That snaps him out of it. "Good morning," he says, almost automatically, as his brain boots back up. "I see you got the school garb."

"I think everyone did, yeah." He shuffles his feet kind of awkwardly but he can't deny that he actually enjoys the attention. "I figured... might as well get used to it, you know?"

"You could've also worn the other piece," Ruby points out.

Well what does he say to that. "You continue to be very direct."

"It's a gift."

J'zargo steps out of his room then and a second afterwards so does Brelyna. If J'zargo is fazed at all by the other two clearly having a moment there it's hidden in cat body language. Brelyna does kind of look a bit but approximately in the same way someone else might look at, say, exposed cleavage: eye-catching, attractive, but fundamentally not particularly remarkable.

"J'zargo thought he would be arriving in class early, but clearly everyone had the same idea."

"It'd be pretty bad to be late to our first lesson. So, shall we?"

They shall.

When they get to the practical hall, they are greeted by an old human sitting cross-legged on the floor, reading a book. He looks up at them and makes his book vanish as he stands up. "Well, I take it you're the new Apprentices? Good, good. I am Tolfdir, Wizard of the College of Winterhold and Alteration Instructor. And I'll also be your group's mentor until you graduate to Scholars or leave. I understand you've already gotten acquainted with each other, so let's jump into it.

"Now, what's the most important thing one should learn about practising magic, before anything else?"

"...bit of a broad question."

"Concentration?" suggests Brelyna. "Calm?"

"Good answers! Anyone else?"

"Control?"

"Now that's better," Tolfdir says, smiling. "The first thing to understand is that magic is, by its very nature, volatile and dangerous. Unless you can control it, it can and will destroy you."

"Sir," starts Brelyna, "I think we all understand that fairly well. We wouldn't be here if we couldn't control magic!"

"Of course, my dear, of course! You all certainly possess some inherent natural ability, that is not being questioned. What I'm talking about is true control; mastery of magic. It takes years, if not decades, of practice and study to truly reach that goal, and some would say even that is not enough."

"Then what are we waiting for?" asks J'zargo. "Let's get started!"

"Please, please! This is exactly what I'm talking about. Eagerness must be tempered with caution, or else disaster is inevitable."

"But we've only just arrived here—you've no idea what any of us are capable of! Why not give us a chance to show you what we can do?"

Tolfdir turns to look at Ruby. "And your opinion on the matter, young man?"

Ruby... thinks for a second. An image flashes in his mind, and he reaches for his amulet and pulls it over his head, then offers it to Tolfdir. "What happened to the last group of Apprentices to come here?"

The man's eyes widen as he sees the amulet, and he looks up at Ruby's face again. "I daresay you might know more than I do about the subject. All I know is that they disappeared, all at the same time."

"...disappeared?" asks Brelyna. "How?"

"I don't know exactly how, especially at the same time, but... one of them was called Yisra. This is her amulet. I... found her charred corpse in the snow on my way here, along with a book in which she was writing research notes on the Flame Cloak spell."

Brelyna and J'zargo's eyes widen, and Onmund starts looking a bit queasy. "Charred? You... didn't mention that, yesterday."

Ruby shrugs and puts the amulet back on. "How long had they been Apprentices here?"