Opening Ceremony!

[principalmouse]

Who: Everybody!
What: Opening Ceremony! Say hi to all your new friends! It's a meet 'n' greet!
When: OPENING DAY!
Where: Just inside the Academic Building
Warnings: None yet. Yet.
[In a wide open hall with banners and a various sundry of celebratory items, the headmaster's rousing speech begins to come to a close.]

In short, you all are here to save our world! There is a threat out there that we must face, but we cannot face it alone. [His demeanor is pleasant, but thinly veiled. His stress is evident in his words, but he is attempting to stay cheerful.] We must do our best to watch over our friends and family and neighbors, no matter who they may be.

We are all responsible for one another. [He lets the silence hang for a moment before letting off and overly cheerful--] HaHa! [Was that a bit forced? Or was it just me?]

Well, guys, it’s time for me t’go, got lotsa stuff to take care of bein’ headmaster and all. But please, get to know one another, go check out classes, and find out where you live on campus! [He gestures to various sections of the room, all labeled with bright colored papers and text.]

I’ll see y’around!

[And with that, the headmaster is off! No, seriously. Watch him go, he’s movin’ fast for such a short guy.]

((OOC: WELCOMING CEREMONY LOG! Feel free to create starters here and tag everyone! Don’t be shy. :) You can use prose or action text, whichever you’re more comfortable with.))

Comments

Hiccup | ota

[dragonconqueror]

[...a talking mouse.

Okay, he could deal with a giant dragon and even cannibalistic barbarians, but a talking mouse took the cake. Hiccup had a feeling things were going to be weird here. Not that it wasn't already. They didn't exactly have a school system on Berk, unless you counted the pirate training program that younger kids took, but other than that things weren't taught. Vikings weren't exactly a learning lot, so he was gonna push the weirdness aside and look forward to being around people more his intelligence level.

...maybe that was hoping for a bit too much.

Hiccup scanned his eyes down the classes list, squinting before his eyes adjusted to the lights overhead on the strange parchment.]

[thneed]

Did you make that?

[ 'Tact' isn't anywhere to be found here.

The Once-ler had been standing next to him, examining the class list. Skimming it for anything of interest and inwardly questioning why there's a significant lack of ones dealing with music. At some point he glanced over to look at the person next to him. And then looked down.

Now he's knelt down and tilted sideways so he can start stare better at one of this poor kid's feet. Or lack there of. He might have poked it too. This is not how you're supposed to introduce yourself to people. ]

[dragonconqueror]

[He hadn't been paying any attention to whoever was beside him. It wasn't like he could feel anything from the stump of his leg down either way, so when the question comes up and he looks around and ends up having to look down to see someone unabashedly poking at his prosthetic. He leans back on his good foot, a bit weirded out by the question, considering it didn't get asked much back home.]

Well, ah, this version I did.

[There's a small noise from the back of his throat before he pulls his leg away from the taller man.]

[thneed]

Yeah?

[ It's a tone of genuine interest. How often to you see a tricked out prosthetic? Or one to begin with but. He shamelessly continues to stare at it thoughtfully and pointing at bits. ]

So this would help balance but-- Is it heavy? [ Oh, it moved away. He straightens himself out quickly and takes a single step back with his hands held up, flashing a sheepish smile. ]

Oops. Sorry. Serious invasion of privacy there. But that's pretty cool.

[dragonconqueror]

No, not really.

[Hiccup has a few designs in his sketchbook, a couple of ideas that simply won't leave his mind, but for now that's all they are. He's not entirely sure what's brought on the interest, but he raises an eyebrow at the questions and...whoa, okay. The guy was nearly as tall as his dad, if not a bit more. Hiccup actually has to crane his neck a little to look up.]

Uh, thanks. It's due for a bit of tweaking sometime soon...well, as soon as I find a forge anyway.

[He gives a light shrug.]

Maintenance and everything.

[thneed]

Really to me though. Don't people just go for like a peg or one of those plastic guys or a metal rod thing? But you can get pressure on it and stuff. It's unique, I think.

[ He rests a hand under his chin, looking down at him - always down. When is he not looking down at someone is the question? He kind of likes being able to see above almost everyone's heads in the room. ]

...A forge? Hmm. I don't know if you'd find one of those around the school. Probably the closest you'd get is wherever shop class is but I doubt they're doing serious metal work and forging. I guess you could always have one made later.

[dragonconqueror]

Well, that's usually how it is around my village but it had to be made this way so I could ride Toothless.

[He has no problem explaining why it's spring-loaded, folding his class list up by this point and putting it into inside of his belt since he didn't have any pockets. Hiccup makes a face when he hears that news, crossing an arm and resting his elbow against it as he tapped his chin thoughtfully.]

I figured. I guess it couldn't hurt to give it a bit of an upgrade. Everything's so...advanced here, it makes sense they wouldn't have a forge like back home.

[thneed]

What's a toothless? Is that a horse?

[ Village + Forge + "Advanced"? Uniforms make it impossible to figure out who comes from where based on clothes. First glance and you won't know who knows what a light-bulb is and who doesn't but that gives it away. Yikes. Poor kid. At least he doesn't smell like he's too far behind where you don't know proper hygiene. ]

You're from one of those places off the beaten path that didn't upgrade to electricity, huh? That explains some things. Wonder how many of you guys are around... I kind of thought that was just rumor stuff. But yeah, most of what you'd make with forges is all factory made now.

[ He idly yanks one of his gloves up then clasps hands together ] If you need help figuring anything out, I can lend a hand.

[dragonconqueror]

A dragon. Night Fury to be exact.

[Not that he knows whether or not people will actually know what a dragon, much less a Night Fury, looks like, but it's better to kind of explain at least. He can grab his sketchbook if he needs to anyway. Unlike the other villagers who only washed on laundry day, Hiccup took a bit of pride in his appearance. Hiccup inclines his head when the other guesses correctly, raising an eyebrow. What in Odin's name was a factory?]

I don't...really know what electricity and a, uh, factory [he spells out the word once, then again in Norse just to make sure he has it right] are, but I guess you hit a nail on the head.

[thneed]

You ride ...a dragon?

[ His tone says he doesn't quite by it. That's ridiculous. Though if it's a dragon he's assuming is toothless then that's slightly less ridiculous. Still ridiculous and he's going to remain skeptical because really? How would you even get something called 'Night Fury' to not burn you alive? He'll buy him riding a toothless one over a fully teethed one though. ]

Uhh. Hm. Well! Electricity is like everything running on lightning, I guess. It's the same stuff. And a factory is a building where machines make everything for you. [ Does he know what a machine is? He pauses then waves a hand in a circle and adds as an afterthought: ] It's a place where you make stuff that works automatically and builds other stuff. [ Nailed it. ] There! Now you know.

[dragonconqueror]

Our principal is a talking mouse.

[The look on his face and his deadpanned tone about the fact is pretty much everything he's going to say on the matter. There was a walking talking mouse on the stage a few minutes ago, is it really hard to believe that dragons exist somewhere? He'll never know. He blinks a bit in surprise a that, tilting his head. A place where stuff is works without you hauling a mallet and it builds things for you? Hiccup uses his free hand to elaborate his words, trying to think of the right way to word it.]

Sooooo it's like...another person working for you but it's not...a person?

[Weird.]

And electricity is like...lightning being struck by metal?

[thneed]

Point made.

[ It's more Hiccup actually getting on the dragon than it existing somewhere, really. But talking mouse. It's hard to not let that one be plausible, he guesses. Still seems ridiculous though. Pull out a dragon and he'll buy it completely. He nods once and moves his hands like he's weighing something. He talks with them a little more than he actually speaks. ]

Right! Instead of a person you have a big metal thing that makes a lot more than a person can.

Electricity is hard to explain but that's kind of it. You should try dragging your socked feet across a carpet and then poking someone or something. You get a type of electricity like that. It's like tiny tiny lightning zaps. It's fun.

[la_plus_belle]

[Not everything is as it seems, for beauty is found within.

Within the building, actually.

In about three seconds, right next to Hiccup.]

Are you finding everything all right, monsieur?

[Okay, maybe classes haven't started yet, and maybe she's only an official a staff member in terms of the completed paperwork at the moment; but with this new lease on life, Belle wants to do the best she can in her new position at the Academy. And luckily, after her own little debacle of finding her way around the buildings, she has learned a good bit.]

[dragonconqueror]

What?

[It's not really the question that makes him look up but rather the way he's addressed. He's never heard the language before, and it makes him turn his head in Belle's direction. Oh. Oh snap. Hiccup's cheeks colour a little when he realizes how he spoke, reaching up to rub at his neck.]

Oh, uh, sorry. I just...yeah, kinda. It's a bit overwhelming.

[la_plus_belle]

[She can't help but smile; though it's partially out of pity, his verbal stumbling is endearing. The poor, started lad.]

I understand. It's a bit overwhelming for me as well.

But if there's anything I can do to help, I'd be happy to lend you a hand.

[dragonconqueror]

[It's not really that he was startled more so than it is the fact that women are treated with respect on Berk due to being warriors and it feels like he just broke a huge taboo, but that he pretty much smoothly sailed out of there.

Yep. Nailed it.]

Ah, well, I've never...actually been to school before. I mean we had classes back home but we didn't have an...establishment this big. [Yep.] I guess I'm a bit confused.

[la_plus_belle]

If it's any consolation, I've never been in a school this large and structured myself, much less taught in one.

Though I think the administration may have given the staff more information than the students. If you'd like, I can see if I can't clear up any of that confusion.

[She'll definitely try her best; she has a base understanding of the academic structure, thanks to her new position as being part of it.]

[dragonconqueror]

Oh okay. [He makes a thinking face.] Someone already explained electricity and carpet to me so, I guess the next question would be...

[Hiccup looks down at his hands, tapping his fingers off with another.]

Oh! What are, uh, "dorms"?

[la_plus_belle]

How best to explain dormitories...

[She purses her lips and thinks for a moment.] They're buildings with individual rooms for living, as if many small houses were built into the same complex.

I believe Joe West has far more shared, communal rooms for cooking and cleaning while Hoover Hall includes those within the living quarters.

Does that help?

[dragonconqueror]

[Huh.]

Uh, yeah. Actually it does. We have a hall back home for community meals once or twice a week, depending. Freyja's Day is usually a day of feasting.

[They sounded interesting in any case :|a]

[la_plus_belle]

Then hopefully it won't be long until you're used to them.

[Belle's going to need a bit of time, herself, to become acquainted with shared kitchens and bathrooms. At least she had her own space in France, even if the cottage was small.]

Though... I've never heard of Freyja's Day. I won't hold you here, but I'd love to hear about it sometime.

Re: Hiccup | ota

[delancret]

[Oh, it's a dude dressed in weird gypsy clothes. She likes those. Danielle walks over to him, her list of classes in hand, and gives a small, very quick curtsy.]

Hello. You look just about as bewildered by all this as I am.

[dragonconqueror]

[The curtsy makes Hiccup blink, if only for the strangeness of the gesture, but he gives a slightly nervous grin and an inclination of his head.]

That obvious, huh?

[delancret]

[She smiles and leans in just a little like she's imparting a secret.]

I don't think so. I simply recognize what my own face must look like.

[dragonconqueror]

[That makes him give a slight chuckle.]

I suppose a lot of us are feeling a bit overwhelmed. I imagine seeing your own face on so many others is a bit comforting.