The Ninth Heaven

[Ladd Russo of the Russo Family]

The Ninth Heaven was a great place to unwind. There were huge stone fireplaces lining the walls, and similar stone floors broken by plushie maroon carpets. Polished wooden tables were taken by all sorts of people, ordering food from demon waiters clothed in the most posh uniforms. If waiting to be served was too much of a problem, a large bar counter took up the backwall lined with cushioned stools, where the barkeeps would be happy to fulfill your desire. (Yes, age restrictions do apply when your desire is alcohol ... and general law for anything else.)
The most crowded area was the far left corner, where a large triangle of purple carpet was fitted in snugly. Here couches, chairs, and divans were set in front of coffee tables and talk was more important than food. Also, in another corner there was a place cut off from the rest by another stone wall and a stout door.

[Ladd Russo of the Russo Family]

'Mingling' was not what you would call one of Darishan's strong points, so he merely sat near a fireplace at the wall. there he closed his eyes and just listened to what was going on. He wasn't the only one there with his eyes closed, though the nearest one was snoring loud enough to shake his table. Though he was listening, it wasn't really eavesdropping; that was listening to specific people. He just listened randomly to any conversations nearby, and there were many.
Three girls were talking about joining some club, and one was debating heatedly about how some 'pink' club could 'whoop them all to pieces'. That was until a large crash resounded (along with their screams) and the hasty apologies of two young men, who invited them to a game of 'rag football'. The girls declined coldy and ordered some drinks from a demon. Similiar things happened, none of them of great interest, but it was better than doing nothing.

[baha]

Elliot walked into the room, and scanned the area. His eyes stopped on some familiar person. Wasn't he his roommate? Something like Dariquan? He appeared to be sleeping... Elliot carefully avoided flying hot wings as he made his way across the Ninth Heaven. He seated himself next to Darishan and said, "Hey, aren't you Darishan?"

[Ladd Russo of the Russo Family]

Darishan heard the footsteps approach him and the scrape of the chair. When Elliot spoke, he opened his eyes. "Yes. You are Elliot?" he asked. It was important to remember names, even if it was just a second name. A hot wing flew right in between them, landing in the fireplace and hissing.
"Sorry!" some person yelled before turning back around and chucking some more.

[baha]

Ignoring the flying hot wing, Elliot spoke again, "Yes. Where'd you come from, before this School?" Something that resembled a wad of grease-stained paper towels rolled around their feet and stopped. Two small legs popped out of the bottom of them and the mass waddled away.

[Ladd Russo of the Russo Family]

"I was an apprentice to a wizard," he said shortly. Not bragging, because it wasn't really much to brag about. The wizard ran a tower training school, where he got paid money from parents who wanted their children to learn magics and such. Apprentice would probably be a strong word anyway, considering he was sold into an 'indentured servant' status from a slave. He didn't mind, the maids did all the cleaning work, so all he had to do was help some of the slow students out. Before that, he had just been traveling. Highwaymen can be annoying, always capturing people off the road and selling them into slavery.
"I believe they are creating new life here," he added dryly as he saw what Elliot was staring at.

[baha]

The mass wobbled back and around them again, this time bumping into Elliot and Darishan's legs, causing brownish smear to appear. Slightly annoyed, Elliot wiped off the guck with a napkin and leaned back in his chair, "Where I used to live, we had despised magic and such for over several thousand centuries. But eventually some of us began developing Magic powers along with the main one in our bloodstream. There are some still, though, who hate the magic, such as my family. I'm glad I could go here to escape them." The mess was now gone, thankfully.

[Ladd Russo of the Russo Family]

"It 's strange you wouldn't like your family," Darishan said. He also took a napkin and thoroughly wiped the 'stuff' off. Yep, Darry had no family. And didn't care. "Is there any particular reason?" Rumor had it people were happy with their families.

[baha]

Elliot looked at Darishan strangely, "Why /wouldn't/ I hate them? They hate magic-users, and since I can use magic... I go against their nature, so they automatically hate me. I don't really care about them." A few hot wings flapped by, "Yeah, I think you're right about the new life thing."

[Ladd Russo of the Russo Family]

Darishan shrugged. "Well, in this school it seems you can start over. There certainly weren't many questions asked. The past doesn't really seem to matter here..." He looked into the fire speculatively. "I wonder what they plan for our future."

[baha]

Elliot nodded, "You're right. The school doesn't seem to care about your past. I mean, you could be a murderer and become a teacher here.... That's what I think. But, I don't really mind, if it gets me away from those freaks."
The midnight bell tolled and all life in the Ninth Heaven instantly stopped, and was replaced by chaos. Within two minutes, the place was deserted, leaving Darishan and Elliot alone. Getting up whilst avoiding bumping into the Demon Waiters, he spoke again, "We should go back to our dorms. If we get caught past 12:12, we'll get detention, new or now." He turned and melded into the shape of a powerful black wolf and walked under most of the rubble cause by the students, and left the Diner.

[Ladd Russo of the Russo Family]

Darishan rose to his feet and followed Elliot at a quick pace. Elliot had shown a more serious side of himself at the table, whether he had meant to or not. It was good, he supposed, to know that he wasn't sharing the dorms with a complete idiot.