[attr="class","textieno"]The man didn't reply to Charlotte. Instead, he merely stared at her with a perplexed expression. It made her anxious, causing her to fidget with the black tie on her uniform and avert her gaze. Had she said something wrong? Maybe she wasn't supposed to be here...? Oh, she really hoped she didn't upset him!

"I'm sorry. I'm having trouble hearing you, what is it you are looking for?"

Charlotte's gaze instantly met his again. Realizing her overreaction, she smiled meekly at him and moved closer to the teacher. "O-Oh, I'm sorry!" She tried to raise her voice, adding more volume to it. "I said I was new here to Panacea, and I-I was told to come here to retrieve my books for class?" She asked, her voice dipping to its usual tone at the end. It felt odd to her to speak so loudly. It made her turtle in slightly with each word she felt was too noisy for her.

She didn't like shouting or yelling. Each always frightened her and caused her anxiety to spike uncontrollably. It was why her voice was always so soft and light, easily taken away by something much louder than her.
Charlotte moved up the counter and rummaged into her pocket, searching for her student ID. They were small pockets, with barely enough room to fit her fingers into, but they managed to fit a perfectly rectangle card into it!

She slid the card out of her pocket and glided it against the smooth surface of the counter towards the librarian. "I'm Ch-Charlotte. This is my student ID, if you need it?"

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[attr="class","tagsieno"]Willow Duval

[attr="class","textieno"]"Ah, A new student, well, welcome to Panacea Academy, Charlotte."

Charlotte smiled lightly, turning her head down to stare at her hands that rested on the counter of the librarian's desk; fidgeting with her fingers as a soothing notion. His voice reminded her of her grandmother's. It was so soft and gentle, a relaxing tone she could always feel comfort in. The tension in her posture loosened as the man turned to his computer and began typing.

Curious, Charlotte shifted herself to have a better view of the device. In a world filled with advancing technology, Charlotte never grew up on it. She lived in a rundown home, with devices that barely worked. She couldn't afford the demanding cost of a cellphone or computer. So seeing one now, up close and personal, was intriguing to Charlotte.

There was so much going on! There were icons, apps and words all over the screen, Charlotte couldn't keep track of the cursor that zipped around. She felt confused trying to understand what was happening, so she chose to look away as the librarian got up from his seat and moved towards the little glass room.

As Charlotte stood at the counter, patiently waiting for the stranger to return, a wolf appeared from beneath the same counter. At first, Charlotte removed herself from the counter, taking a slow step away from the dog. It wasn't until she saw the service vest strapped onto its body did she realized what he was. Just a really big pupper!

Charlotte smiled brightly, moving closer to the service animal and extending her hand towards him. "Hello there!" She greeted happily to the good boy, but he seemed very indifferent to Charlotte. She didn't mind that, she merely enjoyed being able to witness such a beautiful animal. Charlotte loves animals, of all shapes and sizes, of almost every species. There isn't one she wouldn't love. Well, maybe a few creepy crawlies. But that was only because they creeped her out!

As the wolf-dog sauntered away from Charlotte, she just smiled at him, returning her once-extended hand to her side. She watched as he made his way to his owner and alerted him with the lights. Charlotte's brows pinched in confusion. What a strange way to get attention. She thought, tilting her head to the side as the lights continued to turn on and off in the small glass room before the librarian laughed.

"I know, I saw her, thank you."

She barely caught the words that he spoke from the other room, but given the library being so quiet, the sound of the librarian's voice travelled to Charlotte. She watched as the service dog retreated to his post next to the door, sat and stared at Charlotte. She chuckled softly and smiled to herself. Though she couldn't help but wonder why he had to warn his owner in such a manner that Charlotte was here.

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[attr="class","tagsieno"]Willow Duval

[attr="class","textieno"]Charlotte watched the pupper walk towards her with a bag held tightly within his jaws. She beamed at him, finding him to be the most adorable doggy ever! She lowered herself to the ground and reached out towards the big beast, expecting him to hand her the bag, but the wolf wasn't walking towards Charlotte. Instead, he pathed behind the counter, placing the bag atop it before returning it to his owner.

Charlotte smiled awkwardly, feeling silly for believing he was bringing the tote to her. She stood again, gently rubbing her arm in an anxious motion when the librarian returned! She glanced in his direction as she noticed him in the corner of her eyes, and watched him. He held a small pencil bag and a few notebooks. Those all couldn't be for her, right? She blinked, amazed by the generosity.

"So, these are your books and this here is some starter supplies for you. If you need anymore, just return here and I'll see what I have in the back for you. You're workbooks will also be in the tote that you will need for your classes."

"Th-Thank you!" Charlotte started, taking the items from the librarian. "I-I didn't realize I would be receiving so many items from you. Thank you so much." She beamed at the librarian, giving him her best smile. "Do you have any questions or concerns over your classes?" "Y-Yes! I don't believe I ever caught your name?" She asked the librarian, wishing to know the gentle man before her and his lovely companion. "Or his name?" she added, glancing over at the large wolf hybrid.

"A-And.." Charlotte started, her cheek flushing as she averted her gaze. "I-I have a map, but I don't know where I need to go most of the time. Could you point my classes out to me?" At first, her voice was meek, but her eyes returned to the librarian remembering him having difficulty hearing her before. She raised her voice in an attempt to sound not only louder but more confident.

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[attr="class","tagsieno"]Willow Duval

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"Oh! Of course, I'm Mr. Duval, the librarian, and this here is Dunkin'. He's my service animal that helps me out." Charlotte nodded to the librarian. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Duval," Charlotte said before turning her attention to Dunkin'. "And you as well, Dunkin'." "You'll see him a lot in the library. Usually, he's with me or he's doing some task to assist me when I don't need him close by.""I don't mean to be rude, but..." Charlotte fidgeted with the tote's handles, twisting and turning them around her fingers. "But why do you need a service animal, Mr. Duval?" Her bright eyes glanced up from her fidgeting and gave Mr. Duval a curious expression. She wondered why Dunkin was so intelligent. Perhaps it was because he was a service animal l. Oh, how she felt bad that she was interrupting his work. No wonder Dunkin paid her no mind.

As she waited for his reply, she handed him the map that Aryn Ellery had given her. The thought made Charlotte smile softly. Charlotte felt happy she found someone she could call a friend so soon in her academy life. She watched as Dunkin pawed over Mr. Duval's pen, causing her to chuckle softly as the librarian mapped out her classes for her.
She eyed the areas he circled and nodded her head, trying to memorize the floor plan of the school. Gosh, why was this academy so large!

"If you want to pet him, you may. I just ask you not to distract him on a normal basis. But, I think he enjoys the attention from students." Charlotte smiled and acknowledged Mr. Duval's request, "Of course, I-I'll try not to disturb him when he's busy."

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[attr="class","tagsieno"]Willow Duval

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Charlotte looked over the map, seeing the circles and names of the locations Mr. Duval had drawn for her. On the map, it looked so easy! She could see from her dorm room to her first class, where she would need to go, but... Charlotte's brows pinched together; she knew once she stepped out of this library, the halls and structure of the school appeared much differently to her from how the map appeared.

"Thank you," Charlotte said, taking hold of Aryn's map and pocketing it once more. "I'm deaf." That wasn't what Charlotte was expecting... However, it did make sense the more she thought about it. "Although I wear hearing aids, they don't always work. Dunkin' here alerts me to sounds and alarms, or if someone is needing me. Which, is why he was getting my attention in the other room. He didn't believe I had heard or seen you. He was letting me know someone was at the desk." Charlotte listened to Mr. Duval carefully and nodded her head in acknowledgement. "That explains it!" She started, a great big gleeful smile present on her pale face. "I was wondering how Dunkin was so smart! I understand now. But, Mr. Duval," Charlotte began her fidgeting again, the question making her uncomfortable. "Were you born deaf?" Her voice was soft and quiet, forgetting already that previously he couldn't hear her.

She didn't feel fully comfortable asking the personal question, but Charlotte was curious. She wanted to know more because if she could understand, maybe she could help Mr. Duval in the library like Dunkin does for him in his everyday life.

She looked up from her fidgeting and realized her error, "Oop!" Charlotte expressed before repeating herself once more to Mr. Duval but in a much louder voice.

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[attr="class","tagsieno"]Willow Duval