The first few days were absolutely nothing short of absolute awkwardness, Morgan noted as he sprinted past literally every other person on the track. And all of those strange things happen because of the other… Morgan. Why was there a woman with the same first and last name as him? Mother never spoke of relatives. "Gods, boy, are you trying to run away from your past or something?" Severa rushed up to keep with his pace.
"Oh, hello Severa." He replies without wasting a single breath. "How's it going?"
"Don't worry about me!" She lashes back, "Gods, I just asked you a little question, then you turn it around on me?"
"Mmm, perhaps if your breathing wasn't so ragged…" The red-head moved to trip him, but he easily hopped over it, "too slow!"
"G-Get back… here!" She shouts as he kicks it to his top speed. "...not that I was worried about you."
"He's got quite the pair of legs on him, doesn't he?" Another man casually jogs beside Severa.
"Sh-shut it, Inigo." She takes a breath, "I'm not letting some tiny boy beat me in a race!" With that, she pushes her body even further, breaking into a sprint.
"...but he's already finished his laps. Ah, oh well." Inigo shrugs it off.
Morgan stopped on the spot as he finished his final lap… plus one. He then walked over to the cooler and grabbed a bottle of water, "Whew." He takes a few deep breaths, before taking a gulp of water. It always feels good whenever Morgan burns off energy, it's like he feels liberated. That is, until his stomach growls and reminds him that food is still a necessity.
"Morgan, is it?" A pink haired man walks up to him, "My name is Inigo."
He returns with a smile, "Yup, that's me. Nice to meet you." He offers his hand and Inigo graciously accepts it.
"My my, you are quite the athlete, aren't you?" Compared to Morgan's firm and muscular grip, Inigo's is gentle and smooth. "But, how coordinated are you?"
"Like, multi-tasking?" The handshake ends and Morgan tilts his head.
"I suppose it could be interpreted as such, but no. I meant for choreographic dancing."
"I've not much interest in that." He bluntly replies, "If it doesn't involve rigorous training, then I won't bother."
Inigo smiles, but it seems less friendly, and more predatory, "Are you implying that dancing is… easy?"
Morgan crosses his arms, "I'm saying that it doesn't require much skill."
The man chuckles, "And just how confident are you in your assumption?"
"I'm hearing a challenge in there, somewhere." The boy raises an eyebrow, "Am I correct?"
"Close, a bet would be more accurate." The man seems completely confident, and it's something Morgan would like to fix. "If you think the dancing arts so easy, then I'm sure you would absolutely no issue in attending one of my mother's classes?"
"What's on the line, here? If this is a bet?"
"He'll ask Lucina out on a date." Severa stops next to the other two. Her body is absolutely drenched in sweat.
"I, what? Absolutely not!" Inigo immediately dismisses the idea.
"Sure, why not?" Morgan shrugs, "Not that I know who Lucina is, but whatever."
"Oh, ugh. Fine." Inigo sighs. "If you win, I'll ask Lucina out on a date." He takes a moment to glare at the woman, "Thanks, Severa…"
"Not a problem." She smiles.
"Alright then, if I lose…" Morgan starts.
"You'll take me on a date." Severa interrupts.
"...are you a matchmaker?"
"Wh-what?! No! It's… you owe me for that insult back at the tracks." She scowls.
"...for saying your breathing was ragged?"
"Well, not just that, but…" She pauses, "...I kinda like your dedication to exercising." She just barely gets out.
"Um, what?" Morgan asks, "I…"
"Nothing!" She snaps back.
"Alright, fine. There, if I win, you ask Lucina on a date, if you win, I ask Severa on a date, deal?"
"...said you will take me on one, but it's not like…" Severa mumbles.
"Deal." Once more, the two shake hands.
The first few days have been nothing less than awkward, Morgan noted as she finished reading both her History and Science textbooks. And, all of those awkward things all involve that boy who shares her name, Morgan. What are the odds that there is another person in this entire planet there shares a first and last name? Normally, her naturally curious nature would demand that she ask about him.
However, the boy rarely stays still, and is constantly doing some sort of strenuous activity. Which is something Morgan can admit to not being able to do, so she would rather abandon the notion, rather than chase him from one side of Naga's creation to the other. Besides, she has studies to do if she is to remain as on top as she was back in High school…
And let it be reinforced that she absolutely adores Miss Tiki. Not that the other teachers are bad, but there is just something about her demeanour that Morgan would like more of. Perhaps it is her peaceful nature, or seemingly endless knowledge about History, maybe it's even with how easily she deals with the troublemaking students. She is alluring, but at the same time, she is also not afraid to show off a side of her that 'means business'. It's easy to be on Tiki's good side, but it's also easy to get on her bad side, and both of her sides are a marvel to adore… assuming you aren't the one who is on the receiving end of her bad side.
"Hm? Oh… whoops." Without even thinking, Morgan ended up drawing a rather intricately detailed picture of Tiki. Let it be known that Morgan has a tendency to lose track of time, and do tasks without even realizing it. "Well… might as well finish it off, then." She goes into one of the drawers and pulls out her coloring set, "Now, Miss Tiki, let's see which of these Greens fit you the best."
Over an hour has passed before Morgan finalizes the picture, which turns out to be just short of actually being her. Maybe she should show it to her? Would the History teacher think it too weird? Maybe she'll like it. Shrugging her worries off, she returns the coloring instruments back to their original positions, before getting a folder to place her drawing in… among the other impromptu drawings she had ever done. She then looks outside, and her stomach grumbles, perhaps dinner is in order.
Leaving her studio apartment, Morgan walks towards the cafeteria, with an extra coat on. It is rather cold here, but it's nothing too extreme. She enters the cafeteria, where she is instantly assaulted with a number of scents, most are quite pleasant, while some leave a less than desirable outcome on her sense of smell. She opts to go straight for the salad bar, getting a bowlful of greens alongside some assorted vegetables.
"Oh, 'ey, yer uh… Morgan, was it?" A cheaply clothed man approaches her.
"Yes, and you are… Donnel, correct?" Like her, he also has a hearty bowl of salad, though there are bits of ham and bacon in his.
"Yes, ma'am. I came from the farm that my ma and pa own."
"It's good to know that anyone can get here, if they apply themselves hard enough." Morgan nods with a smile.
"Heh, nobody knows hard workin' like a farmer! Waking up hours before the sun even rises, tendin' to all the sheep n pigs, makin' sure the plants are watered, and gotta watch out for dem rodents, too."
"It does sound like a lot to do." She pats the seat next to her, "Why don't you sit down?"
"Sure thing! I'm glad to be of company to someone with smarts like you."
She smiles at him, "Well, I do keep high standards, and when your mother is on the caliber of Miriel…"
"Miriel? As in like the ten time Master degree professor Mirel?" His eyes turned wide for a moment. "Oh uh, pardon the interruption."
"It's not a problem, Donnel."
"So uh, whaddya think of Miss Tiki?" There is an admiration in his eyes.
"I really like her. She is so knowledgeable, peaceful, and graceful."
"Yer from Ylisse, right? So ya don't know the legend 'round here?"
Morgan nods, "That's right, oh! Do you have any to share?"
"It's about Miss Tiki, actually. But, if you would prefer to hear sumthin else…"
"I would like to know all of them, but I won't pressure you to tell me any of them." Morgan's expression is nothing short of fascinated. While sure, she may not believe a lot of the legends, it doesn't make them any less entertaining to listen to.
"Alright then, so. This apparently started way back when, 'fore Valm was under a single banner…"
Morgan and Donnel ended up spending over an hour in the cafeteria. Donnel started off with the legend that Tiki was actually thousands of years old, then Morgan would share one of the myths she read about, and it would go back and forth. Despite reading a number of old scrolls and records, Donnel knew a lot of stories she had honestly never heard of. She found herself entranced in whatever legend he told her.
"Oh, shoot. I 'spose we better get goin'. 'Fore they lock us inside." He gives her an open smile, "Don't 'spose we kin do this again tomorrow?"
She returns his smile with her own, "I would very much enjoy that, Donnel. I'll see you tomorrow, then." With that, the two take their leaves. All in all, she was glad to have spent some time with another student. Morgan is now walking out onto the campus and back to her apartment, feeling far better than she has in days. Maybe she should spend some more time socializing? Smiling to herself, she opens the door, walks in and stretches. Now then, all that is left is some after dinner studies and she'll be good to go to sleep.
Fate seemed to have other plans, however. When Morgan stepped into the kitchen, she heard the side window shatter, and a baseball past her in a speed that almost defied logic, and it was mere inches in front of her face. The ball then lodged itself into the wall. With her curiosity winning over, she looks through the now broken window, the next apartment over seems to have the same problem, as a woman in dark attire is standing there, with broken windows on either side, and if Morgan were to look even further than that, then the third house was completely intact. Morgan immediately assumed it came from the third house.
If only she knew who lived over there…