on the surface [accepting; open!]

[Dai Eden]

"Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her: but once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game."
-Voltaire

Noland Hunnigan
A wolf ran through the woods, running home after following a scent he followed to a stump. The scent never seemed to go away and always seemed 'fresh', but whenever he runs to the spot to check, nothing is there. It was different from other scents, this one seemed too 'naturey' as he would put it. He got home and transformed back to a human being. Noland decided to ditch that day, and his mom would be alright with it. Actually, she doesn't care where he went, she is too depressed to care for a number of things, except for hygiene. She is usually very OCD about keeping the house clean, and when she did clean, that would be about the time Noland and her would communicate, talking about what he did at school or what he found on his way back home. He decided to see if his friends from school were at the 'diner', where they usually hang out.
"I'll be back mom."
All she did was nod, sitting on the couch clutching her ankles and holding her head above her knees, and staring blankly at the TV of a Mexican drama. She didn't understand most of it, but she saw the actors had much more intensity than America ones. Noland left her to it, and dropped his bag near the door. He walked out the door and walked into town, which wasn't too far from where he lived. He saw animals outside the diner, and what was even weirder was that they were surrounding a girl. "Hey, cool animals." Noland waved an index finger at one of the squirrels, of which one of them ran behind a bird. "Same thing happened to me once, except it was only one squirrel and I was carrying a box of peanuts. And I thought they only liked acorns."

 

[Iradesca]

~Arin Lightfeather~

"Who indeed can harm you if you are committed deeply to doing what is right?" - I Peter

Arin released an inward sigh as the boy approached. Maybe he would be enough to convince the others. "Actually, they like a variety of nuts and berries, even eating the an insect or two. No animal's diet is so strictly limited." The wind around them stirs, lifting Arin's hair off of her neck. A few birds spread their wings, taking advantage of the free lift, finally starting to take a hint. The squirrels however, were a little slower to understand.

" 'Power' is another word that I use to describe You
Your mighty winds come in and blow me away." - "Energy" by Skillet

 

[Minnta Aloripma]

“Maybe life is like a ride on the freeway.
Dodging bullets while you're trying to find your way.
Everyone's around, but no one does a damn thing.
It brings me down, but I won't let them.”

Salem looks at the boy, tensing slightly as her inner cat senses a possible threat. "This seems to be a rather busy spot.", she says, her smile turning into one commonly used by diplomats which showed nothing of what she actually felt or thought.

“If I seem bleak well, you'd be correct.
And if I don't speak it's 'cause I get disconnected.
But I won't be burned by the reflection in your eyes
As you're staring at the sun!”
-'Staring at the Sun', The Offspring

 

[Dai Eden]

"Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her: but once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game."
-Voltaire

Noland Hunnigan
Noland couldn't help but sniff a little. He recognized the scent on her, it was from the scent in the woods. After all this time, he felt a bit awkward to finally come face to face with the stranger from the woods. Noland took a look at her side. "Looks like you had an accident, which would explain why all these animals are here. My guess: gravy or refried beans. Hehe. You're pretty lucky, usually, I get bugs crawling all over me. Hate bugs more than anything... Are you from around here? And who's your friend?" He looked at the girl with the hat and goggles.

 

[Minnta Aloripma]

((If you're talking about Salem, she has goggles not binoculars. That is such a weird word...))

“Maybe life is like a ride on the freeway.
Dodging bullets while you're trying to find your way.
Everyone's around, but no one does a damn thing.
It brings me down, but I won't let them.”

"We're not friends and have never seen each other before she tripped over that girl and ran into that boy. Though I suppose I should have introduced myself to those two before now...", Salem responds, pointing to Spencer and Kalin as she mentions them. "Name's Salem."

“If I seem bleak well, you'd be correct.
And if I don't speak it's 'cause I get disconnected.
But I won't be burned by the reflection in your eyes
As you're staring at the sun!”
-'Staring at the Sun', The Offspring

 

[Dai Eden]

((Oops, sorry about that. ^^"))

"Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her: but once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game."
-Voltaire

Noland Hunnigan
Noland started laughing, "That's a good way to start a day. I'm Noland." He sniffed the air again and growled a little. The girl had a scent he didn't like, but he only acted like this around cats. He thought she probably owned a cat at home or something. "Sorry about that, that was probably some weird reflex or something. Anyway, seemed the squirrels took a liking to...?" He was waiting if maybe the 'gravy' girl would respond by saying her name.

 

[Iradesca]

~Arin Lightfeather~

"Who indeed can harm you if you are committed deeply to doing what is right?" - I Peter

Arin smiled. "Yeah, it was gravy. A whole bowl of it." Her cheeks turned a light pink as Salem reminded her of her little accident. "I'm still really sorry about that." She said quietly. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "My name's Arin. It's nice to meet you." She held out a hand for Salem to shake., then rotated to offer it to Noland. "I live on the edge of town, actually. Near the forest." She said in reply to his first question, Salem having answered his second. She flinched a bit at his growl, surprised to hear such a familiar sound coming from what appeared to be a human. Something felt off about him though, something that reminded her of the forest.

" 'Power' is another word that I use to describe You
Your mighty winds come in and blow me away." - "Energy" by Skillet

 

[Minnta Aloripma]

“Maybe life is like a ride on the freeway.
Dodging bullets while you're trying to find your way.
Everyone's around, but no one does a damn thing.
It brings me down, but I won't let them.”

Salem tenses slightly at the growl, but her polite smile remains the same. If anyone had been paying attention to her right eye, they would have noticed that the pupil had changed briefly into a slit much like a cats before turning round again. It would seem that her cat instincts were correct and this boy had a possible canine side to him, or at least something that could eat a house cat.

“If I seem bleak well, you'd be correct.
And if I don't speak it's 'cause I get disconnected.
But I won't be burned by the reflection in your eyes
As you're staring at the sun!”
-'Staring at the Sun', The Offspring

 

[Dai Eden]

"Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her: but once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game."
-Voltaire

Noland Hunnigan
Noland smiled and shook her hand, "It's good to meet you too Arin. And, uh, sorry for scaring you. I get weird... spasms sometimes. And you said you lived near the forest? I usually like to hike around the forest. Releases a lot tension after doing a workout or after I'm done with soccer."

 

[Iradesca]

~Arin Lightfeather~

"Who indeed can harm you if you are committed deeply to doing what is right?" - I Peter

"Really? I wonder why I've never seen you around before?" As she shook his hand, she could feel the dirt on it respond to her touch. She would recognize that soil anywhere! It came from the area around her mother's stump! Gripped by fear for a moment, Arin's smile wavered. She recovered, however, and her smile returned to its previous strength as her hand dropped from his. Why had he been that far into the woods? That was clear up the mountain! Had others been up there? And why was there soil from the area on his hands? She tried not to let her worries show as she continued speaking. "Are you on a soccer team?"

" 'Power' is another word that I use to describe You
Your mighty winds come in and blow me away." - "Energy" by Skillet

 

[themadnessunderneath]

Spencer was silently standing some feet away from the others, sort of slinking further away from them. It wasn't because these people were sending off 'weird' vibes, but because she wasn't a 'people person'. 'Social butterfly'. She wasn't that outgoing.... Okay, she was borderline anti-social, however that's not surprising with her condition gift.
The cause behind those vision she got was still unclear to her; whether it was people who caused them, or items, or places in general! Being careful with who she was around sort of shaped how she interacts with people. Which basically cut social ties altogether. The chronic migraine story didn't fool people, and even if it did the first time around, it most likely wouldn't the second or third.
There were now four people (that she barely knew) in the area she had escaped to for a 'peaceful vision' which made her uncomfortable. Especially with the feeling in her head, which made it difficult to tell if it was the aftermath of her previous vision or another one coming on.

■

------

 

[Dai Eden]

"Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her: but once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game."
-Voltaire

Noland Hunnigan
"Yup, at the Ordinary High School of course. I always like moving around, helps the blood flow. There's that, and just to get out of the house. Parents right?" Noland looked at the quiet girl who wasn't entering into the conversation. "And who might you be miss?"

 

[themadnessunderneath]

The brunette blinked once, her gaze moving to Noland, a bit surprised she was being acknowledged. "Uh, I'm Spencer." she replied after a moment, her voice barely louder than a whisper. A second later she was chewing on the inside of her cheek, looking the male. She went to school with him, she was sure of that. Especially since he had just said that he was on the soccer team of the high school she attended. The only high school for miles. Still, she didn't remember ever seeing him before now. Though, that wasn't surprising. She barely knows anyone that goes to her school or what groups they had at school. Heck, she didn't even know the school still had a soccer team! That's what you get for being so deprived from social contact at school. And for not listening to the daily announcements.

■

------

 

[Minnta Aloripma]

“Maybe life is like a ride on the freeway.
Dodging bullets while you're trying to find your way.
Everyone's around, but no one does a damn thing.
It brings me down, but I won't let them.”

Salem hums softly to herself as she watches Noland from the corner of her eye while seemingly giving Spencer her whole attention. "How's your head? The pills kick in yet?"

“If I seem bleak well, you'd be correct.
And if I don't speak it's 'cause I get disconnected.
But I won't be burned by the reflection in your eyes
As you're staring at the sun!”
-'Staring at the Sun', The Offspring