Professor Dragul could only bang his head on his desk when the last student add his attempt, and failed gloriously. “Where did I go wrong?” Lori stood there, motionless and dazed, while the professor monologued his disbelief and depression. “All of you. Every single one of you were my pupil last year in 201. How could I have passed you through with such abysmal performances! Some of you did well, but mostly by sheer dumb luck. The attempts overall on average was just dreadful!” By this point the vampire stood from his seat and overdramatically chastised their poor results and his apparently equally poor teaching standards as he paced the floor in front of them. “I understand we were at a disadvantage last year what with our model having no ability to reject or deny advances, but this...this...it could not have been THIS bad.” He let out a groan, his pacing stopped as his head hung in defeat. Without even looking at the class he unenthusiastically waved his hand once towards the door, his other hand pinching the bridge of his nose, “just...just....ugh, just go. Class dismissed. I’ll figure something out for a lesson for next week, and hopefully we’ll be able to catch up by midterms.”<br/><br/>With the class dismissed, the professor turned to Lori with another defeated sigh and snapped her back to reality. Lori could only shake her head and blink a few times as she watched the students pack up and leave. Didn’t they just get there? Why was everybody leaving already? When her focus switched to the professor, all she got was an earful from him, “and you Miss Hathway are coming with me to the Dean’s office. We’re going to discuss his methods for choosing such a pathetic individual to act as the average human girl for our classes. Drinking before class is forbidden for all, students, faculty, and models alike!” When he said models, his face was inches from hers, a less than happy expression on his face. He then grabbed her upper arm, gripping tightly, and pulling her away after the rest of the students had vacated, steering her towards the dean’s office before she could even say a word in edgewise. She swore she didn’t drink anything before class. She was sure she even missed breakfast. But with the way she stumbled across the building towards Dean Satiago’s office, she began to question it herself, especially so with her apparent blackout that lasted the entirety of the class that day.<br/><br/>—————————————————————-<br/><br/>The day wore on, the sun starting to set, and Lori was still in the Dean’s office. Professor Dragul had already left, having said his piece and flourished out of the room, but Lori remained. Apparently, as she had been informed, the book she had been given by the dean was enchanted. Of course, Lori didn’t believe such a thing at first. But as they ate, the dean treating her to his own private stock of food since he kept her, and conversed, it sounded more and more like truth, especially as the spell seemed to wear off the longer she was away from the book. She knew she felt something strange when reading it, but the progression was so subtle she hadn’t noticed what it was and that it was the fault of the book.<br/><br/>“It was just to help you ease into things.” The Dean explained, wiping his hands on a cloth napkin before setting it aside. “I hadn’t expected you to binge the entire thing in a single night.” A chuckle sounded from deep in his throat as he smiled sincerely at her. “I feared that you might run away or get into trouble should I let things play out as it was. So I simply helped you to lower your inhibitions a little.”<br/><br/>Lori’s eyebrows knitted together at the thought of being brainwashed. Suspicion ran wild in her eyes as she stared at the dean. “So, you used a mind trick on me to say yes to anybody who asked something from me? Was I under its influence when I agreed to stay?”<br/><br/>The dean raised his hand, trying to calm her apparent fears of being taken advantage of. “Technically, yes, but, it was not without your deeper inherent desire to stay.” He clasped his hands together in front of him on his desk and matched her stare, but with a softness to it, and a sincerity. “This enchantment lowers your inhibitions, it doesn’t change them. You are still you, Lori, through it all. Even while under its influence you still have the power to say ‘no’ to anything you don’t feel comfortable with. All this does is allow you to say ‘yes’ to the things you do wish to partake in without fear. Much like being under the influence of alcohol, as our theatrical Professor Dragul had assumed of you.”<br/><br/>Lori couldn’t help but laugh at that remark about the professor. He was a bit over the top in his demeanor. She wondered if he also taught a drama course here. Maybe she might consider taking it next semester if for no other reason than to just see him be extra the entirety of the class.<br/><br/>Nevertheless, with the day dragging on, feeling more comfortable with her situation, and having a full happy belly, she figured it was time to head to the last course of the day. HSE 401: Advance Activities for the Intense. Apparently this was a course for the more...passionate monsters, who had difficulties controlling themselves when the Thirst took them over. Thankfully, this course would be a controlled environment, with a calm-cool headed professor overseeing the activities, and she was there simply to help them figure out various methods to quench their Thirst without harming their partner. She’d be fine. Right?<br/><br/>———————————-<br/><br/>Lori arrived at the classroom, a room situated in the basement floor, having had to pass many dark hallways to reach it, well before the teacher had made his appearance. She didn’t know what to make of the classroom’s location, what with it being so far secluded from the rest of the more populated rooms and dorms. When she entered, she realized exactly why that was. Hanging from a side wall were various devices including, but not limited to: chains, whips, floggers, feathers, clamps, various tools, and many more.<br/><br/>She stood there in the doorway frozen for a moment, her hand covering her mouth as her eyes widened like a deer in headlights. She had read about it, but somehow her brain let her to believe it wasn’t correct. This was a literal dungeon. As her eyes scanned the opposite wall of all its materials, they eventually led to the front of the room where a thick sturdy wooden chair sat right in the middle. Of course, she knew that had to be her seat.<br/><br/>With a few tentative steps, she walked in and took her seat. She didn’t want to look at the wall anymore, so instead, she moved her eyes to what was directly in front of her. The students of HSE 401. That didn’t help ease her fear a whole lot, still not wholly used to the monsters that have become her peers. She found herself internally wishing she had taken her book with her now that she knew what it does. Too late now though.<br/><br/>As her eyes scanned the room, she recognized two faces. Her heart lightened up a bit as she waved to Lawrence and Hugh. That was a relief. She knew she’d be safe as long as her friends were here. With a new relaxed smile on her face, she let her eyes wander some more, observing the rest of everybody that was there while they all waited for the professor to arrive. She noticed plenty of them doodling in their notebooks, talking to each other in whispered gossips, but she did notice one who seemed to be staring right at her. She didn’t know what to make of it, so she just gave him a small smile of acknowledgement before looking away again, returning to patiently waiting for the class to start.<br/><br/><a class="username" data-user-id="3507" data-username="@Hekazu" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" href="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/members/3507/">@Hekazu</a><a class="username" data-user-id="3896" data-username="@Midnight's glow" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" href="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/members/3896/">@Midnight's glow</a>