PrIME

It took her some time to remember this was an option for her. And then there’s more time spent in the privacy of her room with her head buried in both hands, wondering why she hadn't thought of this sooner.

But once she's able to find her PINpoint, Mitsuru wastes no time in dialing in the coordinates for PrIME, and then hurrying to the library once she gets there.

Normally, seeing that many books inside a room deserves a pause, and possibly some reverent silence. But this time around, she’s focused on just reaching the library shelves, and pulling books off them.

There's no rhyme or reason to her choices. If it looks like it will
keep her mind busy, she takes it off the shelf and adds it to her book
stack. A Guide to Archetypes in the Lower Realms, Overview of French Literary Works, The Eldritch Bestiary of Things That Begin With AGGHHHH! and more are now getting precariously balanced in her arms, as she tries to feel her way towards a table.

Apologies will need to be given if there’s anyone caught between her and her work spot. At the moment, she’s focused on only getting there, and losing herself in studying.

(Open!)

It's one of those days that the Kraken is apparently feeling appropriotely dramatic. You can practically picture the dramatic music to go with, as tentacles launch themselves from the water with a great and mighty splash and waves to be sent about.

...

Well. Uh.

Maybe not.

Because the Kraken has apparently not been properly protected by the wards of the school, it's still a Kraken, but. Well.

It's a whopping three feet long.

So you can imagine the Kraken's surprise when its mighty roar comes out as the following:

"Hooooooooooooooom!"

....

The Kraken REALLY DISAPPROVES OF THIS BULLSHIT.

(( For the record: I got the permission to do this :3 ))

Savannah really doesn't want to be here, but figures that there's no way else to deal with things besides consulting with a neutral third party. Someone who will keep things secret. Someone who is not her dad or her boyfriend or her room-mate. Still, who likes meeting with a councilor?

She knocks on Lorne's door, trying to figure out what would be an appropriate time to give up and run away. She figures 5 seconds would be long enough.

Isis admits, she's been restless, despite the fact that classes have been going relatively well.

Things on her homeworld have bubbled down to a dull simmer of a cold war. Everyone waiting on the other side to do something irrational, so that they can strike back with a stronger, more powerful force.

And, even as someone who loves history as much as she does, it irritates her, just a tad. Mainly because the occupation still holds enough ground in Lost Angels that she cannot return as of yet.

At the moment, however, Isis is taking advantage of the fact that it's starting to warm up once more at the Prince Institute. She stands in an area behind the school, possibly clear of any people about--at least, in her general vicinity--and carrying her staff. She takes a stance, and starts to go through her staff drills, working through them at a fairly brisk pace.

What's the best thing in the whole wide world, aside from astronauts, Fred Astaire and candy?

Easiest answer ever. The circus. And who're the best there is of all the awesome artists there? Even easier. Not the clowns, not the pretty ballerinas with their hoola hoops, not the rubber-jointed triplets.

The trapeze artists! DUH!

And, what's an aspiring trapeze artist slash astronaut slash best birthday cake chef of the entire WORLD to do?

He climbs the gigamungo school walls, whenever he can, because his Papa taught him mad skeelz.

"WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee....."

Of course they almost all took a go at teaching duty, that was just part of the agreement. However, Ten simply ended up doing it more. You've a natural talent for it, they'd told him. You're so personable and animated!

Truth was, he'd drawn the short straw. Aaaah, well. Beat staring at Nexus time-currents until one's eyes crossed or spying on Fenric schmoozing all about the place and what is he up to with that, anyway?

At any rate, there he was, now. And to-day was review day.

"Hallo, everyone!" he said once everybody was seated. "To-day, we're going to have a bit of a review on causality." He writes the word on the whiteboard in big letters as is his wont. "Cause and effect. Post hoc ergo propter hoc, as the Romans called it--after this, thus, because of this--they hated it when people got it in their arguments, but it's often unavoidable in debate and even more so in physics."

People sometimes get whiplash during this Doctor's lectures, he moves about so much. "'Every major decision creates ripples'," he says, pacing about. "That much is obvious. Refer back to what some theorists call Temporal Nexus Points, Schroedinger Points, or Everett Nodes." Now he's sitting on the desk. "They theorise that every event causes time to branch, creating more timelines, and continues to do so, resulting in an infinite web of timelines, especially for the Multiple Universalists." Grin. Now he's at the whiteboard again, having drawn a line and now a branch with another and another off that and so forth. "Bit of an example. Now. In the Nexus, this doesn't apply, but in realities, it does. Every action affects time."

He turns to look back at the rest of the room for the inevitable first round of questions.

Dr. Takashima is in front of the board, and waits for class to assemble. On top of the desk is a large cube full of water, and inside it a metal cylinder. A large box with a big red button on it hangs on the side of the tank.

Once everyone's in, she grins. "OK, people. This is the one that some of you have been waiting for. Three weeks on... radioactivity and nuclear science. And since demos make people happy, I have put one together."

"But first, lecture so you understand what you're seeing."

( and here's how class goes. )

Headmaster Snape-

I expected this to happen this coming summer, not now.  We've had plans to adopt for some time, and one of the compromises I made with Jon was that I would preserve time for him in my life.  I knew when I made the decision that it would mean prioritizing, and that that would mean choosing between important parts of my life.

What this adds up to is that I must resign my position at your school.  I regret this hugely, and hope to someday return, even if just to help the house elves with a feast now and then.  Thank you for giving me this job and opportunity, for putting up with me, and for all of your help.

With gratitude,
Grue Some.

Should anyone be out and about on the property after classes today, they might well notice something going on in the stables. Yes, that's right, someone is cleaning out and prepping one of the stalls.

Sarah delivers the handwritten letter the old-fashioned way -- walking it over to Snape's inbox in the staff lounge. She thought about sending it via owl but couldn't figure out how to get the owl to take the letter. Was there a special command? Was a dead mouse involved? For the record, a standard mail owl will wait around about ten minutes before getting bored and taking off for another delivery.

Dear Headmaster Snape,

Recently, Doctor Schreber and I acquired a houseguest. His professional background is in the custodial field. In fact, his last job was a janitor at a high school. Due to extenuating circumstances, he cannot return to his home world, and I am helping him find employment. Are there any custodial positions at the Prince Institute open for interviews at this time?

Sincerely,
Nurse Branigan

She doesn't anticipate an enthusiastic response, but she figures it doesn't hurt to ask.

*Changeling was sat quietly at a table in the library today, surrounded by quite a pile of books. Not that studying was an unusual or unwarranted activity for a student, of course, but for someone not taking a magic course he was certainly reading a lot of books on the subject. Huh.

He was also deeply engrossed enough that he probably wouldn't notice if anyone approached.*

After skipping classes on Thursday afternoon, Kurt's been...skulking is a fairly good word for it. The reason why might not be immediately apparent, but if you pay attention, or know what to look for... his tail is missing. Well, it's probably tucked into pants that don't have a hole sewn in for it.

There are a few people he needs to see, one is Lorne and the other is Eiko, but should anyone else want to talk to him, he's here.

It had been nearly a year since Daniel had used his degrees for anything more than a hobby. Not that teaching Economics had been bad, it had actually been a rather eye-opening experience in how difficult dealing with an unfamiliar subject could be, but he would be glad when this semester was over and he wouldn't be teaching it any longer.

Teaching Anthropology though, it was in his blood, and he was more than a little happy to finally be -excited- about the field again. The break had been just what he needed to get over his burn out.

He had finally broken down, ripped apart four different text books and combined the least erroneous parts into a suitable teaching tool for the class, with a generous amount of his own knowledge added in. Yes, he was going to make his class think, but he was also going to make sure that they had fun as well.

( More class stuff back here )

Tesla has finally found her way out of the infirmary!  Hello, magic castle, there's a strange little girl in white pyjamas wandering around your hallways and galleries, and absolutely everything is fascinating.

It's safe to say that Isis is back when she's already made the subtle changes of various official documents. She's already told her classes that she will still answer to 'Miss Macrow' or varients thereof, since 'Macrow-Takashima' is a bit of a mouthful to say.

So, currently, she's in her office, humming brightly and cheerfully as she goes over papers and various reports. Since they last saw her (and those that know her especially well), Isis might just seem a little bit more tanned than she usually is this time of the year (going to Tahiti for a while kinda does that to you, among other places). She's in her teaching robes, all dark blue and billowy cloak and sleeves.

But she clearly won't mind visitors by any means, just be warned, if you're a friend, you might leave with a plastic coconut cup. How many of those things did Eiko end up getting, anyway?

(( Edit on Jan 9: Heading out for a bit, will be back later tonight. Rest assured, tags will be gotten to when I return. ♥! ))

There's a blonde ten-year-old poking around the grounds this afternoon.

Kacey doesn't start classes here for a few more days, but she's decided to come explore a bit beforehand-- and anyway, the Institute is one of the few places her mom actually trusts her to wander around without supervision. So until she runs into someone she knows, or who wants to say hello, she'll just be poking around through the hallways and sticking her head into rooms and generally displaying some totally shameless curiosity.

Anyone who does know her will be unsurprised to note the warm lump of mepitten sleeping happily in the inside pocket of her coat.

Mitsuru isn't used to snow.

She knows what it is, and she's even seen it a few times before during vacations. But outside of that, her little section of Japan has very temperate winters. At most, freezing rain happens there, but never snow.

This would be why she's standing at the entrance to one of the buildings, looking at the PrIME grounds. There is a look of complete fascination on her face, which she isn't making any effort to hide. Her attention is wholly on the snow covering the grounds, leaving her oblivious to anyone who might happen by.

…Or leaving her wide open for being paffed by a snowball. Either seem to be equally possible.

Headmaster-

With the new year approaching, I've taken some time to look back over my class and evaluate the way I've been teaching, and I'd like to make some changes.  I've also done some additional research into similar classes in human schools, as most of my students are human.

I propose reducing both of my classes to meeting twice a week on alternating days, with the period on friday being an open kitchen for anyone wishing or needing to practice their skills.  I think the class would operate more smoothly this way.

Would you prefer I teach from a curriculum of Pacific cooking this quarter, or Mediterranean?

Respectfully,

Grue Some.

If there was one thing Daniel could really do without, it was Christmas. There were, of course, the usual reasons for his dislike of the holiday, but now he had something new to add to the list.

Christmas in Cairo was suddenly a 'Big Deal'. He could remember that when he was a kid, Christmas could come and go and the only way he actually knew it was a holiday was because of the the gift that his grandfather would send. Usually it arrived a week or so late, but it would arrive, some book on whatever ancient culture Nick was writing about, gaily wrapped in bright paper. There was usually a stocking full of candy and dried fruits included in the box. Daniel was still convinced that the gifts were wrapped by his grandfather's assistants, because Nick could never have gotten them wrapped that neatly.

Now though... It looked like the Christmas fairy had gotten drunk and puked Christmas cheer over most of the city. There were decorations everywhere in the shopping areas, most places declaring that the cost of anything bought as a holiday gift went to charity. A trip through certain parts of town showed scantily clad 'Santas' dancing in windows. Daniel was even sure he'd seen someone advertising the sale of christmas trees.

To make matters worse, his landlady had decided that he needed cheering up, and had sent her granddaughters and nephew over to decorate his flat. He was now the (not so) proud owner of a Christmas tree that leaned to the left and was decorated with ribbon and hand-blown ornaments, along with the many decorations on the walls and tables.

All of this was why he was currently in his office at the school, with the door shut but not locked. The light is on, the glow seen from the cracks around the door. Yes, it may not be the best place to avoid the holiday, especially with kids and others who enjoyed the season there, but at least his boss wasn't likely to burst in and force him to decorate.

The evening of the staff party¹ has arrived. The staff room is awash in warm gold light from gas lamps, fireplace and candles, which reflects off of the polished wood paneling, plays across the garlands of holly and berries and ribbons, and glints on the glass of the windows, beyond which the occasional gust of wind-driven snow can be seen. Inside, however, all is warm and safe. The couches have been moved along the sides of the walls, save for the one where a long spread of food and drink² and small favours³ wait.

The Headmistress is away this season, so the far less pleasant Headmaster Snape will be waiting for you, though even he has acquiesced to the holiday enough to pin a sprig of holly on his nicest set of (still black) robes.

"Welcome. Merry Christmas."

----
1. Yes, staff party, for purposes of letting the staff relax a bit. Unless invited by a staff member, the students are not invited. TA's can come too.

2. Prepared by Some! I'll let him chime in with the details, but there's plenty of food and some traditional holiday beverages (yes some are alcoholic).

3. Holiday crackers! Crackers traditionally contain a paper hat, candy and a small toy. These are wizarding crackers, though, so feel free to get really fancy with them!