Robyn stepped off the wagon, and stared at the white stucco building and sprawling gardens. This was it—Sonora Academy. Since the wagon had crossed into Arizona, the view had been the burnt reds and oranges of the desert, but inside the grounds of the school everything was lush and green. She trailed a hand through one of the hedges, almost expecting her fingers to pass through it. But it wasn't an illusion, this was a real oasis of lush greenery, supported by magic.

The same magic that she was here to learn.

She'd had three years to get used to that, ever since her older brother, Xavier, had been whisked away to this strange school. She hoped to make a better start and a better impression than he had. It was always irritating being the youngest and being compared, and that had been when she'd been being compared to something good. At their non-magical school, he'd had a perfectly fine reputation, and it was still annoying every time someone called her 'Xavier's sister' like she didn't have her own name or personality. Now though, she was fighting against everyone's terrible impression of her brother. It wasn't his fault, not really. He was just all magically wonky or something. She was still understanding how magic worked, so getting to grips with why exactly her brother's didn't was complicated. Her own accidental magic had been more noticeable than his, so she had some confidence that she would exceed the low expectations that might be set for her, but it was still frustrating.

She made her way through the gardens, following the signs that pointed out where first years should go, until she joined the orientation party, complete with information folders and snacks. She helped herself to juice and a cookie. Someone else seemed to have the same idea, so she smiled at them.

"Hi. I'm Robyn," she said. She opted not to give her family name. She knew some people, the 'Purebloods,' cared an awful lot about family names, but it didn't make a difference… She could either give it, and they'd know she wasn't one of them, or not give it, and they'd still know she wasn't one of them. At least by not giving it, she dodged the more specific association of her brother, in the event that they had siblings here and knew about him. "I'm so excited to be here!" she added, deciding that steering things towards a positive start was the best way to make a new friend.


A/N

What would you write if you were in charge of choosing who Robyn is talking to and what happens next?

As you can see, this is not a complete chapter or complete story. That's because it's a sample post from our text-based RPG. Each writer posts only for their character, and we build the story collaboratively.

Think you could write something similar? Great! That's all you need to be able to do to take part.

We're a trans-positive, queer-positive community that takes ownership of the world we loved as kids, and makes it our own.

If you're interested, you can submit a character application at our website sonora. terragenaonline. net (without the spaces) or message me for more information.