Pandemoniun (Pt. 1)

Willow went next to locus
"No they didn't! But the letter said I can challenge"

"Alright. Everything seems to be in order. From now on, you'll receive a little bit extra at the end of each month."

"Did they write why?"

"how come?" "They said I should take that letter like I was judged unjust"

"Families with children recieve a bonus automatically; families with adopted children have to pass an inspection first."

"I figured, but did they write why you were denied? Like, not enough points or something."

"that makes sense" "not really. It just said I should feel that it was unjust. And challenge it. And I will!! Let's go!"

"Good day." And with that, Orchid and her thugs left their house.

"That was... strangely unhostile," Autumn quipped. "Not what I was expecting, at all."

Legion wanted to talk to her about what happened, but given the circumstances, it would have to wait.

With a nod, he opened a portal to Arcturus.

"it was just an inspection" viola jumped through the portal

"Yeah, but compared to what she told us previously and how she acted..."

Legion went after her. Again, the guards gave her an odd look, but once Legion got there, they let both of them pass.

"but they didn't take anything nor ask anything strange" "where do I need to go?"

"Call me crazy, but I found it a bit unsettling."

"When are we getting a lock?" Lotus asked.

"The School Rating Committee. Basically, a collection of people that decide who does or doesn't get into a school based on a arbitraty rating scale." Legion then led her there; it wasn't very far from the building belonging to the Arcturian High Council. If challenging the committee failed, they could ask them for help, as the council had greater power.

"a lock? " "How do I challenge them? Do I just start blasting spells?" She said walking in.

"For the door."

"Some planks probably as well," Autumn suggested. "You'll probably want your own room and, well, that's as much as we can do." A bold statement given how small the house and the bedroom was, but if the two of them wanted to get intimate...

"You take the letter, wait until it's your turn to speak to them, present it and demand a reconsideration."

"yeah we could buy a lock at a store." "Alright. Do I go in a line?"

"so... was the planks thing a bad idea?"

"Yep." There was a line, alright. A long one, at that.

Apparently, a lot of people didn't get accepted into the schools they wanted, including people of roughly the same skill level as her, but also self-taught sorcerers.

"no it was good. When we get paid and all other needs are paid we will get the lock and the planks" "I can wait"

"I think I'm just gonna spend the rest of the day in bed; hopefully not get up late to work."

After two hours, she finally got her turn.

It was a very large room, but the area available to challengers was just a small podium, with the entire committee composed of twenty members sitting above her.

They gazed at her, waiting for her to say something first.

"well I'll sleep with you. I don't want to get late for work too." "Hello everyone in the committee. I'm here to talk and try to give you some reasons for you all to reconsider your denial of me to the school. Though I'm sure you've already heard of many others so I'll just get to the point. May I know first what exactly was the reason I got denied? "

"And I'll snuggle between you two!" Autumn could only laugh awkwardly when Lotus said that.

"Schools like the one that teaches frost magic pick candidates with the highest potential for growth, both personal and intellectual. Given that all information we had of you was from a now-deemed-biased professor, your potential is well below what the school considers worthwhile."

"wouldn't that be too cramped?" "Really now? Biased professor? But I only met the person the other day. We barely know each other. Is it based to ask someone a question on how to apply to a school? "

"I'm small."

"He tried to hide the fact that you were a wendigo, which gave you an even lower rating than if he had simply told us the truth."

"and the two of us are big" "so basically im getting a lower rating Because of something someone else did that I had no idea of? That's hardly fair. Plus my rating would of been low anyway because of my species? That's racist. "

Lotus just jumped on the bed, peeked her head out from the sheets and stuck out her tongue.

"You're the only ever applicant from your race; we have no one to compare you to. Rather than a shot in the dark, we chose to give you the lowest potential score and have it change dynamicly based on your performance. Please, take that into account before levelling false accussations."

Willow sighed. "Fine. But if you get uncomfortable that's not my fault" "so basically you're not going to give me a chance? Even though I'm more lenient to frost magic than normal? How can I prove to you all I have a good potential?"

Autumn laid on the bed careful enough not to squash Lotus. Despite what he though inicially, it did kinda look like she could fit in the bed alongside them.

"You've already made the first step by coming here and we are well-aware of your connection to ice and frost. We will have another vote; if at least eleven of us approves, you'll be accepted."

Truth be told, they were already impressed by her intelligence and rationale. Magical creatures that spoke were rare and even then, most of the time, it did not make them any more intelligent than a wild animal.

Willow looked at autumn. "Guess we are sharing the bed.." "Thank you for making another vote on this. I truly appreciate it."