So, books in bag and slung over his back, Seph headed over to the University.
It was only a sector away from The Libra, and he made it there in what he counted was only about a single flicker, though it might have been one and a half, and his brows furrowed with frustration. Not knowing exactly how much time passed was unnerving — he never knew if he was wasting any of it — he had gotten used to sleeping in the perpetual glow of the wires, and things had even stopped having a tinge of the wires' rosey-orangey color now — he simply didn't see it. But he still didn't have a handle on the time, and it was unnerving. He never knew if he was wasting any of it, and always felt like he was missing or forgetting something. It was like night all the time.
The campus was open and huge, sprawling, the majority of Agatava grade. There were no gates, only misshapen statues that served as guardians of sorts; their multi-eyed gazes occasionally glittered and with them came the glitter too of almost-empty air. Seph hesitated, seeing an ademic security wall; but it was of faint color, and after studying it slightly he saw that the marquees were only simple, vague wards against things like murderous intent. He walked through without event.
He searched for a map, or at least an information office, and after wandering for another flicker (Maybe? Ugh) he found only buildings held only classrooms, or else fancy sculptures and scientific donations and art. After he left a building named Prass Hall he heard a clop, clop noise and looked over in instant recognition. Was that —?
There were three ungu plodding toward him, chatting together. They were all quite tall; two of them had horns whose size rivaled that of their skulls, tapered into long spirals, and the last was more of Boula's size and build. They were all colored white. The hair on their heads was so short that it didn't look like they had any at all, and Seph stared for a moment, intrigued at how their horns protruded directly from the skull. Somehow he'd thought ungu horns would be planted against the head like the antlers of deer, but now he realized that those horns were actually part of an ungu's skull.
"Excuse me," he called to them, and they looked up and eyed him in much the same way that he imagined he had eyed them earlier — curious, discerning. He saw them blink with the realization that he was a skyling. "I am lost. Could you help me?"
"What are you searching for?" said one of the male ungu.
"Well —" Seph hesitated. "Well, I'm searching for someone in particular, an ungu girl, but if you could point me to a place where I could get general information, or send out a commit..."
"An ungu girl," said the ungu girl of this group with interest. "There aren't many ungu here. Who is it?"
"Her name — her selfname," Seph corrected himself, "is Boula. I believe her full —"
"Oh," said the girl. "Her."
"Do we know her?" said one of the male students with confusion, and she nodded. "Is it one of the ugly ones?"
"The one in our class," she explained, and Seph bristled slightly but it wasn't noticeable. The girl turned back to him.
"We have a class with her," she explained, "which only just got out. If you head to Wungsen Building that way, you'll probably still be able to catch her."
"Thanks," he said noncommittally, and left.
The campus was open and huge, sprawling, the majority of Agatava grade. There were no gates, only misshapen statues that served as guardians of sorts; their multi-eyed gazes occasionally glittered and with them came the glitter too of almost-empty air. Seph hesitated, seeing an ademic security wall; but it was of faint color, and after studying it slightly he saw that the marquees were only simple, vague wards against things like murderous intent. He walked through without event.
He searched for a map, or at least an information office, and after wandering for another flicker (Maybe? Ugh) he found only buildings held only classrooms, or else fancy sculptures and scientific donations and art. After he left a building named Prass Hall he heard a clop, clop noise and looked over in instant recognition. Was that —?
There were three ungu plodding toward him, chatting together. They were all quite tall; two of them had horns whose size rivaled that of their skulls, tapered into long spirals, and the last was more of Boula's size and build. They were all colored white. The hair on their heads was so short that it didn't look like they had any at all, and Seph stared for a moment, intrigued at how their horns protruded directly from the skull. Somehow he'd thought ungu horns would be planted against the head like the antlers of deer, but now he realized that those horns were actually part of an ungu's skull.
"Excuse me," he called to them, and they looked up and eyed him in much the same way that he imagined he had eyed them earlier — curious, discerning. He saw them blink with the realization that he was a skyling. "I am lost. Could you help me?"
"What are you searching for?" said one of the male ungu.
"Well —" Seph hesitated. "Well, I'm searching for someone in particular, an ungu girl, but if you could point me to a place where I could get general information, or send out a commit..."
"An ungu girl," said the ungu girl of this group with interest. "There aren't many ungu here. Who is it?"
"Her name — her selfname," Seph corrected himself, "is Boula. I believe her full —"
"Oh," said the girl. "Her."
"Do we know her?" said one of the male students with confusion, and she nodded. "Is it one of the ugly ones?"
"The one in our class," she explained, and Seph bristled slightly but it wasn't noticeable. The girl turned back to him.
"We have a class with her," she explained, "which only just got out. If you head to Wungsen Building that way, you'll probably still be able to catch her."
"Thanks," he said noncommittally, and left.
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