Thresa coils her tail around a cushion as she writes on a piece of parchment. A gentle knock on the door rouses her and she slowly rises. "You may enter." She hisses.

The door timidly opens, under the guidance of a timid hand. A couple of blue-purple eyes peer in, blinking.

Thsera smiles, "Pleassse enter, child." she motions to a pillow in front of the desk. "Have a sssseat."

The child enters the door, closing the door behind him. He's dressed in robes a bit too large for him – no doubt in expectation that he'll be growing into them soon enough. A pair of glossy black cloven hooves clip-clop across the floor, mostly hidden by the low-hanging hem of the robe … and occasionally threatening to trip the wearer onto his face. He plops down onto one of the cushions.

"Your name issss Rory, issss it not?" The Naga pours a glass of the liquid in the pitcher and offers it to the new arrival. "I am happy to finally meet you, I have near many good thingssss about your ssstudies."

The liquid is chilled, and smells faintly of grapes.

The child reaches up to the hood of his robes, stretching up on the top of the cowl, near where there is a hole cut to allow a single spiraling black horn to poke through … which serves also to keep the hood from falling back on its own. With a stretch and a snap, he pops back the hood, revealing a somewhat deer-like face with a frazzled white mane. His face is mostly black, except for a whitish muzzle and odd patterns which run randomly about his face. "Rorshach," he says, in little more than a whisper.

Rory pokes his nose into the glass and then tips it back, making glugging noises as he downs the contents. He sets the glass down, his muzzle now a tint of purple around the mouth, and wipes it on his sleeve. "Thank you, Mistress."

Thsera nods. "Rorssshach. I was ssssadened to hear about the passsssing of your massster, he wasss a fine teacher." She gingerly reaches out to retrieve her glass, setting it behind her desk. Her scales make an odd scraping noise as they rake across the fabric of the cushions when the Naga reseats herself.

Rory looks down, only nodding in response. One of his hooves scuffs against the floor.

"But… we musssst seeee that your education continuesss. You have been sssssponssored to the College Essssoterica in Rephidim. There we hope to continue your sssstudies in magic." Thsera hisses.

Rory looks up. "But … magic doesn't work as well there," he says with a worried frown.

The Naga's tongue flicks in and out. "That may be ssssso, but the sssschooling there is sssaid to be the bessst." She folds her arms across the top of the desk. "You do want to become the bessst magician you can, don't you?"

Rory nodnodnods his head up and down several times vigorously. "Yes, Mistress! I want to be the best Shadow Mage there ever was!"

Thsera smiles. "Ssssuch enthuisssasssm out of one sssso young! That issss good." She fishes around in a small drawer for a moment. Producing a rolled up parchment, a small bag, and a square slip of thick paper.

The little unicorn shuffles in his cushion, trying to get a little higher so he can see what's being produced.

She hands the items to the young unicorn. "The ssscroll hasss important information that you musssst give to the person who will be meeting you in Rephidim. The sssssmall card is your passss and airship ticket. And the pouch hassss enough ssshekelsss to keep you fed until you get there, and maybe a little more for a treat or two if you are sssso inclined."

Rory looks over the items, deciding it best to count the coins only AFTER he's left the office, and tucks them into his robes. "How do I recognize who's there to meet me? What if there's some villain who wants to kidnap me and sacrifice me to dark and long-forgotten gods in an attempt to summon a powerful and evil entity from another dimension in order to take over the universe?"

The Naga chuckles, "You will have company… and from what I undersssstand, the perssson assssigned to greet new ssstudentsss will meet you ssstraight off the ssship, and he ssstandss out a great deal. Nobody has misssed him yet."

Rory doesn't look entirely satisfied, but he at last nods, firm in his conviction that he'll be able to pick out any evil cultists by those tell-tale eye twitches, glowing red eyes, demonic symbols hanging about their necks and other subtle clues.

Thsera thinks, . o O ( Ssssuch imagination children have thessse daysss… )

"No go… your sssship leavesss very ssson. You will need to pack and get your thingsss in order." The Naga hisses, taking her quill up again.

Rory blinks and abruptly hops up, fumbling a salute and a bow at the same time, then standing up straight, deciding on the salute, and THEN the bow. "Thank you, Mistress! I won't let you or the Guild Hall of Babel down!"

Thsera smiles as she dips her quill. "I'm sssure you won't, child. Now hurry, off with you!"

"Right away!" the unicorn says, voice cracking, and he scrambles out of the room, leonine tail thrashing underneath his robes, skidding to slow down just enough to open the door and pop through.

The young unicorn, all packed and ready, finds himself on his way to the Silken Cloud an airship designed more for passengers than cargo. The guard at the deck examines Rory's pass and directs him to his cabin below the deck.

Rory looks about the airship in awe. Fortunately, living in Babel prompts one to lose a fear of heights at an early age.

The cabin itself is well furnished. With a bunkbed and a comfortable looking table set (all of it nailed to the floor in case things get bumpy) The room itself seems to be unoccupied, which is strange considering that the young unicorn had been told that he would be sharing it with a fellow mage student. The only signs of anyone else even ever being here is large stuffed bromethian forest hog toy sitting on the top bunk.

Rory sets his things down, and gets down to his knees to peek underneath the bottom bunk. "Sil!" he whispers. "You can come out now! There's nobody here!"

The little unicorn investigates the room, poking here and there – taking another look at that stuffed hog toy – sing-songing a chant to himself as he goes about.

A peppermint candy suddenly drops from the rafters above and bounces across the floor.

The unicorn keeps chanting, turning around, a puzzled expression on his face. He looks around and up to see where the candy might have come from.

A little brown Eee hangs upside down from one of the planks in the ceiling. Her wings are wrapped tightly around her, and little wheezy-snuffly sounds come out from inside. Probably bat snores.

The unicorn's chants slow down and die out into a sigh. "Sorry, Sil," he whispers. "I guess we're not alone after all." He looks down to the floor, stooping down to pick up the piece of candy.

The bat moves just a little bit, and another piece of peppermint falls, this time bouncing off Rory's head before hitting the floor to join its friend.

Rory jolts at this, and looks up, backing away from the bat, carefully stooping down while trying to keep looking up as he pat pats around for that piece of candy to pick up.

The ship shudders. It might be time to take off. The sudden jolt causes a squeak of surprise from the bat and her wings snap open.

Rory, distracted, stumbles and falls on his behind, spilling the two candies onto the floor again.

Skiree squeaks, "I'm sorry master! I'll never put food coloring in your pond again!" She looks down at the unicorn. "Huh?"

Rory blinks up at the bat. He manages a weak grin and lifts one hand, making a finger-wiggling wave with it.

The ship jolts again, which causes the bat to rethink her roosting spot. She flutters down to the floor, pouncing at the candy. Little blue eyes regard Rory for a few moments before a sudden grin spreads across her face. "Hi! I'm Skiree! Who are you? Are you a mage? Wherd'ja get the neat clothes? Do you like candy?"

Rory tries to keep up, nodding his head in cadence with the questioning. "Uhm… I'm Rorshach. I'm just an apprentice."

Skiree tries to pronounce the name. "Roar-shock. Thassa neat name! I'm an apprentice too, are you a chaos mage?" She holds out a little brownfurred paw to the unicorn, offering a piece of peppermint.

Rory pauses a bit, wondering if there's another jolt coming, and at last decides to risk getting back up to his hooves again. He smiles and accepts the candy, though he just holds it in his hand like it were some bauble. "No," he answers, looking around.

"Maybe we'd better sit down," Rory suggests, clipping over to the bottom bunk and using it as a couch.

Skiree pops the second piece into her mouth, chewing happily. "I'm a chaos apprentice, my master's on vacation so I got sent to Rephydim. I hear the city flies. I wonder if it has wings?" She blinks for a moment and looks at her feet, then bounds over and plops down next to Rory, causing the bed to bounce a little.

Rory nods. "I'm a Shadow apprentice. … If you use the ceiling, you won't need the top bunk, will you? I have a friend who could use it. Otherwise, I'll have to sleep on the floor."

The ship leans a bit as it turns, causing the great tower of Babel to appear in the porthole for just a moment.

Rory takes advantage of this moment to look at the Tower, murmuring, "I guess I won't be seeing THAT again soon."

Skiree squeaks, "Mister Porky was gonna sleep in my bed… but he's not very big. Where's your friend? Are they a mage too? Do they like candy?"

"Maybe they'll be done with it when I get back… " Rory muses, then snaps out of it. "Uhm. Sil. She's real quiet, and she's really shy. I don't know if she likes candy. She doesn't eat much."

Skiree clambers to the top bunk for a moment before returning to her spot next to her new friend. In her lap is the pudgy hog toy. "Mister porky's quiet too. He can't hang by his feet tho, but I like him anyways. Kin I meet Sil sometime? We could play hide 'n seek or have a tea party."

Skiree kisses her toy's nose. It makes a squeaking sound.

Rory hmms. "Well … I don't know. Like I said, she's shy… " He looks around, then whispers, "Some people say she's not real. She doesn't like that. She won't come out unless she thinks you'll believe in her."

Skiree ooooohs! "I hadda friend like that once. My master sat on her and she got mad 'n left. He said he didn't see her, hmph." The little bat pouts. "I jes' have Mister Porky now, but candy gets stuck in his fur when I try 'n share it with him."

Rory nods, smiling now, seeing that Skiree understands. "I … I could call her, if you'd like. But she doesn't like heights very much. I'm afraid she won't like Rephidim."

Skiree oooohs! She hugs her stuffed toy excitedly, which emits yet another shrill squeak. "I'd loveta meet her. Whatcha gotta do to call her? Kin I help?"

In the waning sunlight which comes through the porthole, Rory stands and moves to the middle of the room, looking about and spreading his stance a little as if daring the ship to send him toppling just now. He begins to sing-song a chant.

The unicorn begins to step as he chants, doing a little dance. There doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason to it, a child's dance, but he still has a certain grace (a little) which still makes it work just enough.

The ship creaks, but remains steady.

One of the shadows stretching across the floor stretches … No longer are there just shadows of Rory and Skiree … but it seems another has joined them in the room as well … or so the shadows would say.

Skiree watches with wide eyes. She clutches her little toy to her chest and wiggles her dangling feet back and forth.

Slowly, the shadow rises up from the floor, as if it were not a shadow at all, but a little girl – a black unicorn, far darker than Rorshach – in a pleated dress. But just a silhouette. There's nothing save for imagination that could make her really pass for something … real.

"Wowwwwwwwww," the little brown bat murmurs. Then she giggles, "Sil's pretty!"

Silhouette curtseys to Skiree, tipping one hoof back as she does so and bowing her head and horn.

Skiree blushes and buries her head into Mister Porky's fur. She peeks out with one eye.

Silhouette raises her shadowy hands, and begins making gestures with her fingers, though it's hard to see them distinctly … since it's all just shadow upon shadow.

Rory looks to the shadow and then to Skiree. He's stopped chanting now. "She says she's Silhouette, and she's pleased to meet you, and what might be your name?"

Skiree peeks out a little more and waves a wing to Silhouette. "I'm Skiree!" She proclaims. "I didn't hear her talk… how kin you tell what she's sayin?"

Rory smiles, though he looks as if he's straining, holding something that's a bit too big for him. "Her hands," he whispers. "The Silent Tongue of the Naga, and which they teach to their slaves… "

Rory's eyes close, and he starts chanting again.

"Oh!" the bat squeeks. "She uses the spotty handthings. You must be smart, Sil."

Silhouette puts one hand up to her muzzle in a demure pose, turning her head to one side as if hiding a blush, though there's no blush to see, waving off Skiree with the other hand in an "Oh, you flatterer!" gesture.

"Yes," Rory says quietly, "Sil's real smart. She even taught me to dance." He steps up to Sil. "Would you like to dance? We're getting so high … I'm getting tired."

Skiree giggles. "My frien' (before the master sat on her) didn't have a horn either. I bet he wouldna sat on her for very long if she did!" Skiree casts a glance at Rory, then looks concerned at him. "Are you allright, Roar-shock?"

Rory looks as if he might be getting … air-sick. He wobbles a bit on his hooves, not looking in the best of condition to dance.

Silhouette puts her hand up to her muzzle in an "Oh!" gesture, and then signs something, and moves as if to guide him toward the bed … though there's no indication that she's exerting any force upon him whatsoever.

Skiree sets her toy down next to her and nervously walks over to the unicorn. "Maybe you should sit back down." she looks at Sil. "Silhouette thinks you should sit down too!"

Rory obliges and plops down on the bottom bunk. He exchanges a few signs with the shadow, then says, "She's going to go look around. She's never been on an airship before." With that, he slumps back against the bedpost, while the shadow glides toward the door and slowly sinks, melding back into the floor.

Skiree looks towards the door as Sil leaves, then back to Rory. She smiles hugely and with no warning whatsoever, suddenly hugs her new friend. "That was neat! I hope we kin play together later. How long have you 'n Sil been friends? I hope nobody's ever sat on her… that makes them mad."

Rory oofs and his eyes go wide at the unexpected hug. He's not used to such treatment at the Guild Hall. He glances toward the door, as if half-expecting Sil to peek back in with a look of disapproval. "Ah … No, she keeps out of the way. She's very good at hiding. And … I don't remember how long we've known each other. My memory isn't very good."

Skiree scoops up her toy pig again. "You forget things? I do that sometimes… I forgot which bottle had some stupid blue powder innit once and made the master get a sneeze attack for a week."

Rory ohs at that revelation, and decides not to prod further. "So … uhm … " He fidgets with his hands. "What do you like to do?"

Skiree says, "Me? Oh, I like to play tiddlysticks, hide 'n go squeek, and to tea parties." she looks around, as if expecting there to be someone listening in and lose her voice. "Sometimes I like to scare people. Just for fun. The master let me do it to keep pesky people away from his lake."

"Scare people?" Rory smiles. "Sometimes that's fun," he adds with a snicker.

"So … what are you going to do in Rephidim?" Rory asks.

Skiree digs under the bottom bunk and pulls out a strange looking cone shaped object. "This is my horn. when I yell into it, it makes my voice REALLY loud! And when I spin it around over my head… " She holds up one on the rubber straps. "It makes a loud wooshing noise like the wind."

Rory smiles and nods. "I like being quiet, better."

Skiree says, "In Rephydim? Oh… I'm gonna meet a cat lady. She's one of the only chaos mages in Rephydim. I hear she's really nice, but kinda strange. Since my old master is on vacation until his stupid lake gets fixed, I got transferred there."

Rory ponders how a lake might get fixed, but doesn't ask, for fear of looking stupid. He just nods, and looks to be deep in thought.

Rory looks back to Skiree. "I'm glad to have met you. I hope we'll run into each other again. Maybe … if things get boring … we can go scare people?" He grins hopefully.

Skiree stifles a yawn. "Yeah! The captain took my peashooter… but he promised to give it back later if I was good." She winks. "I think I'm gonna go back to sleep." She hands her stuffed piggy to Rory. "I don' mind Sil sleeping in my bunk… but could you keep mister porky in your bed? He gets cold at night and can't hang by his feet like I can."

Rory smiles and nods. "Certainly." He takes the stuffed piggy gingerly, as if he were holding something fragile. "I'll keep him safe from the monsters that only come out in the dark when there are no grown-ups around. Sil and I spend a lot of time fighting them and making the world safe … " He looks back up. "But I can tell you those stories later!" he grins.

Skiree gives Rory another big hug, causing Mister Porky to squeak yet again. "G'nighty then!" She ponders for a moment… looking around nervously. "I hope there's no monsters in the ceiling." She looks up, then flutters to her rafter.

Rory winks. "No. Sil always checks out everything first."

Skiree beams happily. "Okay then. G'nighty!" She folds her wings around her and settles down. There's a soft *thump* on the floor as yet another piece of peppermint falls out of her pockets.

Rory clambers onto his bunk a bit more, then drops back, staring at the bottom of the bunk above him. "… pleasant dreams… " he whispers, as his eyelids droop, the shadows of the fading daylight playing with the patterns on his face.