Nira takes a seat next to her.

Sitting down seems the obvious thing to do, and soon enough everyone is.

The wall in front fades into a screen, and a woman dressed all in white appears upon it.

"Greetings, my young devotees. To begin with, let me say what an honor it is that you all have chosen to follow my path. I truly believe that together, we can forge this galaxy into what it was meant to be. You each have your own reasons for being here. In time, you will fulfill them. But first, you must learn to harness the power with which you have been gifted. That is why you have come to this Academy. Through many trials, persevere. Your goal is in front of you, and you have the strength to reach it. Now, I believe your Headmistress would like to say a few words."

The screen fades out, and a woman walks out in front.

"The Polemarch is as inspiring as always. After that, I suppose there's really only one thing you want to see right now." She takes a deep breath and rises into the air. A profusion of sparkles dazzle the air as she twirls. When she settles back down, she is wearing a much fancier dress and holding a gleaming saber.

eeeee so cool

"So! Welcome, young sprouts, to the Academy. My name is Myra and I will be in charge of you until you graduate. During your time here, you can expect to learn everything a well-educated young lady should know, as well as how to do this." She flourishes the sword. "By the end, you will be ready to be the next generation of saviors for the galaxy." She then launches into a speech about code of conduct, day-to-day life, and class scheduling. The girls are expected to be respectful of the staff, grounds, and each other, and fighting is not permitted. Meals are provided at the cafeteria four times throughout the day: morning, midday, evening, and late night. They are encouraged to show up to at least three of these. Curfew is midnight. Initial dormitory assignments will be passed out at the end of today, if they've already made friends they would like to room with, they can submit a request at the main office before then. There will be general opportunities to change room assignment twice per year. Classes are scheduled in three blocks and the girls will be grouped according to ability. Later on, they will have the chance to sign up for electives, but the first run of classes are fixed.

And with that, they're dismissed. They have the run of the place until tonight.

"Do you want to go exploring?" she asks Nira immediately.

"Yes!"

The campus is a sprawling affair, with immaculately trimmed lawns and shrubbery and wide, shaded cobbled paths. The buildings nestle into the landscape as though grown there.

"What a pretty place," Ariel sighs. "I know I said it already, but really. I guess this is why the no-fighting rule, magical girl battles don't do the scenery any favors."

"Or maybe the place is this pretty to add an extra layer of discouragement."

"I could see that. I wouldn't want to bust up the landscape, I know that much. Even if I really wanted to fight somebody. Maybe there's dueling arenas or something for that. Or maybe not!"

Ariel twirls around 360 degrees for no particular reason.

"Practicing your transformation?"

"Just spinning!"

Nira essays a spin of her own, and nearly trips over her own feet. "Whoops."

Ariel moves to steady her. "Hey, careful there! If anybody's gonna break her ankles on our first day it should be me."

"I suppose I'll leave it to the professionals, then."

"No, no, I'm strictly amateur," Ariel assures her. "Professional anklebreaking's impossible to break into. Ironically enough."

"It's something one trips into accidentally?"

Ariel giggles.

"Oh, we should probably go request to be assigned together before I forget. Where were we supposed to go for that again?"

"The... main office. Which I think is, uh, back there." Point.

"It's still adventure even if we've been there before," Ariel declares. "Onward and backward!"

"An adventure of prophecy. The outcome has been foretold."

"Spooky."

The trip back to the main office doesn't take long. Ariel looks around for someone suitably official-looking.

There's a lady behind a desk, near the door.

"Hello," says Nira. "We'd like to register to share a room?"

      "All right," says the woman, and passes over a holopad. "Thumbprints, please." Nira applies hers.

As does Ariel.

The secretary takes the pad back and waves some data to the desk display.

     "You're all set," she says.

"Thank you!"