate, however, before saying more. Something seemed to bother the other, and, as a teacher, then a principal, Demori had learned to figure out what was truly bothering a student - or, at least, to get the information out of them. She didn't really want to shove Seph, but if it was the only way to get the musician to speak about it... <Font color=#330000>"Is something wrong, dear? You seem tense."</font> She commented with a slight tilt of her head. </font>
<font color='#000000'>Sephiroth was startled to know that Hart could read her feelings so quickly; for a moment she actually felt slightly foolish and ashamed of herself. Of course the principal would be able to read her like a book, how else would she be able to figure out young troublemakers and weed out the liars? She flicked her ear, eyes shimmering with a facet of gold. "Ah.. well." Seph sheepisly shifted her front feet and glanced downwards. "Yeah." How to start? The musician ceased her attempts at hiding her inner facade, since the administrator would simply see through the disguises like sheets of tracing paper. Sephiroth blinked a few times, finally mustering up the courage to face the great warrior. "I bet this is so.. unorthodox, being, well, eighteen. I've been wondering.." There she paused, wondering if the principal had already guessed. Though she probably had, but if her assumptions were correct or not she would soon discover. Students probably confronted Hart all the time, concerning falling grades, relationship issues, or other matters. But did they ever..?</font>
<font color='#000F22'><center><blockquote><font color=dimgray face=verdana size=1><span style=letter-spacing:-1px>Hart merely smiled in a warm manner, trying to keep from worrying the young Seph more about what she already seemed to have significantly agitated the eighteen-year-old pendragon. Domed cranium twisted to the side at the first words, ears perked attentively. A slight nod was given, acknowledging that she had been right, a slight tug backwards of her lips that broadened her smile a bit. It really was amazing, that such a smart young lady found herself stammering, seeking words. Often enough, Hart had felt the same, yet it still seemed odd, faintly sad, that Seph felt so tense about asking a question to the Principal. Perhaps because it made Demori feel old, intimidating. Which she was, though only at times, on the latter. Soon enough, her death day would come. The Graders wouldn't let such a potentially strong enemy survive longer then neccessary. At the moment, she was fine, but once she breached seventy years... well, who knew what would happen? As the silence ended, temporarily, to words that hinted, but did not tell, Hart chuckled lightly, a low sound of slight amusement. A single forepaw moved forward, the tough pads on its bottom brushing against the forearm of the other female. A slight shake of her head was given, as her head righted itself, no longer turned in curiousity as she replied. <font color=#330000>"Am I to take it you want a teaching position, Seph? For I am sure it can be arranged. With your skills, we would be glad to have you join the staff, as a matter of fact."</font> She replied, with a welcoming smile. </font>
<font color='#000000'>Sephiroth gaped for a good moment, eyes bulging rather unceremoniously above her gaping jaw. Finally mustering the self-confidence to neatly seal her maw, the female sheepishly tilted her head downwards and placed a forepaw on the shag of sinewy hairs atop her head. She thought that Hart was joking for a second, but the principal wouldn't lie - at least not about something like this. Seth knew scarce about the female's private life that continued behind closed doors, beyond the oaken slabs of the archaic shool. Though of course, such knowledge was by no means her right to know or ponder about, and so it remained. Neatening her hair, Sephiroth leaned against the wall calmly and elevated her cranium to a level that encompassed the principal well. Batting those blank eyes like art canvasses in an expression of nerves rather than flattery, she smiled meekly and withdrew her limb from the wall. "Should have known that you'd know!" The female tilted her head, gazing at a tiny insect crawling along the cement of the building. Hiding the mild moistness of her eyelids, Sephiroth grinned. "Thank you."</B></font>
