forum Pheasant Brook School for Academically Gifted Boys // OxO // CLOSED

Started December 08, 2019 by @GoblinKing

tune

"I haven't, no." Kalen shrugged a little, griping onto the cuffs of his sleeves. "It's such a large building too, I have no doubt I shall become lost at some point." Though it wasn't an entirely awful prospect. Large buildings with this kind of interior meant history, and history meant secrets. Who knew what kinds of things he would discover while aimlessly walking through the halls. A slight glimmer appeared in his eyes the more he thought about the wonders he would find.

“Do you want one?” Claude patted his pockets, clearly checking for something. “It’s easy to get lost here, you know. Only 5 minutes to get between classes, gets difficult.” He glanced at Kalen for a moment.

“Whaddya say?”

Kalen thought for a moment before nodding gratefully. "It would be appreciated."
It would also give Kalen the opportunity to get to know Claude a little better.
"Where shall we begin?"

"Ah, here, I suppose. This is where I spend most of my time- here and the auditorium." Claude gestured widely to the common room. It was dim yet comfortable, full of antique books and armchairs. "You know where your dorm room is, I assume." He chuckled, taking his hair down.

"Where to next.. the library, I think. Then the cafeteria, then we can look around outside before checking out the classrooms. Does that sound good?" Claude tilted his head, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Yeah that’s good for me. I don’t really mind where we start as long as I get to have a good look at the place.” Kalen shrugged slightly. The only room that Claude mentioned that seemed to spark an interest in Kalen was the library. “Why do you spend time in the auditorium?”

“Debate. It’s where we hold tournaments and practice.” Claude couldn’t seem to stop moving his hands, unable to decide whether he wanted them in his pockets or his hair.

“Shall we go, then?”

“Lead the way!” Kalen had an enthusiastic smile illuminating his face. His mind reeled at the idea of finding out the secrets and history of the school. He knew that the school was established in the late 1700s, so for it to still be standing now was a sight to behold, and even though some maintenance had been done to keep the building functional, a lot of the original build was still there. He couldn’t wait!

“Ah, yes, so here we have a famous Pheasant Brook mouse hole- a staple of student life at this truly prestigious school. Born in probably last month, this mouse was quick to capture the hearts- and the food- of Pheasant Brook students.” Claude walked them out of the common room, gesturing grandly to a mouse house bored into the side of the stony wall.

“Absolutely enrapturing, is it not?” His eyes sparkled with a specific brand of humor, one that Claude Van Buren was both loved and hated for by students and faculty alike.

(so uh…this looks like a really fun idea, and I know it's already closed, so @GoblinKing you can definitely say no, but I was wondering if you would be willing to do a second one of this with me, maybe? Obviously you can totally say no, if you don't wanna do it, but this looks like a really interesting RP. I wish you good luck either way!)

(Yeah, I'd love to! Can I use a different character, though? He'll be from the same universe, of course, I just don't want to reuse a character, plus I started this one first, you know.)

(so uh…this looks like a really fun idea, and I know it's already closed, so @GoblinKing you can definitely say no, but I was wondering if you would be willing to do a second one of this with me, maybe? Obviously you can totally say no, if you don't wanna do it, but this looks like a really interesting RP. I wish you good luck either way!)

(Yeah, I'd love to! Can I use a different character, though? He'll be from the same universe, of course, I just don't want to reuse a character, plus I started this one first, you know.)

(Yeah you can definitely use a different one!! Thank you so much!)

"The mouse hole?" As Kalen peered down at it, he smiled in a very confused way. He wouldn't exactly have called it enrapturing—he wouldn't have called it anything to be honest. "Uhm, sure." he looked back up at Claude, it was better to just nod and agree rather than question it.
"Shall we move on?" It was probably better that they moved away from the mouse hole.

“Nevermind.” Claude gave him a lopsided grin, although his face pinked when he realized that Kalen didn’t understand his joke. “Uh- yeah, lets keep going. Where did I say..? Library, that’s right.” He lead them through the old halls, pointing out notable oil portraits and marble busts along the way.

“Here we are. The library.”

Claude pushed open the grand wooden doors. The library was chock full of books, old and new. A crackling fireplace stood in the back, trying its best to ward away the room’s cold air and the winter weather.

A fire seemed to ignite in Kalen’s eyes as they entered the library. He had never seen so many books in one place, let alone any old books. His fingers twitched, eager to get their hands on a book and become lost to the real world, but he maintained his composure, though the fire in his eyes and the grin didn’t want to fade. “It’s amazing in here! I feel I will spend days at a time just reading.”

“You wouldn’t be the first. I don’t, but it’s a nice place to study from time to time. Assuming you don’t find your dorm a better place, of course.” Claude noticed the passion in Kalen’s expression, and God, it was attractive. “It’s a small fiction section, but we have miles on miles of nonfiction and research materials.”

“I would expect nothing less from a school like this.” Kalen turned to Claude, beaming up at him. “I take you for a philosophy kind of guy, so I’d imagine there are a few books in here that pique your interest?”

“Well, you’d be right. My favorite book in here is Paradise Lost. Not exactly philosophy, but I appreciate the different take on Satan- or Lucifer, I suppose. The first time I read it it took me ages, almost a year. It’s so difficult to read, but it’s worth it.” Claude tightened the low, short ponytail his hair was in, shrugging. “Lots of references, but luckily I got a pre-annotated copy from my father.”

“Wow, that’s nice of him.” Kalen rubbed the back of his neck. Claude was lucky to have a generous father like that, his own wasn’t so nice. Kalen scanned around until his eyes fell upon a blue hardback book that just looked interesting. Though it was higher up, getting it would require for him to go up on his tiptoes… Holding back a sigh, he made his way over to the shelf and reached up for the book. Even on his tiptoes his fingers would only just brush the bottom of the book. There had to be a ladder somewhere, right?

Claude walked behind Kalen, raising his eyebrows curiously. “Do you.. do you want help getting that down?” The book was easily within reach of the Dutch boy with minimal effort. “What book is it? Do you know?” He studied the cobalt blue spine, head tilted slightly.

“I have no idea, just looks interesting.” Kalen fell back flat onto his feet, his toes were beginning to hurt. He looked up at Claude with a weak smile. “Help would be appreciated.”

“Yes, it does..” Claude plucked the book off of the shelf, delivering it down with a rather grand flourish to Kalen. “Let me know how it is, won’t you?”

Kalen’s dazzling grin appeared once again across his lips as he gently took the book. “Thank you, I will!” his grip around the book tightened, simply the thought of reading it sent his imagination spinning. What would it be about? Would there be romantic connotations? It was all very exciting.