whiteoak academy

[oshibana]

The country of Esmos has a proud tradition of raising the children of its noble houses into powerful mages who wield all manner of control over the magic that runs through the world. To this end, the most magically adept (and, typically, richest and most well-bred) children are sent to the prestigious White Oak Academy. Here, they learn how to get along and more importantly, how to mingle and socialize in high society. Etiquette and history classes are held alongside magical theory and combat and it's impossible to tell just which is more dangerous – the magic the students are learning to control or the social circles they're expected to begin navigating. Still, White Oak is known through the land for a reason and with nobles and royalty in attendance, the security and care taken in protecting their students make this the safest place in all of Esmos. Surely nothing could go wrong in a place like White Oak.

Comments

Harmony "Mina" Hearkson

[heroineunderstudy]

A country bumpkin with just enough magic to scrape by in the academy, Harmony "Mina" Hearkson is affable and easygoing enough that she blends into the background of any clique she drifts through. However, she's only really friends with fellow outsider to the order of White Oak: Lily West, who Mina utterly devoted to.

If you need to bully Mina into doing your assignments (which isn't particularly difficult), it's easy to find her hunched over books in the school's vast library, occasionally scribbling down notes for her classwork but more often than not she's reading for the fun of it. Like a nerd.

There's also a chance of discovering an out-of-place bush that doesn't even rustle in the wind somewhere in the courtyard, one of Mina's signature shoddy illusions. Mina often keeps a careful eye on the budding romance between Lily and Crown Prince Thanasis disguised in illusions of similar quality, smiling contentedly as she sees her best friend's happiness grow...

...occasionally helped along by strategically placed invisible banana peels and similar devices to set up dramatic stumbles and romantic catches. Some unfortunate, clusmy sod might accidentally get caught in the crossfire of these traps. Some days, that unfortunate, clumsy sod is Mina herself.

[oshibana]

[ ... oh, that's a familiar little bush. She'd been delivering some breakfast to Thanasis after he'd missed it for his morning training, but there's some leftover, so...

She takes a very careful path across the courtyard and says, casually as anything to the shrubbery: ]

Good morning, Mina. [ She looks a little embarrassed, but she's got a smile. ] You didn't miss breakfast as well, did you?

[heroineunderstudy]

Urk. [Cue the giant, stylized sweatdrop. The downside of doing your best to grease the wheels of romance is that, sometimes, romance started learning where and when to expect said greasing.

It was mortally embarrassing whenever she was caught like this; Mina always felt like a voyeur whenever Lily noticed her. (Just because she was voyeur-ing, albeit with benign intent, doesn't change how being discovered as one felt terrible.) She couldn't begrudge Lily for it, though. It felt nice to know that she paid enough attention to Mina to notice her even when she was magically trying to blend into the background rather than just her usual social camoflauge—as happy as Mina was for Lily and as dedicated as she was to the cause, there was a small, selfish part of her that fretted over being left behind.

That's how Mina preferred to interpret that deep-green feeling nestled in her heart, at least.

Smiling sheepishly, Mina rises from the silent image of the bush, dusting off her skirt.] Hi, Lily. Don't worry about me, I made sure to swipe a biscuit before I- [Her stomach rumbles, and she slumps, embarrassed.] ...I- I guess I could do with some lunch, though...

[calyptroll]

[Here we see the benefits of the best upper-class education money can buy:]

What is the meaning of-?!

[Even when slipping on an invisible banana peel that somebody left cunningly concealed in this hallway, Dulcie's elocution is enviable, her enunciation is perfect, and her posture is impeccable. Really, she even makes falling over look exquisitely graceful.]

[At least until the part where she lands flat on her ass.]

[She's on her feet a moment later and looking around furiously for the culprit, though. Think fast, Mina- she's on the warpath.]

[heroineunderstudy]

[If Mina valued her life, she should've made for the hills the moment that Dulcinea set foot in the booby-trapped hallway. (People never use this intersection except to get to the training grounds, and nobody would dare to interrupt the crown prince during his session except for Lily, and Mina only laid down her trap after she saw Lily go inside with his lunch! She'd thought it was safe, honest!)

In fact, Mina nearly starts creeping away to leave Dulcinea to her undignified but thankfully unseen fate... when a persistent voice in the back of her mind gives her pause.

"Really, Mina... it's your mess, the least you could do is clean it up. Isn't that what your mother taught you?"

Gulping, Mina dismisses the illusory bush in the brief moment before Dulcinea properly gets to her feet and starts hesitantly walking toward her, calling out,]

Miss Calpiny? Are you alr- I mean, um, are you well?

[dandelying]

[ An invisible banana peel. Truly the best way to interfere with a friend's love life. Unfortunately, they're also, you know, invisible. ]

UWAAAH!

[ Passing by from nowhere in particular to lord knows where, Prince Florian plants a foot directly on top of a hidden banana peel, does a chaotic pirouette on the spot, and falls flat on his face. ]

[heroineunderstudy]

[Mina had done precise, calculated math on the ideal placement for the banana peel, taking into account the architecture of the building, the social dynamics that surrounded Thanasis, the time of day and student scheduling...

But, apparently, no amount of thinking can outplan an excellent opportunity for a comedic pratfall.

With the blond blur falling so fast and so dramatically, his identity is temporarily lost on Mina, and she scrambles to her feet (dismissing the illusory bush) and rushes to her side.]

O- Oh my gosh, are you okay? That was a nasty fall- let's get you to the infirmary-

[She goes to haul him to his feet on instinct, leveraging that country girl strength for all it's worth.]

Camille Sheridan

[delicateflowers]

Camille, the granddaughter of Count Karnstein, is a delicate young lady. She's an excellent student, if she is shy. She can often be found in the academy's flower garden, tending to the roses and the hydrangeas. She has a natural touch for them.

When she's not in the garden, she's spending time in the library, either reading, studying, or tutoring someone.

Unfortunately, Camille is rather delicate. She gets sent to the infirmary with odd marks on her skin. Kind of like someone's taking her blood while she sleeps, but surely that's not the case. Right?

Library

[calyptroll]

Er... [One hand pressed to her temples to stave off a growing headache, Dulcie is frowning at the paper before her with a look of concentration normally reserved for open-heart surgery or bomb disposal.]

[She's been furiously battling her way through these math problems with the air of a woman who intends to keep beating her head against a wall until it cracks or her skull does, but hopefully poor Camille's efforts are finally starting to get through to her.]

Is the answer to question four... twelve?

[...it's fifteen.]

[At least she's trying.]

[delicateflowers]

Close. Check your third step - remember, "please excuse my dear Aunt Sally"? I think that's where you slipped up.

[She'll smile gently.]

So when you divide there, then add the three, what do you get?

Flower garden

[dandelying]

[ The flower garden... a beautiful place, truly. Such a beautiful place befits an equally beautiful prince.

...Who swishes into the place and sits down on the edge of the flowerbed, throwing one leg casually over the other as his hair blows photogenically in the wind. He's not capable of doing anything like a normal person. ]

Hard at work again, I see! Truly, this garden's beauty would be cut in half were it not for your tireless efforts.

Lily West

[oshibana]

The lowly daughter of a baron, Lily West occupies a relatively low rung in the school – and society's – hierarchy. It's well known that her acceptance to the academy was predicated on her immense natural talent for magic and she is essentially a scholarship student, making up for her lacking family name with her raw ability as a mage. Accordingly, she has top marks in all her magic classes and is doing reasonably well in everything else. She's known as a soft-hearted bookworm who won't say boo to a goose, but she'll readily offer kindness and a helping hand to anyone in need of it.

Maybe it's between lessons while the students are bustling up and down the corridors. Some bumps your shoulders or your hand slips – for whatever reason, your books are spilling all over the floor. Oops. Lily's almost immediately on the case, though, and she'll swoop in to help, fussing over you and generally being just a bit of a busybody.

Or maybe you share a class with her and you've been partnered for some assignment or other. Lily's always got her head in some book or other, so surely you'll be able to mine some answers out of her? Unless it's a magic class, in which case you'll just have to hope some of her enviable performance rubs off on you...

Outside of class, Lily can typically be found in the library – often with Mina, her best friend, but occasionally alone. She'll read in the courtyard on sunny days as well. Occasionally, you might find her tending to the flower beds around school or the indoor gardens, as part of her duties on the greenery committee... but given how at peace she looks to be doing it, you get the impression she'd happily dedicate to tending to the gardens anyway.

Class

[calyptroll]

...

[Either the teacher in charge of this class hasn't been paying attention to anything that's happened all year, or he's just here to see some drama, because today Lily's been partnered up with the girl who's been bullying her since pretty much the moment they first made eye contact.]

[Partner assignments are non-negotiable, despite Dulcie's best efforts, and she's been glowering furiously at poor Lily in silence for the last ten consecutive minutes.]

[It doesn't help that this is magic class- Dulcie's worst subject and Lily's best.]

[Still, this is a two-person assignment, and she probably doesn't want to fail any more than Lily does. Maybe they can just try to get through it as quickly as possible.]

[oshibana]

[ Ah. This is some sort of karmic punishment for being a teacher's pet, isn't it? Dulcie hasn't even said anything yet and Lily's already wilting from the sheer force of her glare. Maybe this is an effort on the teacher's part to get Dulcie to at least pass this class, if nothing else. That's an uncharitable thought but... well, it's hard to be charitable when she's withstanding such a venomous glare...!

Eventually, Lily manages to force a strained smile. ]

Um... are you finished with reading through the assignment, then?

[ She'll just. Pretend the last ten minutes of silence have been the two of them getting their respective heads in the game. ]

flower beds

[delicateflowers]

Ah, hello, Lily. I meant to get here a little bit earlier.

[She smiles, gently bowing in apology. They're both on the greenery committee, after all.]

I didn't keep you waiting long, did I?

[oshibana]

Oh, Lady Sheridan...!

[ With a smile, Lily pops up from watering the flowers she's been tending to – and then immediately dips back into a bow as well, a little awkwardly for the watering can she has in hand. ]

Not at all! I was just seeing to the tulips. I thought they seemed a little lonely, so I'd hoped some water would perk them back up.

Between Classes

[dandelying]

[ Ah, it seems that someone has dropped his books all over the floor! What a coincidence!

As Lily goes to help, Prince Florian kneels to pick them up himself. Their hands touch, and he looks up suddenly. ]

Could this be... fate...?

[ This is the fourth time he has set up this exact scenario. ]

[oshibana]

... Good day, Your Highness.

[ Only the crown prince would be confident enough in his finances to go tossing his books across the floor this often...

Briskly but not impolitely, Lily sets to gathering the books up in a stack. ]

There isn't... something wrong with your bag, is there...?

Dulcinea "Dulcie" Calpiny

[calyptroll]

The last living member of the prestigious Calpiny family and sole heir to the duchy of Calyptra, Dulcinea is as blue-blooded as they come. She seems like your typical otome villainess: haughty, beautiful, rich, cold, and intent on bullying our heroine for no apparent reason.

Alarmingly hardcore about her family's history of military service, which mostly consists of dying nobly for their country, alongside several thousand enemy soldiers they made sure died for theirs.

You know, typical teen girl stuff.

If it's a pleasant day, you might find her outdoors on the school's practice fields, going through her fencing forms with grace and elegance or using their archery range to practice her already scarily precise target shooting. She's captain of both the school's fencing team and its archery club, and has routinely lead both to victory under her ruthlessly efficient leadership.

Alternately, if the weather is more stormy out, you might find her tucked away in the dorms, sitting in a comfy chair in one of the student common rooms and doing some lovely silk embroidery on a handkerchief. There's a textbook open on the table in front of her that she seems to be studying- Dulcie has always focused better when she has something to do with her hands.

By now, she's so practiced with her needlework that she can keep stitching pretty much on autopilot, which is why even she's surprised when she looks down and realizes that the design she's been working on has turned into an intricate pattern of lilies. She shoves it away from herself abruptly, with an audible noise of disgust.

Student common rooms

[dandelying]

[ As Dulcie shoves away her embroidery, Prince Florian comes out of absolutely nowhere, leaping to intercept it in an extravagant diving catch before it touches the floor. ]

Safe! You shouldn't throw away such beautiful works of art, you know.

Prince Thanasis

[deadheading]

One of the Academy's two biggest celebrities, and Prince Florian's twin. Unlike his brother, he's reserved to the point you could call him standoffish, and spends as much time as possible out of the public eye— something that quieter mutters say might not bode well for him if there's ever a clash over the throne. Despite his apparent shyness, though, he's certainly not known for being unfriendly— he has an odd knack for showing up right when his assistance might be needed, and a kind streak a mile wide.

More often than not, when he happens to be out and about, it's at either Lily's side or his brother's. Occasionally, however, he can be found by himself near some of the school's flower beds, either tending to the flowers or gathering blossoms to prepare for pressing later.

More rarely, he can also be found in the library— usually staring out the windows that overlook the campus, as opposed to. You know. Doing schoolwork, or studying, or even just reading for pleasure. How on earth are his grades as good as they are...?

If you really want to get a hold of him, though... the one place he does show up at consistently (or... consistently for him, anyway) is swordsmanship practice. If you don't mind dealing with the sweat (or prefer it...), that's your best bet.

library

[heroineunderstudy]

[White Oak's library is huge. Echoing. Spooky. Poorly lit. The kind of place where you'd expect to find tomes of forbidden knowledge, as expected of a magical academy, or to run from a serial killer, which would hopefully never happen in a place as peaceful as this. While the ominous vibes put Mina off at first, the library has become a second home to her, someplace where she could relax away from Dulcinea's petty machinations and not have to worry about plastering herself to the background of some haughty clique or another to get by.

Today, Mina is laser-focused on a project: improving her illusion magic. Being caught by Lily so many times was starting to get embarrassing, and probably a good indicator of the degree of abysmal that her grades were going to be after the next batch of exams. So, hefting a large stack of illusion grimoires, she ambles over to the table, sets them down with a thud, and-

Oh no.]

C- C- Crown P- Prince Thanasis! Ah, um, I'm terribly sorry, let me just- get this out of your way-

[Mina's fluster isn't just from encountering a noble of such high standing; it's one thing to joke about her wingmanning with her best friend, it's another to be confronted with the object that is being wingmanned at.]

Sword practice

[dandelying]

[ Thanasis and Florian. The twin princes of the realm, now facing each other, sword in hand.

Florian's eyes narrow, but he smiles regardless. A cool, confident smile. ]

If I win... then I'll demand that you give up on Miss West, once and for all.

[ They have fought like this at least a hundred times, so Thanasis can be sure of one thing:

Florian's swordplay is absolutely terrible. He has never beaten his brother in a swordfight even once. ]

practice

[oshibana]

[ The parts of the school where the combat classes aren't held don't seem to be Lily's style, really, but she's become a familiar face around here for reasons that are becoming increasingly obvious to basically anyone willing to pay attention. It's not every single time but - more often than not, when Thanasis is at practice, Lily is waiting at the sidelines. She never interrupts, but once he's done, she comes scurrying over - and today, she's got a little basket in hand with some carefully covered treats inside. ]

Ah- g-good day, Your Highness! [ She's only exchanging greetings and she's already blushing... ] I'm not interrupting, am I...?

Swords

[calyptroll]

Your highness. [As a member of the peerage, Dulcie could likely get away with simply addressing Thanasis as a peer. But just like she always has, even when she first met the twins as a child, she minds her manners properly.]

[It's a swordsman's bow she favors him with today, though, not her typical elegant curtsey- she's dressed in practical clothes, clearly out for her own usual strict regimen of combat training, her blunt practice blade strapped to one hip.]

It has been some time since we last sparred. Would you do me the honor of a duel?

[Normally, she feels most at home with a sword in her hand. But there's an odd tension in the way she holds herself today.]

[But she's been feeling strangely wrong for a while, now.]