Deja Vu

Chapter 15: Letters, Letters, and So Many More Letters

Getting back to Purgatory Hall, you set to doing your homework pretty quickly. The guys at Purgatory Hall haven't ever really seen you in your at-home life, so to see how studious you are is a fun new side of you that they now get to know. Luke comes along to work with you, Solomon letting you both borrow his notes because Luke's struggling with his note-taking in the classes you share, and your notes from previous classes aren't here. Simeon reads over your work and delightedly lets you know that you've done a great job.

Getting that out of the way, you then set to work organizing your letters from the NRC. You'd gotten an entire bag-full from Barbatos, who claimed that he checked them for dangerous substances and curses and was delighted that there were none.

The idea that anyone from NRC would try to poison and/or curse you is laughable, but you thanked him nonetheless.

You get to sorting them while sitting in the Purgatory Hall common area while everyone's lounging in the same space. Luke's amazed to see how popular you are, as there's more than a few gifts amidst the collection. Simeon is amused to see you muttering to yourself as you sort.

"Diasomnia.. Heartslabyul.. Pomefiore.. Diasomnia.. Savanaclaw.. Heartslabyul.. Ooh, Ignihyde. Heartslabyul.. Octavinelle.."

"What are those words you're mumbling?"

"Oh, they're the dorms of my school. I sort the letters by dorm because it's easier to keep track of everyone that way."

"Ooh, so if we sent you letters while you were in the Human Realm, you'd mutter 'Purgatory Hall'?" Simeon grins.

"Maybe. But there's only... like.. twelve people I really know from Devildom? There's definitely over 25 people I know from NRC. Much harder to sort through."

Luke seems excited that you're going to open up so many letters. Solomon muses "It must be hard to write so many letters in return."

"Yeah, but I think they were gonna cause an international... Interdimensional? Incident if I didn't." You chuckle thinking back on your first wave of letters. Everyone had basically panicked at your disappearance. It felt nice that they cared.

"Really? So even now, you're putting in work to keep peace?" Solomon shows visible concern. You'd gotten out of the House of Lamentation, but he still hadn't gotten a grip on your situation with Night Raven College.

"Ehh... These are for me. It's nice to have something familiar in this place. Y'know?" Simeon understands completely. While his letters to Michael are a job, they're also a pleasure.

You begin to open your letters, reading them quietly to yourself. Luke wants to know what they say, so you begin to make a reading of it. Simeon suggests that he leave you alone, but you motion that it's fine. You let Luke come up beside you on the couch, and you start going through your letters with him. Solomon and Simeon listen nearby, each starting to do their own thing as the common area becomes a fun little lull of afternoon activity.

You'd sent Riddle a letter detailing everything going on with the program. That there were demons who wanted to eat you, so that made adjusting to your studies a little rough. You explained though that even though this place was dangerous, you actually were fascinated by the studies. The magic studied here is old, and often runs deeper through existence than the studies at Night Raven College. You sent him pictures of your dorm, and of your books and of your notes.

He expresses in his letter that it must be stressful being tormented so constantly. He's only tormented by a single individual on campus, and that takes a significant amount of his energy to deal with whenever it happens. He knows that it's not the same, since your life is being threatened, but he's glad at the very least that it sounds like the people in charge have made certain that you're safe. He also expresses that by the looks of your notes and study subjects, that you're getting the chance of a lifetime. The magic you get to study is often kept out of reach to the hands of humans, unless they sell their souls to get it. He asks that you stay safe, and send more pictures of yourself having a bit of fun, as he's learned that it's important for people to have fun. As far as he's concerned, this is still an official program, so while you're in a dangerous place, the fact that you can talk about your studies just goes to show him that you're doing okay.