(This got really long so I'm gonna make it two parts)

She raced through the forest the wind blowing through her hair and chilling her skin to the touch. Her choice of a leather jacket starting to seem like less of a good idea and more of a poor stylistic choice. Though she didn't really have time to scold herself seeing as she was currently running from a giant smoke monster.

It roared as she snaked her way through the dense dark forest that was only lit by a harsh red light from the moon. The power in just the creatures voice alone was enough to shake the ground beneath her. She wobbly tried to keep her balance, but to no avail tripped over her own feet and fell into a pool of dark black water. It was such a clear cut color that her reflection shown in it. Though her reflection didn't look like her...

Well, it did. But not the perky her she was used to seeing. This version of herself was much more disheveled and pale with platinum blonde, almost white hair. So different looking to the point where she wasn't even sure it was her.

"Come on, get up. Keep moving!" She says out loud to herself, as she struggles to get back up. Her fingers digging into the damp soil beneath her, pushing herself back onto her feet and sprinting towards a nearby mirror. "Just...a little...further!"

She came within a few feet of the mirror when the shadowy-smoke monster came crashing through the trees behind her and she rolled onto the ground landing on her back. With no options left she threw her hands in the air admitting a strange light and power from the tips of her fingers. "Yueguang Trabem!"

Elidi quickly, sat upright in her bed, breathing heavily as the residual fears of her nightmare washed over her. "That...that felt so real..."

She collapsed back into her pillows nuzzling up to them before her attention was drawn to her phone buzzing on her nightstand. When she picked it up she immediately sat up, throwing herself out of her bed. It was her alarm, she's late for school. Not even reasonably late she'd slept through her alarm for the past two hours. "Shit! I'm gonna be late for that meeting with my advisor!"

—

Elidi stood in front of her bathroom mirror, after her advisory meeting where she had been intending to drop out of her stupid college, which did not happen because apparently she was just going through a "phase". She wasn't going through a phase she knew that. Something was out there waiting for her, something better than anyone at this stuffy college could comprehend. Not that she knew what that something was though.

Sighing at herself she looked at her reflection, intending on giving herself a bit of a pep talk. "I know you belong somewhere. I know there's more to you than this."

The lights flickered in the room and she brushed it off as just her imagination looking around just in case. Until something caught her eye in the mirror. She sighed at herself when she realized it was just her reflection, but it wasn't her reflection. It was the same version of herself she had seen in her dream earlier.

"Thats's-That looks like my face, but different..." Elidi raised a hand to her hair seeing as it looked white in her reflection, but it didn't mirror her actions.

She froze in place just staring at it for a moment. It was almost shimmering like summer sunshine beaming off a lake.

"Am I still dreaming?" Elidi questions, raising a shaking hand to the mirror's glass, but her hand never comes in contact with it. Instead her hand passed through it like liquid. She tried to pull her hand out, but it wouldn't budge. "Holy shit!"

Her hand was already through the glass and her arms started to follow until it pulled her entire body through. "Wait!"

She was pulled into what felt like water as it pulled and pushed her around, forcing her to close her eyes and hold her breath.

Her lungs began to strain and her panic clouded her thoughts making it so she wasn't sure which way to swim that would lead her to the surface. A splash in the water came from the right of her and a pair of strong arms wrapped around her abdomen pulling her up and out of the water. She was pulled into the surface, the bright sun light beating down on her face as she coughed the remaining water out of her lungs. Once her breathing stabilized she finally opened her eyes looking around.

"Where am I?" Elidi mumbled, finding herself on what looked like a strange rustic school campus. "This is...This isn't real. Right? Where..."

"Hey, hey! You're okay, I got you." A tall umber skinned man crouched beside her with wet sleeves up to his elbows. "You're a new student here, right?"

"...um I uh- I am a student." Elidi says very generally.

"Great!" The mysterious man smiles kindly. Well maybe he wasn't the mysterious one in the situation... "You missed the Hall of Mirrors by a mile, but you made it. Welcome to Penderghast College of Elemental Magicks."

"The what?" Elidi mumbles, sitting up from her position sprawled across the lawn.

"Since it's the first day of the new semester, we should probably get you to the dining hall for orientation. If you're feeling okay, that is." He says concerned.

She stood up fully, wobbling a bit as she tries to regain her bearings, the man put his hand on her arms to steady her balance. He released her once she was stable enough. Elidi brushed the dirt off herself, but was still covered in water so it didn't really help much. A tall, broad shouldered man caught her eye from across the lawn, a look of utter disgust smug across his face.

"I suppose I should have listened to my dad when he said the admissions standards are in the decline here." The man with aggressive eyebrows says, crossing his arms. "Didn't you read the information packet? There are arrival protocols, you know."

"Who are you? Campus police? Why don't you take her up to orientation then and make yourself useful?" The tall kid snapped back at the one with the thick ass eyebrows.

"Absolutely not. I'm Beckett Harrington. I don't have time to show other freshmen around campus." The kid scoffs, knitting his eyebrows together in anger. He gave her one last look over before turning away, his gaze full of distain.

"What an asshole." Elidi scoffs, making the kid who rescued her laugh.

"I guess it's just you and me, then. I'm Griffin." He smiles down at her, offering his hand to shake.

"I'm... Elidi. And also...I'm very confused. Well very might be an understatement." She says, looking up at him.

"Here, let me help you." Griffin laughs at her, taking in her soggy wet form. He brought his clasped fists up to his mouth and blew into them making a strange warm wind blow around her.

"Holy-I'm completely dry!" Elidi says shocked looking down at her now crispy dry outfit.

"There you go, good as new. You might still want to change at some point though, it tends to get chilly in the evenings." Griffin says gesturing down at her short dress. He turned his air current on himself drying off his clothes. "Sorry if the work was a little shoddy. Air magick isn't the most natural to us Earth-Atts, but professor England says I'm getting it. Now come on. I'll take you up to the school for orientation!"

He turned towards the main building of the school and began walking towards it, as she followed behind him like a lost puppy.

"So this is some kinda school? To learn...magick?" Elidi asks.

"Good to see there's no permanent damage from that trip through the lake." Griffin laughs as the two of them passed the statue in the center of campus, it's head turning to look at them. "Oh, that's just the security system, set to vaporize any Attuneless intruders. But there hasn't been one on campus in...Well, I don't even know."

"Oh, great. Can't wait to be fucking vaporized." Elidi mumbles under her breath, as she kept an eye on the statue. It took a moment, but it looked away and she sighed in relief as they reached massive dark brown double doors.

They walked inside and Griffin looked down at her with a smile. "Welcome to Penderghast! If you follow me this way, I'll show you to the-" He says cutting himself off when he heard the chin of the grandfather clock in the hallway, checking his watch before looking back over at her. "Shit. I totally forgot about this Thief team meeting I'm supposed to go to."

Elidi's face flooded with panic at the thought of him leaving her to defend for herself. "You can't leave me-"

"Oh, of course not! I'll drop you off at the dining hall. We're just gonna have to speed this tour up is all." Griffin reassures, as they venture up the stairs and into the conjoining hallway. "The dining hall is just at the end of the hall and to the left. This is the school's main building. There's just a bunch of offices and stuff and a few of the classes along with the Attunement Placement-"

"Attunement placement?" Elidi asks.

"I think it's kinda silly, too. I knew Earth was my thing when I caused a tiny earthquake throwing a tantrum over dessert when I was five." Griffin laughs.

"Right. Totally..." Elidi nods, not having a clue what he was talking about. As they were passing one of the rooms they heard a small commotion coming from inside.

"Oh, hell!" A voice called out in anger from inside.

"What room is this?" Elidi asks pointing to it.

"That's the Hall of Mirrors! Where you were supposed to come through." Griffin says, as she pushed the door open and stepped inside.

She was met face to face with about a thousand different mirrors all reflecting her own beautiful face at her. As she investigated more she found a very pretty cocoa skinned girl frantically trying to pull her foot out of a full body mirror rested on the ground.

"Oh thank goodness! Some assistance, s'il vous plait?" She says, looking over at them.

"L'aide est en route." Elidi smiles cheekily, as they rush over to her and tug her by her arms until her foot came free.

The girl tumbled onto Elidi and blew her bangs out of her face beaming down at her. "Oops. Shreya Mistry, in your arms and at your service. Good catch, by the way!"

"Thanks. How long were you stuck in there?" Elidi asks, as she got off of her, and began to adjust her appearance.

"Not long, thank goodness. Though, this definitely isn't the first time this has happened. I hate these silly mirrors!" Shreya sighs, rolling her eyes at herself. "But at least I made it! I was about five minutes away from starting my freshman year a month late."

"Why a month?" Elidi asks confused.

"That's when the first Visitors' Day is. When the wards reopen of course." Shreya says like it was obvious. "Guess Penderghast is stuck with me now!"

"Well, welcome. I'm Griffin, this is Elidi. She's s freshman too. I was just showing her to the dining hall if you want to come with." He offers with a smile.

"No need, I know just where it is. I'm a legacy student." Shreya says as she strutted her way out of the Hall.