)(Unbreakable)( - A, O

[minus infinity]

¢aη you still see the heart of me?
αιι my agony fades away when you hold me in your embrace

✖ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Nils led Kayle back towards the boys dormitory, where Mr. Agor would probably be waiting for him. He usually liked to know where the boys were, lest they go off and cause trouble. Teenagers could be like that. Mr. Agor had been one not long ago, and he seemed to remember the propensity for trouble quite well. It had been a much longer time since Nils had been one, but he remembered the time as being awkward and filled with egocentrism. He wouldn't say it, but he could tell Kayle was still both. Sixteen was an age where one was not a boy and not quite a man either. Simply an adolescent. When his student asked about taking senior chemistry, Nils thought for a few moments before answering.
"You have good control over your power by now, ja? You did not have mishaps over the break?" As his mentor, of course Nils knew that Kayle seemed to have a good control over his power by now; he just wanted confirmation from Kayle himself before he approved of the motion. He had slowed down his pace as they talked, so they could discuss; it was hard for Nils to multitask like that. By now they had left the forest and were walking adjacent to the storage sheds.
Meanwhile, Robert continued to walk the halls of the boys dormitory. He had caught the twins bringing in some insects for goodness knew what (experiments? Torment?) a few minutes ago, and he had made them put them back outside. It probably meant he would have a spider or a stinkbug on his bed tonight, but he was willing to take that chance. He still didn't know where Kayle was, though, and hoped someone had seen him. He turned when he heard a small voice calling.
"Mr. Agor?"
Robert had told the boys that they could call him by his first name if they wanted to, but some of the newer students still referred to him as Mr. Agor. This was one of the new students calling him, probably asking for help lugging his gigantic suitcase into his assigned room. Leaving behind his thoughts of Kayle and the troublemaking twins for the time being, Robert walked away to go help the child. Unaware, of course, that a spider had escaped from the twin's room and was following him. Distantly, the twins snickered.

Antoine thought for a moment about the offer, but Azariah was the one who ended up making the decision.
"Sure! Um, where is Bambi?" Azariah had seen Bambi a few times before but hadn't really ever spoken to her in depth before, because she was generally closed off towards others. If Timber was able to convince her to play a game, though, that would be awesome. Antoine didn't object to the idea once Azariah had agreed, because it would be a good way to kill time before school started up again tomorrow. Teacher conferences hadn't really been going well, either, so maybe it was best if they just left the school grounds. The teachers had heard Azariah coming from a mile away and because they were busy preparing, they weren't too happy about the intrusion.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ✖

ɗon't tear me down
ƒor all I need
make my heart a better place
give me something I can believe
ɗon't tear ɪᴛ down
What's left ○ƒ me
Make my heart a better place . . .

 

[LizzieTheRose]

"Music is what feelings sound like..."

The seventeen-year old got up and followed the vice principle, staring at the ground. She couldn't take her mind off her mother. 'Why would she just leave me here?' she wondered, 'Am I really crazy or something? Why didn't she talk to me about this first?' The questions kept circling through her head, but no answers were present. Natalia couldn't give a good answer about her mother. Who could? Her mother most likely, but she wasn't here with Alexia right now. It scared her to not know where her mother was. 'Why is this happening to me?' she asked herself, starting to cry silently behind Ms. Devries.
She looked up a little bit and noticed her escort and stopped suddenly and was looking off somewhere, seeming to be troubled for just a split second. The young girl looked the way she was and saw a boy walking about alone. 'What's wrong with him? He looks normal.' she thought, 'Wait, this is potentially a place for crazy people, so he may be scarier than he looks...' Alexia continued to follow Natalia and then asked a bit quietly, "Who was that, Ms. Devries?"

Location: The nurse's office.
Emotion: Worried.
Interaction: Natalia Devries.
Composition: "Fire" by Sleeping With Sirens.
Condition: Does not remember her powers.

 

[Greedy Fat Cat]

ⓑ ⓘ ⓡ ⓓ ⓢXXXⓞ ⓕXXXⓐXXXⓕ ⓔ ⓐ ⓣ ⓗ ⓔ ⓡ

▧ ◎ ◎ ◎ ▨

τ ι м в ε я

❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖

Timber knew Azariah would readily agree to play, and gave a satisfied nod, glancing at Antoine momentarily before looking away. He grinned, though very slight and small. He tossed the ball back and forth, padding the ball between his palms as he motioned to go outside. "Where else would Bambi be other than a place she can be most by herself?" He said, though mostly matter-of-factly, and tinged with his disapproval of Bambi's behavior. Timber liked Bambi too much to approve of her isolation. She was here before he had ever gotten here, but had befriended with ease, their likeness for mutual things attracting the two friends together. He saw a similar relationship in Azariah and Antoine, though he couldn't say that their relationship was quite like theirs. Timber sealed himself off to being Bambi's friend and companion, and while there seemed to be an unspoken spark between the two, the two never acted on their feelings like Azariah did. Nonetheless, Timber and Bambi were not romantically involved, and they probably would never be. Timber didn't mind it, an quite liked to have Bambi around. Compared to herself from back then, she was so much more withdrawn and fleeting than her child self. But he couldn't deny her admirable maturity and sophistication. However, her mellowness had exceeded her exuberance for life. She was constantly in fear of what to say and think, Timber felt sad and a bit of frustration for her. So scared of her power, Timber couldn't help but hate what it had made her become.

Finding that what he just said sounded a little frank, Timber bowed his head a little. "She should be in her room. We'll knock on her window," he said a little more nicely, combing his fingers through his hair.

 

[wolf_with_a_dragon]

Jake couldn't help but notice Natalia out of the corner of his eye. She was one of the very few people that he was always aware of. Few times would she be near by and he not notice. Okay, so maybe that's not entirely true, but he sure liked to think it was. Made him feel better if he believed he always knew when she was watching.

He briefly considered giving her the finger, playing with the thought of how good that would feel. However, he decided it would be best to just keep his head down and not cause trouble. He learned that she is one of the people that will put you through hell if she wanted to. So, he just kept on walking, ignoring her presence completely.

As he continued to walk he noticed another girl following Natalia, about a year older than him, but she seemed to be lost and confused. He figured she was new in the school. He couldn't help but wonder what her gift was. It would probably be something hard to spot for her to be coming in at such a late age. He considered helping her out, offering to be her frie Help her feel more comfortable, you know? He knew that chances are Natalia would have informed the new girl about him, and that nothing she said was good. He kept going to the corner and posted himself there. After the two got some distance, he began to follow. He wanted to meet the girl after Natalia left the girl alone. The last thing he needed was Natalia influencing the new student to ignore him.  

[SilentShadowDreamer]

I never wanted it to be like this.

It was always going to be like this.

We’ll do what we have to.

Kayle eyed his instructor carefully before answering, as the beginning of a hopeful grin touched his face. He knew what the correct answer was, or so he thought, anyway. At least he would have a chance—usually that question was a precursor to a yes. Or a ‘ja,’ as the case might be. “It’s been good,” he said. “Nothing happened over break.” He’d even managed to prevent any outbursts when he’d run into Elsa, who—as Mr. Jensen well knew—was one of the biggest obstacles to Kayle’s magical control.

Fire and ice simply didn’t get along.

As they walked, Kayle caught a glimpse of someone past Mr. Jensen. Frowning, he looked a little closer, then rolled his eyes. Oh. That guy.

He and Jake were not friends, mere acquaintances. The only reason Kayle knew much of him at all was because of the other boy’s obsessive need to complain about the school, how all the teachers were out to get the students, how everything here was evil. Kayle didn’t bother to argue with him, because it was pointless to disagree with someone so obviously paranoid.

Before his teacher could ask what he was looking at, Kayle returned himself to the conversation, saying, “It’s…it’s going really well, yeah. I wouldn’t ask to take it if I thought I’d blow something up.” He offered a crooked grin, well aware of the fact that he’d made that mistake before. Never anything serious enough to warrant going to Ms. Devries about—and Kayle devoutly hoped that he would never have to go in front of the vice-principal for a power-related error—but it had been enough to have him sent to talk to Mr. Phil a few times. That wasn’t too bad. He liked Mr. Phil, who was pretty nice and surprisingly understanding for a teacher.

“So…what do you think?”

~

Natalia shook her head a little, seeming to snap out of her thoughts. Tucking back a few wisps of golden hair that had come loose from her neat bun, she glanced over at Alexia, who had just asked her a question. Her demeanor didn’t change in the slightest as she replied, “Another student like yourself. He has been here a while.”

She didn’t offer further commentary. If she noticed the remains of Alexia’s tears, she didn’t mention them; maybe she was uncomfortable with the idea of calling someone else out on their emotions. It wouldn’t be impossible. This was, after all, Natalia, she who valued reason so highly that emotion never came through to her students.

If Alexia asked further, Natalia might state that that particular boy had had some…trouble settling in at the school. Then again, she might not. It wouldn’t be professional to discuss one student with another, and if there was one word that could describe Natalia, it was professional.

As they walked around the school towards the dormitories, Natalia glanced back and her eyes met Jake’s for a moment. The answer was silent but obvious—she knew he was there, and she knew what he was thinking. Leave the girl alone, her steady look said.

Then she opened the door of the girls’ dormitory with one of her keys and held it open for Alexia. Once the girl passed her, she closed it behind them. “This is the girls’ dormitory. You can get your keys from Victoria. There should be one for the main door and one for your room. Victoria will be available to help you when you need it—this is her room here.”

She knocked. A moment later, a girl with a dark ponytail and a smile as bright as the sun poked her head out. “H—oh, hello, Ms. Devries. Who’s this?”

After Natalia made the necessary introductions, she smiled at Alexia and said, “I’ll leave you in Victoria’s capable hands. Please come to my office tomorrow to get your schedule. If you need me for anything before classes tomorrow, Victoria knows how to get ahold of me.” She walked out of the dorm, hearing the door click closed behind her, and went on her way.

The dead tell me their stories.

Fire shows me its heart.

Winter gives me its soul.

We will not be broken.

 

[wolf_with_a_dragon]

Jake smirked as Natalia gave him a stern look. It seemed she caught on to his devilish plans. He nodded as a sign that he got the message, walked over to a nearby tree, sat down and relaxed. "No problem. I'll just relax here. I have nothing better to do." He said as he scanned the floor for a couple of pebbles.

James smiled a wide grinn as he turned a 360 inside the boys dormitories. He had already gotten lost and couldn't figure out where exactly his dorm was anymore. Today he was wearing a rather colorful outfit. It was a patchwork of different colors and materials. It looked like clothes from a swap meet cot together and that he was wearing their horrible love child. It was his favorite one to wear, no matter how many people looked at him funny. "Well, I have no idea where I'm at or where I'm supposed to go even. Let's try this way and see what happens." He said as he picked a direction at random and walked down the desired hall.  

[minus infinity]

¢aη you still see the heart of me?
αιι my agony fades away when you hold me in your embrace

✖ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Nils thought for a few more moments, taking the time to observe the trees surrounding them. Even without their leaves they stood tall and unwavering, proud. They were slightly scarred from their years of being used as target practice and such, even though Nils always encouraged his students to have respect for nature. After all, where would they be without it? The moments he spent lost in his thinking was the reason why Nils didn't see Kayle's reaction to the nearby Jake, even though he did become aware of his other student. He nodded at Jake before finally redirecting his attention to Kayle. Then he nodded again.

Kayle really seemed to like science and did have a talent for it, he thought; senior chemistry would be a good class for him to take. If he could go an entire semester without any outbursts, he was well on his way to graduating into the "normal" world. The slightly perverse thought was that being around highly flammable materials for an entire semester might prove to be a good test.
He would probably have to agree under a very specific condition, though: that he try to keep his distance from Elsa. Already Nils had found himself needing to tell them to attend their mentoring sessions separately, and at different times so that they didn't run into each other and pick a fight. It seemed they could just never make peace with each other, even though asking such a thing of them would be quite impossible.
Nils had learned that the hard way.
"You may take the class under one condition," Nils began. Staying away from Elsa might be a bit of a difficult task, not only because the two of them were both his students but also because Brookrose was definitely not a populous school and sometimes running into another person was inevitable. Still, Nils felt he was making a good decision trying to keep these two separated. And they weren't in the same grade, either, which hopefully made his stipulation easier.
"You must stay away from Miss Smythesson, because I have found being close to her has triggered your past mishaps." Nils had seen and broken up fights between the two of them in the past, thankfully sustaining only minimal harm to himself in the process. But because they had been fighting, and using the powers they were told not to use, Nils had to be very careful about keeping them separated. Outside of his mentoring, though, he wasn't sure how much power he had over them; he was by no means willing to shadow these two just to make sure they didn't disobey him. If he needed to, he could just ask Victoria or Robert to keep an eye on them.
"This is something you can do, ja?"

Antoine raised an eyebrow at Timber's initial remark, but Azariah only shrugged. She herself could be quite blunt without meaning it, or when she did mean it she could be downright offensive. It was when Timber rephrased his sentence shortly afterward that the girl piped up with, "I think I know which one her room is... not much to do during break except roam around ya know."
She smiled, as though proud of herself. Antoine didn't respond to the statement except to hope that she didn't bother or try to barge in on anyone; sometimes she did that when she was bored or needed to create drama. If there was ever a high school drama queen, it would definitely be Azariah. Unfortunately, when it came to that there really wasn't much he could do. Even as her close friend.
"This way," Azariah said then, turning around and heading towards the girls' dormitory. The boys knew by now where the dorms were, but apparently Azariah was taking it upon herself to be their tour guide.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ✖

ɗon't tear me down
ƒor all I need
make my heart a better place
give me something I can believe
ɗon't tear ɪᴛ down
What's left ○ƒ me
Make my heart a better place . . .

 

[Greedy Fat Cat]

ⓑ ⓘ ⓡ ⓓ ⓢXXXⓞ ⓕXXXⓐXXXⓕ ⓔ ⓐ ⓣ ⓗ ⓔ ⓡ

▧ ◎ ◎ ◎ ▨

τ ι м в ε я

❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖

Timber nodded to Azariah, tucking the ball under his arm. "I think I remember where her room is, too," he murmured, though it was quiet and mostly to himself. He followed Azariah nonetheless, not minding her initiative. Azariah was a very eye-catching girl. Timber could say she was the most unique girl he knew, despite being at Brookrose for five years of his life. He rarely met new people, and when he did, they did not even compare to the intensity that Azariah brought. He often wondered where her sense of appearance and presence began, and why. His curiosity for it was nothing more than a curiosity though, and frankly, Ren didn't think he wanted to hear the why and how of Azariah's backstory.

He began to lose himself to his thoughts, his eyes wandering as he followed Azariah without hesitation.

 

[LizzieTheRose]

"Music is what feelings sound like..."

Alexia looked back at the boy one last time before entering the building. 'I hope it's not from something too bad...' she thought. She followed closely behind the vice principle and half hid behind her when they came to the door. The teenager didn't much like meeting new people.

After the introductions and Natalia's departure, Alexia kind of looked around the hall awkwardly. "So... I'm staying here? Are the rooms shared?" she asked, trying to make conversation. Though she was a bit concerned about housing arrangements; she didn't really like the idea of sharing a room.

Location: The girl's dormitory.
Emotion: Awkward.
Interaction: Natalia Devries.
Composition: None. [I'm just gonna fill this when she's listening to music, not just random songs that I'm trying to make fit.]
Condition: Does not remember her powers.

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

I never wanted it to be like this.

It was always going to be like this.

We’ll do what we have to.

Victoria’s smile didn’t lose even a hint of its brightness—she was more than used to students who wanted or needed a bit of time before settling down. It was rarer that Ms. Devries herself delivered a student to the dorms, so Victoria assumed this girl would need extra help and time. “Nope!” she chirped, stepping out of her own room and leaving the door carelessly open behind her. “Everyone has their own space. People seem to do better here if they have rooms of their own. I mean, it’s way easier to study if you don’t have to share desks!”

Plucking the key from Alexia’s hands, she read the number off it. “253. Okay, so that’s downstairs, down the hall and around—you’ll be in a corner room. Who’s your neighbour, hang on, let me think…oh, of course, Bambi. She’s kind of shy but she’s nice, I’m sure you’ll get along fine with her!”

She bounced off down the hallway like a particularly active Slinky, chatting the whole way. “No need to worry, the dorms are a good place to be. It’s five floors, okay, you’ll be on the second one. It’s not really divided by age or anything, so there’ll be people your age anywhere in the building, so don’t limit yourself to your floor! I’m always here if you have any questions, too.”

At last she stopped at the end of the second-floor hallway, still beaming. “So here we are!” Since she still had the key, she opened the door on a small but neat and well-kept room. “Did you want any help getting settled in at all?”

~

“Yeah. Yes.” He wasn’t normally the taciturn type, but when it came to something that he wanted the way he wanted this, he lost all his words. It was so rare for him to actually want anything—in Brookrose, you didn’t worry about getting what was necessary for survival. Nothing else ever seemed to happen, at least not to the kids without much family contact, and Kayle had gradually lost his taste for wanting. All that was left was drive. He’d get what he needed, sooner or later. He had to.

Kayle’s answer came so quickly that it was almost insulting. “Sure, no problem.” Avoid Elsa in order to take the class? So to do what he wanted to do, he had to avoid his least favourite person. That would probably be the easiest request he’d ever agreed to. He couldn’t help the slight, cocky grin that crossed his face. “I mean, it’s not my fault she can’t stay away from me.”

Typical teenage-boy patter, and Nils would know that as well as anyone.

As they approached the dorm, Kayle did his best not to drag his feet. He didn’t want to go back in yet, not really. But it wasn’t as though he had much of a choice, and he didn’t have anything else to ask Mr. Jensen about in order to slow his teacher down; even after years of being taught by this man, he didn’t know his mentor very well, and they had little in common.

He paused for a moment and looked behind them as he felt a brief chill, almost as though an icy breeze had touched him, but he didn’t see anything. With a slight shake of his head, he turned back towards the dorm.

~

Natalia was back in her office, where she’d gone directly after leaving the new girl in Victoria’s hands. Usually she might have given a few more minutes of her time to this particular problem, but she had other meetings that she needed to be at, and this was one of them.

“And that is our graduate list for the year,” she said, handing the list to the man sitting across from her. The man looked ordinary enough, almost dull in comparison to her; older, a little paunchy, beginning to bald. He took the list from her with carefully manicured hands and frowned as he scanned it.

“Seven of these are marked unlikely. Those are problematic numbers, Miss Devries, in a graduating class of twenty-two.”

Her soft exhale held just a hint of annoyance. “I know that, Mr…Brown?” There was a touch of sardonic amusement in her voice; surely they could have come up with a more creative pseudonym than that. “I’ve spoken to the mentors in charge of those students, and they’re doing all they can. Certain students simply can’t, or won’t, be saved.”

“All the same, Miss—”

“We’re doing all we can, Mr. Brown,” Natalia cut in. She’d been having this discussion with him for the better part of an hour before she’d been called away to look after Alexia, and quite frankly, she was sick of it. “We will see you again in December, and with luck, we will have better numbers by then. And of course again in April for the testing.”

Rising, she offered him her hand in polite dismissal. He shook it and left, taking the paper with him.

~

She’d finally finished unpacking, and she had no idea what she was going to do with herself now. The room still looked institutional in spite of her efforts at making it a bit more homelike. Her rock collection glimmered in the window, her little pictures were pinned up around the walls, and it still looked like an asylum.

Shrugging, Celia left her room and went to wander the hallways. She went down a few stairwells, walking this way and that, learning her way around the building. Though she should probably go to the school itself at some point and look around there too, she wanted to start with the building she would call home until…well, for a long time.

It didn’t take her long to find her way to the room that was Victoria’s—she could tell because it was standing open, and it had a handmade sign announcing her name and her dorm adviser status, with a big smiling face drawn on it at the bottom. In spite of her nerves, she grinned a bit. If everyone was like Victoria…

But everyone wasn’t like Victoria. The blonde girl, Elsa, hadn’t been that nice. And she hadn’t talked to anyone else. Maybe she should try.

What if they weren’t really there, though?

Lost in her thoughts as she wandered deeper into the building, she nearly bumped into someone. Jumping back and stuttering out a “S-sorry…” she realized that she had seen this girl before, too. Victoria had said her name was June, maybe? Or maybe July. One of the J-months, Celia was pretty sure.

Tentatively offering a smile, she said, “Um…hi. Sorry again.”

How did normal not-shy people start conversations?

The dead tell me their stories.

Fire shows me its heart.

Winter gives me its soul.

We will not be broken.

 

[minus infinity]

¢aη you still see the heart of me?
αιι my agony fades away when you hold me in your embrace

✖ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Robert was back to roaming the halls, having helped the student who had asked for assistance, when he noticed James.
"Hello... are you new?"
To say he'd never seen anyone like James was an understatement, and it wasn't just because of the height; even if he had been of normal height his appearance would make him stand out in a crowd. He also looked a bit lost, and Robert figured he should probably help. After so many years of being here, Robert could probably say he knew this place pretty well.

Meanwhile and not far away, Azariah led the way to the girls' dormitory with Timber and Antoine following. Even in heels, she walked fairly quickly and so it wasn't too long before they had approached the building. When they were there, she finally turned towards the guys. She looked at them a moment before asking Timber, "So you said we were going to knock on her window?" There were a few odd pebbles and such strewn around them, and Azariah figured this would be the method they would take. After all, her room wasn't on the first level, and the second level stretched high above their heads. Even for her two six foot companions.

Antoine surveyed the girls' dormitory, wondering which room belonged to Bambi. After years and years of visiting he knew which was Azariah's, but he couldn't say he knew Bambi well enough to know where hers was. Really, he didn't know much more than her name. That was yet another way that he was different from Azariah: he came across as shy and closed-off, while it could be hard to get Azariah to be quiet long enough for someone else to speak. Especially when she was passionate about something. When Antoine engaged in conversation, he could be downright awkward, and unintentionally reinforced the rumors that would sometimes encircle him. The latest one seemed to be that he had hooked Azariah on something. But he tried his best to ignore them, lest he lose his sanity.

Nils only nodded to himself, deciding it would be better to just play along with this boy's tactics for now. He was very much aware that what Kayle had said was due to his teenage ego, and an old Swedish proverb ran quickly through his mind: Eget beröm luktar illa.
Self-praise stinks.
They stopped just in front of the entrance to the boys' dormitory. Nils didn't see Robert, but wasn't too worried; he was probably off helping some of the new students find their assigned rooms and such. Maybe if he had the chance, he would talk to him later though. About Elsa and Kayle. Fire and ice.
Nils felt the same breeze that Kayle did because they were standing right next to each other, but didn't think much of it; rather he thought it a sign of the approaching winter season. If he did think it to be Elsa, he showed no sign of it. Once again, he thought of what he had asked of Kayle. Should he maybe visit and tell Elsa the same thing, if only to avoid confusion? He knew he had the correct authority to do so, but they were still teenagers. After a moment, he turned to Kayle.
He hoped the younger boy would be able to keep his promise. At sixteen, Nils knew he would have done no such thing.
Detta är vad som är bäst.
"I will see you tomorrow," he said to him cordially. Another moment longer, and he silently turned back to go to the teachers' dormitory. He probably had some paperwork that would be need to be done, no matter how much he dreaded the idea.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ✖

ɗon't tear me down
ƒor all I need
make my heart a better place
give me something I can believe
ɗon't tear ɪᴛ down
What's left ○ƒ me
Make my heart a better place . . .

 

[Greedy Fat Cat]

ⓑ ⓘ ⓡ ⓓ ⓢXXXⓞ ⓕXXXⓐXXXⓕ ⓔ ⓐ ⓣ ⓗ ⓔ ⓡ

▧ ◎ ◎ ◎ ▨

τ ι м в ε я

❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖

Timber always felt uncomfortable going into the girls' dorms. He stood out a little too much there, being tall and male. A lot of the girls looked at him funny, which made Timber feel a little self conscious. So he preferred this method way better, and did it often when he wanted Bambi to come out of her room. It didn't work all the time, and she refused to go outside, but sometimes it did and it was worth it.

He looked at Azariah. "Ugh, yeah," he said, though he sounded a little unsure. Timber bent to pick up a couple pebbles, and then threw one at her window. The curtains were still and Timber waited. He threw another one, and almost immediately afterwards, the curtains were lifted. Timber could see her peek outside cautiously, before recognizing Timber. Timber watched as she spotted Antoine and then Azariah, unsure of why the other two were there. Timber pulled out his soccer ball, lifting it so that she could see it properly. She took a moment to look at it, her face going from contemplation to a no. She shook her head. Timber made a 'tsp' with his tongue before mouthing, "Please?" Bambi frowned, and again her face looked like she was in thought. She sighed, tilted her head before nodding. She lifted one finger up, as if saying, "Wait up." Timber smiled at his success and turned to Azariah with a grin.

 

[minus infinity]

✖ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Azariah was about to throw a pebble of her own when the curtains parted and Bambi appeared. Azariah watched the other girl with curiosity and hope as she debated whether or not to come outside, and was hurt when she shook her head no. She glanced at Timber with that hurt expression in her eyes (why won't she come outside? Does she not like us?), but his gaze stayed on Bambi, intent on getting her out here. After a moment or two, she too turned puppy-dog eyes to the window. Wouldn't she come out and play?
The persistence paid off, of course, and soon she disappeared from the window. Azariah couldn't have been happier, and she returned Timber's grin. She would have even hugged him if it hadn't been for Antoine's hand on her shoulder. Finally, a chance to meet someone new! Not like the guys were boring, but sometimes it was nice to have another girl around too. She had never seen Bambi except in passing, and she was excited to get to meet her. She wondered what it was that kept her in her room all the time.

Antoine stood at the other side of Azariah, watching the two girls. There was Bambi, cautious and hesitant, and then there was the shamelessly hopeful Azariah next to him. He saw the hurt in his friend's eyes as Bambi declined the offer, and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. The redhead didn't seem to react, except to briefly glance at him, looking hurt. She always tended to take things personally, Antoine thought. The other girl didn't know them very well, after all, and if she did the things she heard about them probably hadn't been good. Maybe she just preferred to be alone. It couldn't be unusual, not here.
But before he knew it, Bambi had joined them, and it would be a lie to say she was anything less than absolutely stunning. Antoine hadn't been aware there had been a silence until Azariah broke it.
"Hi! I'm Azariah, and this is Antoine. You must be Bambi, right?"
Antoine kept his hand on his friend's shoulder, having initially done so in a comforting way. Now the same gesture served as a gentle warning: don't intimidate her too much. She was smiling kindly at the other girl, her red lips a stark contrast against the white teeth. Both girls were beautiful in their own right, but different as could be.
"Let's play!" Azariah said, obviously too enthusiastic to notice that Bambi still seemed a little tentative about being out here, especially with two new people. Or that was what Antoine mistook it for. His mistake was in assuming she was as fragile as she looked.
He had no more time to think about it, though, before Azariah took his arm and started leading him off to a clear spot where they could play.

Antoine was decent at soccer, because he had played it a bit before being sent to Brookrose. Azariah, however, was not. She had to be taught everything from the ground up, but she was at least willing to learn. Even when she went the wrong way or tripped over her own shoes.
It was a vigorous game to be sure, but by the time it was over Azariah had managed to cover herself in grass.
"I think I need a shower. Thanks for the game, guys! Nice to meet you, Bambi."
Then she was gone, just like that.

Antoine hung around for a bit longer, and to anyone else it may have been strange to see him without a certain redhead by his side. Eventually, he excused himself.
"It's been fun," He started in a low voice, as though unused to talking to others, "Nice to meet you." He was cordial, but not overly so, as he gave a faint smile and walked away.

On her way back to the dorms, Azariah passed by Jake. She smiled at him, running a hand through her hair in case there was grass in it. He seemed nice enough, even despite the things she had heard about him. The truth was that he wasn't the first one to think about breaking out, but it never worked out for anyone, not with Miss Devries around. There was no doubt that he had either heard of or seen her already, no matter how new he was here. Their vice-principal was just that kind of person.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ✖

 

[Greedy Fat Cat]

❀ ⓑ ⓐ ⓜ ⓑ ⓘ ❀

"s q я ι η gXXXн α sXXXα я я ι v ε ∂ ."

Bambi walked onto the grass with a small grimace, eying the two companions besides Timber. Antoine was more intimidating than Azariah, even though he said less. Azariah had this startling brightness about her, one that seemed to attract several to her being. Like a tree. But it was Antoine that she was wary of, because he seemed to talk more with his eyes than anything. She gazed a little long into his eyes, before glancing to Timber, who nodded and smiled. Bambi turned back to the two, waving her hand in greeting. "Pleasure to meet you. Yeah, I'm Bambi," she said, giving a warm smile.

She watched as Antoine's kept his hand on her shoulder, before Timber clapped his hands, rolling the ball around. Bambi gave a small motion towards the two before trotting off towards Timber to start the game. Though she was usually clumsy, she was surprisingly very athletic and found playing soccer a little easier than Azariah, surely. Bambi liked to run and play sports when she could in her free time, though she usually played sports that didn't involve being on the grass. This was only because she had the tendency to have an excess to her powers and any plant life that she touched would be manipulated by her, whether she wanted to or not. She had to wear long socks and pants if she were to play on the grass, in case her bare skin touched the grass and she made sure to never fall or trip. And because it was just too much work to have to take all these precautions when playing simple games like soccer, she didn't usually do this. But because of the beckoning and persistence of Timber and Azariah's face, she decided she'd do them a favor to play.

Speaking of which, Azariah looked a little out of place.
Her brightness was a little awkward and she certainly didn't look like she was wearing any of the right clothes for this game. Plus, she didn't know how to play. Still, it was fun to be out. Azariah was nice, despite looking a little gaudy to Bambi; she looked playful and outgoing. And while Bambi was the opposite, that didn't necessarily mean that Bambi didn't like hanging out with those sorts of people. Moreover, Azariah was beautiful. She had clear blue eyes that stood out against the redness of her hair and even though she wore too much makeup, she could tell that she was probably really pretty underneath it.
After an hour, the game seemed to end, and Azariah disappeared, off to take a shower. Bambi stared after her, a little dumbfounded. Antoine lingered, but only to bid farewell as well. "Likewise," she muttered, loud enough for him to hear as he walked away. She stood there, watching Antoine leave as well.

Timber put a hand on her shoulder, a big grin on his face. Bambi turned to him, raising a brow. "It was fun," she said, though it sounded a little monotonic. She brushed Timber's hand off her shoulder before walking away, likely to take a shower before she had dinner. Timber stood there, watching after her. He was glad she decided to come out, and he was also glad that they were able to make some friends this year around. Bambi was still a little introverted, but at least she had made an effort to speak.

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

I never wanted it to be like this.

It was always going to be like this.

We’ll do what we have to.

All things considered, Phil thought he was doing rather well at focusing on his class right now—as long as he didn’t look over at the empty chair where his teaching assistant normally sat. Victoria was…elsewhere.

He shouldn’t worry—he knew she’d be fine. Hadn’t he taught her himself? But still, he felt a little sick. It was normal, for the first day of testing. He felt like this every time. Perhaps it was for the best. If he felt like this every time, he wouldn’t ever take his students’ safety for granted. She hadn’t had any breakout of ability in almost a year and a half, and she ought to be fine. She wasn’t on the list of potential non-graduates. She was fine.

But still, every time he caught a glimpse of her empty seat, he felt a little ill.

“Mr. Phil?” asked a quiet voice, interrupting his thoughts before they could take another turn towards the gloomy. “I can’t make it work. It’s too thick for this brush.”

There were upsides to working with the younger children, too. He crouched so that he was on a level with the young student—a newcomer, a girl whose name he couldn’t recall. Something to do with the sky, maybe; at least, that was what he remembered thinking of when he heard it. “Sure you can. I know these paints are tough at first, but they’re old. Just give them some time. Have you tried to thin it out a bit?”

He focused on the child, on the paints, and did his best not to look back at Victoria’s seat. She’d come back when she came back, when everything was done.

A muffled gasp made him jerk and turn to look at the little girl, who was staring at him with wide, frightened dark eyes. “Is something wrong…” Sylvia? Serena? Celia, that was it. “Celia?” he asked, unruffled.

“N-no,” she stuttered, still staring at him. But no, not at him. Just over his shoulder.

He didn’t believe her for a second. But for the moment at least, he didn’t push. “All right. Let’s see how these paints work with a bit more water.”

~

Natalia felt she owed it to them to be there. Victoria and the other graduating students had been through this several times before, but it could not be anything other than stressful. She was only on the sidelines, of course—she was not allowed to administer any of the tests herself, and would not be capable of it in any case. No, Isabel took care of all that, and Natalia trusted her to do it as well as she could. More importantly, she trusted her not to try and be kind.

They’d gone to school—this same school—together. Their working relationship was distant, but founded in memories of the past.

There had been so much controversy about how to test the students, before Natalia’s day. The tests needed to be thorough, but the children could not be put in any more danger than necessary. Her great-uncle had ranted about it many times in her hearing; they had both known even then that one day she would take his place.

Isabel had been a blessing of a kind, with her illusory magic. With her, the children need not be in danger, not in these preliminary tests. But they would feel that they were.

She sat and watched the room from her observational post just out of the children’s view, keeping her own abilities reined in tightly to avoid affecting the outcome, and wondered what it was they saw in this small, quiet, empty room. Isabel stood in the corner, and Mr. Brown—really, what sort of a pseudonym was that?—sat beside her, making notes as each student came in and went through the preliminaries.

It was less than ten minutes per student. The tests in December would be harder, and the ones at the end of the year more rigorous still. It was what they had to do.

Isabel’s eyes flicked up and met hers, and Natalia had an uncomfortable moment where she wondered if Isabel knew what she was thinking.

The dead tell me their stories.

Fire shows me its heart.

Winter gives me its soul.

We will not be broken.