Morgan's first day at Vale was very, very different from Violett's. He stood at the entrance to Vale's main complex, the doors wide open and awaiting his approach. His body shook with worry as he peered down into the hallway, watching as men and women ranging from new students and older students to the school's professors themselves made their way down the long passage towards the auditorium for their first lecture of the academic year. Some looked as nervous as Morgan certainly was, holding their things close and keeping to themselves as best they could, but most were too caught up in the whirlwind of new experiences and emotions to care that they were bumbling about like fools. They were at a school for magic after all, and it was ever so easy to get caught up in the moment.
His breathing was slow and deep, deliberate and forced, all in an attempt to keep his vision from spinning and to keep himself on two feet. He stood there, legs unsteady and arms trembling, a small selection of books clutched tightly to his chest as if his life depended on it. Morgan had never coped well with strangers, but this was almost too much for him to bear. He wanted so desperately to be strong and brave, and take on the strange, complex beast that was Vale by the horns like Diana most certainly would, but he knew that he would never be able to hold a candle to her.
Morgan let out a long, exhausted sigh as he thought of her. Diana. An image of the young woman formed in his mind as clear as crystal. He saw long, auburn hair that fell all the way down to her slim waist, a pair of glistening, golden eyes that could be fierce and fiery one moment, then warm and comforting the next. So much like a flame in more ways than one, he thought, his mind wandering back quite fondly to the time they had spent together. He had known her for over a year before finally arriving at Vale academy and it had been her that had taught him how to use his magic. Morgan could hardly imagine what his life would be like if she had not arrived in his life when she had. His mind stumbled even further back than before, as awkwardly and clumsily as Morgan usually was. Diana had not just taught him how to control his magic, but she had also taught him that there was potential in it. Morgan's first experience with magic had shaken him, but it had been Diana that had rescued him from his own doubts and fears, and taught him that it was something to embrace, not shun. She had tried to teach him to approach people in the same way, but those lessons had only half stuck.
For how fondly Morgan thought of Diana, one might easily be mistaken that his fondness was something more than that. He loved her, most definitely, but she was more of a sister to him than anything. She was a guardian, a teacher, and a friend first and foremost, and if Morgan knew where she was he would probably be clinging to her arm as tightly as he possibly could right this very moment. All the while he headed down the school hallway, so consumed by his thoughts as he walked, he hardly noticed as he stumbled straight into another student. He looked up, wide eyed at the far larger student and his group of friends beside him, who in turn all looked down at him in surprise.
Morgan's books that he had held so tightly fell to the floor, and he quickly bent over to pick them up, pulling them ever tighter to his chest.
"Hey, are you okay?" asked the student, a welcoming smile across his face. "Do you need some help with-"
Morgan was gone before he could even finish speaking. The emerald eyed boy was small and slight, and vanished into the crowd in an instant. He had not just hidden, he had ran as far as his small legs would carry him. He ran, and ran, and ran, further into the building where the crowds were even thicker. He bumped and stumbled into every person he passed, and could almost feel the walls closing in around him as there was less an less room to move freely. Morgan's breaths quickly became short and sharp, and he felt extremely light headed. How could there be so many people? Morgan slipped to the right into a quieter corridor just out of sight, and with some much needed room to breathe he slumped against the wall, eyes closed, and sighed. Really, Morgan? He was just trying to help. Did you really have to-"
Close footsteps made Morgan audibly yelp, and be buried his face in his hands. Come on, Morgan, keep it together. They're all just as new as you. You can do this." His eyes slowly wandered towards the wall opposite to him, and through tear-blurred eyes he saw the sign that rested above the door. "Library," he muttered under his breath, and a very small smile appeared on his lips. If there was anywhere that had any chance of calming him down it was there. He knew that the meeting in the auditorium was soon, but he wondered if he even had the potential to stand among so many other more experienced students. Very slowly Morgan pushed himself up and away from the wall and, ever so tentatively, stepped towards the library doors without a word.
Another student had checked the time, however, and it was that student's voice that called out to a small, slender young woman that he spied taking steps towards the library. Softly curling brown hair fell loosely from her head, and she had the largest, silvery green eyes he had ever seen. A new student much like himself, no doubt, judging by the way she looked lost and clueless. "Hey, uh," the student said semi-excitedly. "Have you got a minute? My name's Nychta, and I'm a first year, and I probably need to get to the auditorium soon-ish, but I came to check out the library-- which is usually one of the better parts of a school. You seem like you've been around-- do you mind if I ask you some questions?" Nychta wasn't really sure how he'd made the latter distinction, especially judging by how lost and confused she looked, but he hoped it'd be somewhat correct, considering she was standing outside of the school library-- atypical at best, but that wouldn't stop Nychta from 'attempting contact.'
"W-what? I'm a, uh--" was all the young woman could let out, stumbling over her words in surprise, clearly never expecting to be approached so suddenly. Her lips trembled as Nychta continued to speak and he quickly stopped for fear of terrifying the poor woman. Bunching up the loose sleeves of her oversized sweater in her fists she brought them to her face and dabbed her reddening eyes gently, wiping away the first forming tears. One long, deep breath, in and out, drew from her lips, although her voice still trembled with every word. "I- I'm sorry, I... I don't really know anything about- I don't know anything about the school, I'm sorry, I can't help you."
"O-oh…" He spoke in a bit of a softer tone, sensing just how terrified the poor woman must be. "It's fine, though. But…" Now that he was already here, it would at least be better for him to know at least one other person in the school, right? Even if they were by no means the most... resilient girl, or the kind of kid he expected at the school. Actually, what was this girl doing at the school? He tried to reassure her with a smile. "Can I at least get your name? You seem to be interested in the library, and I think it'd be better to know someone else at the school than, well, no one at all."
"I- I'm Morgan," she replied, taking another slow, deep breath as she tried to stay calm. "Morgan Wynne." There was a long, drawn out pause as Morgan stood there in silence, her vision slowly falling down to the floor, as if unsure of exactly what to say. Eventually something came to her. "What is... what's your name?"
Nychta had already said his name, but, so be it. He could accept a few slip ups from someone so shaken. "Nychta."
Morgan immediately blushed. "No. No, sorry, you already said that. I'm sorry, I- Sorry."
Nychta took a short pause, just making sure that Morgan had finished rambling. "No, no, it's alright." He'd expected the girl to be able to answer his questions about the school, but if she couldn't-- or didn't want to-- then there was no reason to keep talking, right? Still, though, he warily pressed on. "Hey, have you read anything good recently?" He smiled sheepishly.
"...Read anything?" Morgan hesitantly replied, glancing down to the books she held and then back to Nychta.
"Yeah. I'm almost done with the last book I've read-- er, this book--" he realized he had been absentmindedly holding the book in his hand the entire time-- "and I need something new to read. You were heading to the library, right? And you have all those books, I thought you might have some suggestions."
"Y-yeah, I do. I just finished this one this morning." Morgan fumbled through the books she had held tightly, nearly dropping them in the process, before pulling out an old looking, leather-bound tome in green. "It's a little niche but I had a lot of fun reading it. Maybe you will too."
She hesitantly handed the book to Nychta, his hands still shaking a little as he did. The book was an odd collection of obscure fairytales from various cultures translated into English. A strange offering indeed but not necessarily and unwelcome one, and Nychta extended his hand slowly to take it. It might make a nice change of taste, he thought, and took hold of the book. Morgan dropped all the other books she held in the process, loosely pinned notes flying in all directions, and with bright red cheeks Morgan quickly bent over to scramble them back up again. "Sorry, I-" She held her tongue.
Nychta gently put the newly acquired green book on the ground-- upon his own-- and then quickly and systematically helped Morgan pick up her books and papers. She was clumsy, duly noted. "Don't worry about it, it's no big deal." Upon getting them all together, he held them in hands for just a moment before handing them in to Morgan, who looked up to face Nychta and bumped straight into him. Morgan yelped and immediately dropped her books again, her hand moving to cover his hurt eye. Nychta recoiled a bit from the bump and rubbed his forehead for a moment ("Ow."), before taking a moment to look over at Morgan. "Hey, are you okay? ...Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine, I-" Morgan visibly held her tongue a second time, as if desperate to try and keep herself from rambling. She nursed her sore eye for a moment before removing her hand, revealing to Nychta that there was in fact a small, blue bruise starting to form over her left eye, before she bent over to pick up her books for the third time in as many minutes. "It's fine, really, I promise. I'm- I'm sorry for getting in the way, I- I'm sorry."
"Hey, it's alright. I mean, you didn't full on headbutt me or anything, so..." He trailed off as he looked at her face, and hesitated for a moment. "Huh. That won't do," he murmured, examining the bruise on Morgan's face a little more closely. As soon as he said that, water began to quickly appear from above his left shoulder, forming a sphere and turning it into ice in an instant which he caught in his palm. Morgan hesitated, but as Nychta brought the sphere up to the small girl's face and held it very gently against the bruise. "This should help keep down the swelling," he said.
Morgan was originally hesitant, but as she realised his intent he saw her tense shoulders lax, and brought her hands up to cup the ice against her bruise, still shielding her hands with the (slightly tear-stained) sleeves of her sweater. She sighed as she held it against her eye and wiped away a small trickle of water from her cheek, which Nychta hoped was from the small ball of ice and not another tear. Morgan's soft smile helped to settle his fears, and he smiled back in turn.
"There," Nychta said, smiling slightly. "That should do it. I can't keep it frozen forever, but at least there shouldn't be quite as noticeable a bruise. Sorry, that was really my fault."
"T-thank you," Morgan replied, her smile growing ever so slightly wider.
This time Nychta picked his own books back up along with a couple of Morgan's that she had yet to latch onto. Ideas quickly cropped up in his head. This young girl was fragile but they had clearly bonded, even if only a little. "Wait, so.. You're letting me borrow this book?" Morgan nodded as she finally stood up proper, now holding her things impossibly tightly for fear they might escape her again, so Nychta continued. "Then… can I get your number? I don't know if we'll see each other often, and if you're new to the school too, then… well, I don't want to just finish the book and not be able to get it back to you." As many connections as you can, his father had once said. As many as you can.
"My number? For what? Like... for a date-" Morgan almost bit her tongue that time to stop herself from talking, her cheeks turning an incredible shade of crimson. Nychta spent a moment wondering what had gotten her so flustered, but it very quickly became apparent. It was clear she was not used to being approached by anyone, and asking her for her phone number had obviously been interpreted as an attempt to flirt. Morgan was not unattractive, in a waifish, fragile sort of way, but his intentions had been entirely innocent. He debated clarifying as he visibly saw Morgan performing the necessary mental gymnastics, but if she were this emotional now, how might she take it if he repealed his offer? Eventually Morgan's hands fumbled in her pockets of her loose-fitting, warm sweater and she fished out a pen. Taking one of the smaller books she scrawled something into the paper, tore it from the book and handed it to Nychta and, there in remarkably fine handwriting, was a phone number. "H-here."
"I mean, if you want me to use it for a..." Nychta immediately changed his approach. "I just need to keep in touch, y'know? Don't want to keep this book away from you forever." Nychta's slightly temporary confusion dissipated, and he grinned as he realised this was a perfect opportunity. He reached for his wallet, grinned a little wider as he flipped open his wallet, grinned even wider as he stuck the paper in his wallet, and his grin turned almost ecstatic when he pulled out a small selection of tiny, square business cards. That smile vanished when his grip slipped, and the entire mess of card scattered across the ground, and Nychta's face momentarily turned to one of panic. Morgan only giggled at the display, her heart evidently a little lighter knowing she was not the only clumsy person here. As one card fluttered softly to the ground Morgan caught it, and she flipped it over in her fingers, examining it intently.
"Nychta DeMeure? Why- why do you have a dozen half-finished business cards in your wallet?" Morgan asked, plucking another one from the ground. This one had only Nychta's first name but no last name, and instead had his phone number on it.
Great, he thought. Absolutely flawless. "They're a, uh, a... work in progress. I was supposed to give you the finished one," he replied, passing a specific one over to Morgan.
She giggled by took it regardless, slipping the fully filled out business card into her own pocket and taking the icy ball away from her eye, with no obvious swelling in sight. She in turn handed into to Nychta who took the sphere, crushed it, and dispersed the water into the air in an instant. Morgan wiped away her eye with her sleeve as she had one not only a moment ago. "Well, I hope whatever business you're starting gets off to a good start," she replied, a soft giggle to her voice as she spoke.
That made Nychta smile. Morgan finally seemed a little more comfortable in her own skin, and he was glad he had a part in that. He inspected his watch a moment and was quite surprised how much time had passed just talking. "Hey, I think the talk in the auditorium is going to start soon. ...Want to walk down there together?"
"Sure, that'd be great," Morgan replied, looking up to the taller figure before her. She slipped her hands in her pockets and, in a display of new found confidence that surprised Nychta, turned and walked closer to the busy hallway. "Are you coming?" she continued, a soft smile on her face.
Nychta grinned. "Of course."
The two of them entered the assembly hall moments later and joined their fellow students. Morgan stood closely to Nychta who eventually led the way once the groups grew thicker, but at least for a while he saw the young woman come out of her shell, and that made him smile.