School Grounds

Anything outside of the school building, but still on school property.

"Oh, so is it easier for you to exit or enter through windows?" She asked, noting that they were now, obviously, over school property. "It's actually easier to enter for me, but really it depends on the size of the window." Mai glanced up at Jarus curiously, "Do you fly everywhere? It must save you a lot on gas money." She was completely serious, but some people would somehow take her little comment as some sort of horrible attempt at being funny. "Hey, have you ever had a bird fly right into you? Have you been attacked by flying animals?"

Jarus thought for a moment. He hadn't really considered it before, but once he'd mastered carrying himself, he had done a lot more leaving by windows. "Yes, I suppose I do a lot of traveling through the air. It seems lazy, but I like to save my physical energy for training and fighting." He smiled at her last question, recalling a few stories. "Actually, one of the first times I took myself up, I almost had a collision with a pheasant. I was in the middle of a field, and my presence startled the bird just as I took off. I hadn't even risen six feet in the air when it our paths crossed, and I fell back to the ground in surprise. After that I made a point of taking off straight up."

Then a thought occurred to him. "How is it that you find it easier to enter through windows?"

The story about the pheasant caused her to shake with laughter, but then he asked his question regarding window entering. "Oh, well." She frowned, the question stumped her. Really, she had no idea why entering windows would be easier for her than exiting windows. Mai had always assumed that was the norm, but his question made her think that perhaps, like many things that were normal for her, it was not normal for most others. After thinking for a moment longer, she finally had an answer, "I guess it's because it's easier for me to climb up trees than climb down them, in the case of windows on the second story of a house. Plus, I have a floor to land on when I enter a house, not gravel or bark... Or mud."

Jarus began to chuckle at her answer. "Oh, it was my mistake. I thought you had meant that it was easier for you to enter windows as opposed to doors. You can understand my confusion now." Still smiling, he began to lower them, as they were nearing the school grounds once more. The smile began to subside. "Well, humor aside, we should probably begin to concentrate on our search. Where exactly will we be looking, and how should we go about doing so?"

"First floor of the school building. The hall has.. I can't tell if it's some kind of marble floor tiling or not.. But it's pretty elaborate looking, like most other things in this school. There are hanging lamps coming from the ceiling.. ANd the ceiling in that hall is curved, like a half circle. And the walls have some fancy work done on them. It looks like something that'd be in a Spanish palace." She bit her lip and closed her eyes, recalling the details immediately. "The right side of the hall had huge windows. Do you need any more details?"

"Sounds like the Grand Hall," Jarus said simply. "Strange thing to have at a school, I know, but I suppose it serves well for functions like dances, parties, or large meetings." They changed direction slightly and headed toward the western side of the campus front. A large, slightly dome-roofed building dominated the southwestern corner of campus, and regal Spanish columns became visible as they neared. Jarus began to lower them, until they landed right at the top of the short stairway that led to the front door. "I believe this should match the place you described. Feel anything?"

"No, not a grand hall. But a literal hallway." Mai laughed lightly, "But... We are close. I sense it." She muttered a few words under her breath. She began to wander out of the grand hall, "It'd make sense that this hallway would be close to a place like this..." She blinked, she felt a strong urge to go this certain direction... This particular direction, and she vaguely wondered if he was feeling that urge as well. It was strange- almost as if somebody were summoning her. "This way." She said sharply, turning and stopping at the end of a hallway- the exact one she had described. "This is it."

He laughed, a warm chuckle. "My dear," he said, lifting them from the ground, "it would not matter if we were deposited in the basement of the home of the Czar of Russia, I would be able to find the kitchen. He rose quickly into the air, figuring that Mai was growing used to this method of travel, and if she wasn't, well, she would probably be distracted enough by whatever was going on in her mind to not worry too much. He hadn't removed his arm from her shoulders, and in fact had shifted slightly so that his left shoulder pressed behind her right, and his left arm rested atop her left arm, in an attempt to try and warm her up, despite her explanation. He wasn't doing this so much on purpose, but some part of him did so on instinct, like his efforts to protect her had been.

"What, do you have a GPS system on your stomach? Do you lift up your shirt, look down, and say- 'Oh, we need to take a left by the fourth bathroom with the jacuzzi tub.' and, 'Two more feet to go. Yup.'" During this, she did a little act, modeling what she would have imagined following a GPS on your belly to look like. "Oh, wrong turn. It's a seasonal route. Damn you, GPS!" Mai cocked her head to the side, a little amused at how easily she had gotten used to flying through the air as a method of travel. However, she would have imagined that it took a lot of energy. "Are you getting tired? At all?"

He grinned the whole time, chuckling in amusement at her little display. "No, this is nothing. I could carry three more people and be fine as long as we traveled in a straight line. It's when I have to maneuver numbers of heavy objects in multi-directional movements that it gets really draining." Truth be told, he was a bit tired, but just as she preferred not to let others know something was bothering her, Jarus did not like showing weakness or fatigue. "I'm good. Probably gonna sleep well tonight, though, after all our adventuring. And we'll need it, especially if we want to find out more tomorrow."

"Psh, seriously? I mean, I know I would be completely exhausted if I had to use my mind to lift objects and travel from place to-" She stopped in mid-sentence, feeling her chest tightening, threatening to make her cough. Mai realized that if she spoke any more, then she would most likely have a coughing fit, and that was something she preferred not to have around people. Mai cleared her throat and attempted to stifle the cough that was sure to come, causing her shoulders to shake as she cleared her throat again. Oh jeez, this was embarrassing for her- Mai mentally stabbed herself, knowing that her body language was something that only the most oblivious of idiots could ignore.

Jarus slowed them to a stop, hovering somewhere over the trees that separated the mansion from the school grounds. He could feel her shaking, as well as the spasms from within that was her diaphragm trying to force a cough. "You okay?" he asked, wincing slightly as soon as he'd said the words. He continued quickly, as if he hadn't said them. "You probably shouldn't hold it in," he advised, placing his hands on her upper arms in support. "Don't worry, I've got you."

Mai nodded, "Yeah, it's not a big deal." She muttered, "It's just a flare up." She looked below, the mansion wasn't too far away now, they should be getting there soon. "Sorry about that- that was sorta awkward." Mai forced a grin, "Okay, bud, let's get a move on, the sooner we get there, the better- alright?" She would have said more, but was a little bit afraid of 'letting it all out' in front of him. Her eyebrows furrowed together, it might have required an explanation, and... Well, it wasn't exactly something she wanted to blab about.