NEVERMORE

Chapter 2 • Ceremony Breaking

In the Mirror Chamber, many robe-figured people are surrounding the room leaving the giant dark mirror in the middle for one robe figure to make a beeline toward its housemate as it was destined.

A young-looking, fair-skinned boy that is considerably shorter than the majority of his peers. His hair is a neutral red color and is cut short in the back and a bit longer around his face. His bangs curve inward and two prominent strands of hair on the top of his head fall forward and form a heart shape. His eyes are bluish-gray, and he is commonly seen with a stern look on his face, glancing around to ensure there is no more as he spoke up, "We're done with orientation and dorm assignments?" He double-checked before nodding and put both hands on both hips, giving a stern glare toward the people before him, "All right, new students—let me be clear. At Heartslabyul House, I am the law. Break the rules, and it's off with your head!"

The Heartslabyul house flinched at that, some stared at the red-haired boy in disbelief, some would argue but nobody has spoken up, too afraid.

"Yawn~ Well, that ceremony was as boring as ever." a tall young man with tan skin and fairly defined muscles. He has thick, dark-brown hair that goes below his shoulders in length, with long, side-parted bangs that fall over his eyes. Two sections of hair on both sides of his face are braided and tied at the ends with yellow bands. He has emerald green eyes and a thin scar over his left eye that goes from his eyebrow to his cheek. Instead of human ears, he has brown lion ears on the top of his head. This is paired with a long lion tail of the same color, with a dark-brown tuft of fur at the end. "I'm going back to the dorm. If you're in Savanaclaw House, follow me."

A fair-skinned boy of average height. He has short, wavy hair that's a cool light-gray color. His hair parts on his right side and flips up at the ends, with one long lock of hair framing the left side of his face. His eyes are the same color as his hair, but a bit darker. A small beauty mark rests below his lip on the left side of his face. He almost always wears rectangular, half-rim glasses with a gray frame. He is often shown with a modest smile and calculating gaze. "New students! Allow me to be the first to congratulate you on your achievement. As dorm leader of Octavinelle House, I am honored to have the opportunity to support you in what I hope will be a fulfilling campus experience."

"Hey, does anyone know where the head mage went? He disappeared midway through the ceremony..." A handsome boy, a tall, fair-skinned young man with shoulder-length hair and light-purple eyes. His hair is light-blonde and fades into a light-purple color at the tips. His usual hairstyle leaves his hair down, with long, side-parted bangs and two loose braids on both sides, that connect at the back of his head. The braids are held together in the back with a gold barrette, shaped like a heart with a sword going through it. He glanced around in puzzled wondering where the head mage went off to.

"Some Headmage he is." A voice from Tablet spoke up.

"Maybe he had a tummyache?" A shorter-than-average boy with dark skin speaks up with an innocent look in his garnet-red eyes. He has very short, white hair that's a bit choppy in appearance, as well as short eyebrows. A turban-like headband wrapped around his head. The color and patterning of the headband match his outfit, and it is usually tied with a large bow on his right side.

A loud bang to the side shows the Headmage has burst through the doors with wide arms extends as he announced, "I most certainly did not!" He appears to hear the boy with red eyes question.

"Ah, speak of the devil." the red-haired boy sighed, looking fed up with this already.

"If you must know, I was searching for the new students who'd failed to show up for orientation." He then stood sideways to reveal two robed figures to nod toward them, "You two are the only one who has yet to be assigned a dorm. Step up to the Dark Mirror, and be quick about it. I'll watch your weasel."