With a wave bye to Lawrence, she turned on her heel and opened up the door into Dean Atir’s office. The first thing she had walked into was a small waiting room, the receptionist at the humble desk at the room’s center was peering down through her half moon glasses at various papers. She had feathers upon her crown intermingled with her raven black hair. Her skin was a musty shade of gray and more feathers jutted out from beneath her arms that rested on the desk as she wrote  whatever important notes in the margins of her work. She was a harpy, and when she raised her face to look at the human who had stepped foot into the room, Lori could see she was beautiful. Matter of fact, she was a bit surprised to see another woman in the building. She had thought she was the only one. But when the receptionist addressed her, “Ah, Miss Hathway. The Dean is expecting you. He figured you’d drop in after the first class of the day.” Her voice held a whisper to it, like the light wind of a soft breeze. It was nice. “You can head right on in.”<br/><br/>With a nod of thanks, Lori made her way passed the receptionist towards a door just behind her. This door was more ornate, similarly to the front entrance. Opening the door the first sight she was greeted with was a huge study. Books adorning the walls that reached up to the ceiling, which was a full story higher than the room before. A couple of statues decorated the room, one of an angel and another of a devil, but both had the same face, set on either side of the sizable desk at which Dean Atir sat. The dean was staring at the door with a smile, as if he knew exactly when she was going to arrive. It was a bit off putting, but this meeting needed to happen.<br/><br/>“Hi Dean Atir. You were expecting me? I hadn’t made an appointment.” Lori asked a bit nervously.<br/><br/>“I assumed you would want to talk about your first class and the experience you had. It’s not every day a human gets to interact with those like us, monsters if it makes things simple, in our truest forms and without the aid of enchantments or substances.”<br/><br/>That last bit made Lori’s eyebrows furrow in confusion. “Uhm, enchantments and substances, sir?”<br/><br/>He smirked, the small shift twitching his wiry beard in kind, “we are not wholly cut off from your realm of origins, Lori. You’ll learn more about it in your time here. Just understand that we do have laws and rules that require our kind to act and behave in a certain way when interacting with humans, hence why the Human Sexual Education courses in which you so generously volunteered to help.”<br/><br/>“Uhm, well, those rules and laws aside, that’s actually what I wanted to speak to you about. I don’t think I can volunteer in these classes.”<br/><br/>“No? Are you sure? It’s only been one class. Couldn’t you give it a bit more of a chance?”<br/><br/>“I mean, I understand where you’re coming from, I do, but, I just don’t think I’m the right fit for the job...is all.”<br/><br/>Dean Atir’s eyes bore into Lori’s, as if looking straight through her, seeing something she couldn’t. It felt invasive, like her most inner workings was displayed for his perusal. “I can guarantee that you are indeed a very perfect fit for the job.” The way he spoke with such surety, even Lori had difficulties denying his words, but she still remained unsure. “You won’t see it now, but it’ll come in due time. The lower level HSE courses are rather boring, mostly informational. It’s in the 300 and 400 level courses that you’ll find things to be a bit more up your alley.” He furrowed his brows as his gaze seemed to zero in further on her, “I’ll tell you what. Why don’t we make a deal?”<br/><br/>“A...a deal, sir?”<br/><br/>“I’ll give you the first week free of your work-study responsibilities. You can attend your regular classes on Thursday as a regular student, then by Friday morning, just before you would be aiding HSE 301, you can come back here and let me know if you still want to work. Because if you don’t, you won’t be able to study here any more. We’ll have to erase your memory of your time here and send you back home. However, if you choose to continue your volunteer work, you can stay and continue your education, and I’ll be happy to provide whatever services you may need to make your stay as comfortable as possible. How does that sound?”<br/><br/>Lori’s eyes raised as she thought for a moment. She was certainly in a better mental space than she was when the morning first started, but there was still this nagging feeling that something wasn’t quite right. Nevertheless, the dean seemed to be sticking out his neck for her here with this deal. She pressed her lips together and sighed through her nose. “Okay.” She said simply. It was, after all, just one class she’d experienced so far, hardly something representative of the university as a whole.<br/><br/>“Excellent! I’ll let the professors know for the rest of today, tomorrow and Wednesday that you will not be able to come to class. Seems Barbara will be coming out of retirement temporarily.” Lori guessed the doll is very well-known, it seemed. “I’ll see you bright and early Friday morning. I look forward to hearing your answer.” He extended a hand towards Lori and she accepted it graciously.<br/><br/>But before he let go of his grip on her, he continued, “oh, and before I forget. Why don’t you take this with you?” He grabbed a book that had been sitting on the edge of his desk and handed it to her. As she held it with her free hand, he waved his over it, as if gesturing towards the title, but at the same moment she felt her hand in his heat up slightly. “Don’t Panic.” This was the book Hugh was telling her about earlier. She looked up at his face to thank him and she could swear his eyes were a strange shade of red, but the hue disappeared almost as quickly as she had caught it. “This book should help put your mind at ease.”<br/><br/>Clearing her throat, she muttered her gratitude and took the book, as well as her hand back, and said her goodbyes before leaving the room. She passed the harpy receptionist without a second glance at her and beelined through the hallway, passing various individuals of the student body but trying not to pay them any mind. She wanted only to just get to her room and think about everything that had just transpired, but, most importantly, read this book that now two people have recommended to her.<br/><br/>If anybody were to talk to  her, they would have to step right in front of her path and stop her, addressing her directly, otherwise she would open the door to her dorm and greet whatever face was in there. (<a class="username" data-user-id="2079" data-username="@Sanity43217" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" href="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/members/2079/">@Sanity43217</a>,<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="4105" data-username="@Allen" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" href="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/members/4105/">@Allen</a>, or whoever else who wishes to jump in)