[color=BD892F][h3][center]Sophia Lemane[/center][/h3][/color][color=silver][right]Crimen Culpae 1, Northern Outskirts
September 3rd, 2020 - 9:50 pm[/right][/color]
Sophia remained standing there as people talked, cried, and yelled around her. She receded into herself, tuning them out as she continued to sort out her thoughts. Some time later, a truck arrived and it was time for them to return back to the campus. She followed the soldiers' commands and got into the truck promptly, trying to ignore how having the guns pointed at her made her feel so inferior.

She sat still and quiet with her head down as the truck rumbled on, glad for the silence, or rather, the almost silence. A few remarks punctuated the silence once in a while, and Sophia recognized the voice as Brent's even though she didn't bother to look up to confirm. But no one really bothered to keep a proper conversation going, unsurprisingly. 

Arriving back at the campus, they were all hurried into the hospital. Sophia hadn't sustained any new injuries and would have preferred to go straight to her room, but it was clear that they were all to remain in the hospital. She took a seat in the entertainment section as she waited for something to happen, not bothering to use any of the devices there. Now that all the battle "excitement" was mainly over, she was beginning to feel tired. Though she had slept for quite a while in her hospital bed earlier, it obviously hadn't been enough for her. 

A change in the atmosphere of the room and the sound of many people approaching made her glance up in time to see Benediction enter the room. Blinking a few times to make sure she wasn't imagining things, she watched with amazement as the Precursor waved his hand with a bored expression, filling the room with pinpricks of white light. The use of his power had created a mess, but Benediction didn't seem to care as he left the room again right afterwards. He was probably busy, after all. She felt lucky that he had bothered to come and heal the injured here.

Moving her right arm slightly to see if he had healed her as well, she was relived to find out that it felt and moved normally again. Now that they were cleared to go, she stood up, eyeing her sling. She should probably remove it and the bandages, and give the sling back to one of the doctors. Most of the staff that previously been in the room had left, except for one young nurse who was cleaning up. Debating whether she should ask for assistance, she decided not to disturb the nurse and instead removed the sling herself before unwrapping the bandages on her arm. Setting the sling down where she had been sitting, she felt a small twinge of guilt for leaving things lying around, but didn't want to talk to anyone at the moment. Then she headed out of the hospital building and to her suite.

Entering her suite, she immediately made her way over to the couch, sinking down onto it with a sigh. It was over, and she should get ready for bed soon. Get ready for tomorrow, for who ever knew what would happen? She now understood that things here would be much more unpredictable than what she was used to. After a few minutes of sitting still, she got up and unfastened her cape, going to drape it over her desk chair before moving into the bathroom.

It was refreshing, taking a long, warm shower. It was only when she stepped out that she realized she didn't have anything clean left to wear. She had worn her only change of clothes that day, the other shirt she had bearing a bullet hole. She didn't want to go to sleep in jeans, that was too uncomfortable. After drying herself with a towel, she slipped on her undergarments and the same shirt she had worn that day, wrapping the towel around her lower half. Glancing in the mirror to check her reflection, she stared at herself for a few seconds. That was how the new her looked like.

Giving a small shake of her head, she excited the bathroom and went to sit at her desk, grabbing her journal and pencil-case on the way. Where could she begin to record all the things that had happened to her? From the beginning, of course. Taking a deep breath, she opened her journal to a blank page, choosing a purple pen from her case. Then it was pen to paper, putting down the events methodically and sorting things out as she wrote. It was the trip in the truck that she wrote about first, the appearance of the Precusors, and the monsters. Then seeing Director Zhang, and getting shot. Waking up in the hospital, meeting an energetic boy, attempting to talk... and so on. 

The pages filled with her tiny, rather cramped writing, and she flipped page after page as she wrote. At last, she had written about the second hospital visit and coming back to her suite, and she was done. Leaning back in her chair, she winced as she shook out her wrist, sore from all the writing. Now she felt ready for bed. Leaving her journal lying on the desktop, she went to switch off the light before crawling into bed and soon afterwards, falling asleep.

[hr][hr][color=silver][right]USARILN East, Building A: Suite 226
September 4th, 2020 - 7:38 am[/right][/color]
The sun rose as it did each day, the light having begun to gradually fill the room when Sophia woke up. Opening her eyes to gaze at the wall she was facing, confusion surfaced before she remembered where she was. Untangling herself from her mussed up blankets, she sat up in bed and swung her legs over the side.

It was morning, time to get moving. What she was going to get moving doing she wasn't quite sure yet, but she could always start with her regular morning routine, right? There was a sufficient amount of clear space in the room, and she positioned herself in the middle. Beginning slowly with plies in the different dance positions, she then moved on to the move active exercises such as push-ups, burpees, sit-ups, crunches, and plank. Once she felt warmed up sufficiently, she began to stretch, sliding into a perfect split and leaning forward until her body made a perfect T on the floor.

When she was done stretching, she quickly got changed into the same thing that she had worn yesterday and headed to the dining hall for breakfast. Breakfast was a quick affair, so Sophia was soon back in her suite, glad for the silence and the space that she had to herself. She knew what she had to do now. Taking a seat at her desk, she drew the pile of tests closer to her, taking out a sharp pencil. [color=BD892F][i]Here goes, let's hope I can finish this soon.[/i][/color]

The work began, Sophia's head bent low over the papers as she scribbled down her answers without stopping for any breaks. The questions weren't too challenging for her, most of the topics in the tests were those that she had learned. But the hardest subject for her were the sciences, she had never had much interest in them.

Hours later, she finished the last question, leaning back in her chair with a satisfied sigh. But she wasn't done yet, there was still the request sheet for to fill out. Did she need anything? It took her a while to fill out the sheet, for though she kept thinking and thinking, she couldn't come up with much that she wouldn't be able to get herself.There was also that disclaimer, which mentioned pets. Did that mean they were allowed to request pets? But how would that work? Should she risk it and try it? Would she have to pay for vet costs? Would she be allowed to choose? Twirling her pencil between her fingers, she finally made her decision, the longing for a pet winning her mental argument. 

[hider=Request Sheet]
-Laptop (not a Chromebook)
-Phone
-Pocket knife
-A cat. Preferrably a female in her youth (but not a kitten) and one of the following breeds: Bombay, Singapura, Burmese, Tokinese. Adopted cats work as well, as long as they don't have disabilities or health issues.
[/hider]
She thought that she should have specified brands or something like that for the phone and laptop, but she didn't really know what was good. Putting all the papers she had filled out in one pile, she picked them up along with the map of the campus. Time to drop them off. Following the map, she managed to find her way to the Registrar's Office and handed the papers in with a muttered explanation of what they were.

Done with that "homework", she felt much more relaxed. Now she didn't have anything to do, not really. But it was just past noon, so she could eat something while thinking what to do. Relax, most likely. Pouring over the map while she ate in the dining hall to see if there were any interesting buildings labeled, her eyes lighted upon one that was labeled as the library. [color=BD892F][i]Perfect![/i][/color] she thought happily. [color=BD892F][i]I can spend the afternoon there.[/i][/color]
[hr][hr][h3][center][color=BD892F]Sophia Lemane[/color] & [color=crimson]Savannah Churchill[/color][/center][/h3][center][h3]Two Socially Awkward Children Meet[/h3][/center][color=silver][right]Multiple locations
September 5th, 2020 - 12:35 pm[/right][/color]
Entering the dining hall for the second time that day, Sophia silently handed over her ID card to be swiped before entering. By now, she had a good idea of the foods that were arrayed around the room, so she wasted no time grabbing a plate and piling food on. Broccoli, white rice, as well as chicken made their way onto her plate along with a glass of water in her other hand before she looked around for an empty place to sit. As luck would have it, there was a small empty table placed near the wall, so she made her way over it and set down her plate. 

Taking a seat, she took a quick glance around her at the people milling around. Unintentionally, her gazed gravitated towards the staircase that she and Brent had ascended two days back. Shaking her head slightly, she turned her attention back to her plate and began to eat. About halfway through her meal, she paused and put down her cutlery. Drawing out her list of things to buy that she had made that morning,  she opened it and began to scan through it while she finished eating to make sure she hadn't missed anything. It was finally time to buy herself some items and clothes, wearing the same set day after day wasn't quite what she wanted.

[hider=Things to get]
-Few long sleeve tops
-A tank top or two
-Cardigan
-Bra
-Pair of jeans
-Yoga pants
-Skort?
-Ladies gloves
-Long fingerless gloves
-More hair ties
-Journal, unlined
-Color pencils
-Alarm clock
-Stress ball/silly putty
-A few bars of dark chocolate
-Shampoo, conditioner, shower stuff
[/hider]
Twenty minutes after she had entered the dining hall, she was heading back out again. She really hoped that the map she had would guide her sufficiently once she got out of the campus, or she would get unfortunately lost. Walking around alone made her feel so much older than the small thirteen years she really was. She felt so much more independent, but she wasn't sure if she really liked that. Walking by her sister's side as they made their way around had always made her feel much more comfortable. Now, she felt quite alone.

The way she walked the streets looked quite queer. The hood of her cloak was pulled up so that her face was mostly hidden, the white streak on her face only visible if someone were to look directly at her from the front. Though she took long strides that could have passed off as confident ones, it was made clear she didn't know her way around by the way she constantly stopped to consult the map held in her hand. It was a stop and go kind of walk.

However, after needing to backtrack only once or twice, she finally made it to her destination. The mall now was straight ahead of her. It wasn't as big as some of the ones that she had been to before, but she was still counting on it to have at least most of the things that she needed.
~~~~~~~~~~
A whole hour later, Sophia had made some headway into her list of things to get, having gotten everything that wasn't clothes. But clothes, they were going to be a hassle to get. Finding something, trying it on, taking it off, checking prices, checking for defects... she didn't really care a whole lot about what she wore, as long as it didn't look totally weird. When it came to clothing brands, Sophia didn't know a whole lot of those either.

Because of that, she found herself wandering from one clothes outlet to the next, picking up a clothing article or two if she was lucky enough to find anything. At last, she determined that she was pretty much done. She was tired of trying clothes on, and her hair was unfortunately more frizzy than usual due to her having had to keep pulling clothes over her head. However, she had to consider herself lucky that she had been able to find everything except the skort and gloves. She didn't need the skort, though she really would have liked the gloves for when the weather got colder. Gloves shouldn't have been too hard to find, but she hadn't liked the fit or style of any she had seen. 

Sinking down onto a bench nearby, she leaned back and gazed up at the ceiling. What time was it anyway? She was getting hungry. She allowed herself what she felt like was a few minutes of rest before getting up and consulting a map of the mall. The icon of a fork and knife made her smile, and she began to head a floor down to the place that was indicated on the map.

[hr]
The dining hall was crowded. Savannah weaved through groups of students as she made her way to the buffet, eyeing the sandwiches on the counter. In particular, she was looking at the delicious-looking roast beef club. She had decided that it would be the perfect fuel for her second day on the town. Finally managing to find her way through the crowd and to the buffet, she picked up a plate and loaded it with a sandwich and fries. She also picked up a cup of water, heading towards a table in the corner. Setting her plate down, she slid into her seat. 

After she had devoured her sandwich, she got out a piece of paper and a pencil and began to write in extremely messy handwriting. She was making a list for Shopping Day 2, basically just getting the things that she hadn't been able to purchase the previous day. 

[hider=Savannah's List]
-A couple more cardigans
-more pants
-a couple sweatshirts
-toiletries 
-sheet music
-shoes
-pencils
-more gum
-chocolate
[/hider]
After she had made the short list, Savannah stuffed it into her pocket and started to head towards the town of Crimen Culpae 1. 
~~~~~~~~~~
About two hours later, Savannah had bought almost everything on her list, and was striding down the mall, earphones plugged in and staring at some sheet music. She was pretty much off in her own world of notes and violins, and it was pretty hard to interrupt her while in this state. But her concentration was interrupted when she bumped into Sophia, falling backwards and dropping her bags, scattering things across the floor.

While Sophia was walking through the mall in search of some food, someone banged into her from behind, followed by a thump and the sound of things scattering over the floor. Quickly pivoting around to see who it was, her gaze lowered to the floor to look at a girl who lay there. [color=BD892F]"Oh."[/color] Her eyebrows drew together as she looked at the girl who seemed around her age. [color=BD892F]"Are you... alright?"[/color] she asked softly. Crouching down to offer a helping hand, she caught sight of the X adorning the girl's throat. [color=BD892F][i]She's an Abberation.[/i][/color]

Savannah flinched away from Sophia's hand, instead picking herself up. [color=crimson]"Yeah, I'm fine."[/color] she said, brushing herself off with a frown. Seeing her stuff scattered everywhere, she cursed. [color=crimson]"Oh, shit!"[/color] she exclaimed, dropping to the floor to gather her stuff together. [color=crimson]"I'm really sorry for bumping into ya."[/color] she said to Sophia, sneaking a look at her. From where she was crouching, the girl appeared to be a regular. Now [i]that[/i] gave Savannah something to think about. Regulars didn't help subnaturals often. 

Sophia's hand remained outstretched for a second longer, before realizing that the girl didn't want help and dropping her hand back to her side as she stood up. She noted as well the girl's voice, which seemed to have an accent that she couldn't place. Nodding slightly at her apology, she gave her a small, but rather stiff, smile. [color=BD892F]"It's fine."[/color] Now that they were both standing, Sophia could see how much shorter the girl was. Part of her was tempted to walk away and leave it at that, but many of the items that the girl had dropped were still spread across the floor. A sheet of paper fifteen feet away caught her attention, and she walked towards it, bending over to pick it up before returning to the girl. 

Pushing back her deep hood as she examined the sheet, she realized it was music written for a violin. Holding it out to the blonde girl, she asked, [color=BD892F]"Yours? Or did someone else drop it?"[/color]

As the brown-haired girl pulled back her hood, Savannah realized that she was an Arbiter. Of course. That would explain the kindness, if she had been a regular, she would have simply ran away in fear. Now that she had a proper look at her face, Savannah realized that she was about the same age as her.  Her face morphed into one of surprise, before she shook it off. She hadn't seen many people her age there yet, but realized that if she was here, surely there would be more her age.

[color=crimson]"That's mine. Thanks for helping."[/color] she said. She politely took it from the girl and stuffed it back into the bag. 

So the paper was hers after all. Sophia relinquished her hold on the paper, but her gaze followed its path as it was stuffed into the bag. [color=BD892F][i]Do you play the violin? How long have you been playing? What piece was that sheet of paper for?[/i][/color] Those were some of the questions that went through her head. [color=BD892F][i]She's been pretty polite, maybe she won't mind if I ask her something else? Or would it seem too nosy? But then, maybe I'll never see her again?[/i][/color] She stood in place, her gaze still on the bag. [color=BD892F]"Uh..."[/color] she began, but that was all she could get out. Feeling her face get a little warmer, she closed her mouth. [color=BD892F]"Nevermind."[/color]

[color=crimson]"I'm Savannah, what's your name?"[/color] Savannah said, out of the blue. By now, she was done picking up the various sheets of music that littered the floor, and had decided it would be a good idea to get to know someone who was relatively close to her age. 

Moving her gaze from the bag and meeting Savannah's yellow eyes, she said, [color=BD892F]"Oh, my name's Sophia Lemane. Nice to meet you."[/color] After a second of hesitation, she managed to blurt out, [color=BD892F]"Do you... uh, play?"[/color]

It took a second for Savannah to interpret her words. [color=crimson]"Yeah, I play the violin.[/color] she said. [color=crimson]"Why do you want to know?"[/color]

Savannah's answer caused Sophia's smile to become a bit more genuine. Why had she asked? [color=BD892F]"Oh, I was just wondering. Since I saw the music sheets and all... you know. The violin's a nice instrument. Though I don't play."[/color]

Savannah gave a broad smile at seeing Sophia's appreciation for classical.  Finally, someone knew something about the genre! [color=crimson]"That's why I chose it, of course![/color] she said with a newfound enthusiasm. [color=crimson]"Do you play an instrument?"[/color]

[color=BD892F]"Yeah..."[/color] Sophia replied, drawing out the word as she let out her breath. Her smile becoming more wistful, she continued. [color=BD892F]"The piano. But it's not really portable... so don't know if I can continue."[/color]

[color=crimson]"Oh well, that's too bad. But I bet there's a music room in the Student Center that you could use. This school is pretty fancy, it has to have something."[/color] she said, thinking a bit. [color=crimson]"How old are you? You look about my age."[/color]

The possibility of there being a music room in the Student Center, she would have to check if there really was one. It would be great if there was. [color=BD892F]"I'm thirteen, same with you?"[/color]

[color=crimson]"Actually, I'm fourteen. I was thirteen, like 3 weeks ago."[/color] Savannah said. 

So that meant that they were almost exactly a year apart. Her birthday too, had been quite recent. [color=BD892F]"Well then, happy belated birthday!"[/color] she said, in a singsong voice. Glancing around her, she realized that they were still standing in the middle of the mall's path, people walking around them. [color=BD892F]"Hmm, think we should move somewhere else?"[/color] She hurried to add, [color=BD892F]"Though if you're busy, you can go. Don't want to hold you up."[/color]

As Sophia wished her a happy belated birthday, Savannah emitted a big smile. [color=crimson]"Thanks!"[/color] she exclaimed. [color=crimson]"No, I'm not busy, I was actually just heading back to the school. If you wanna continue talking, we could go sit on a bench somewhere, if that's alright with you."[/color]

Holding the bags in her hands higher for a few seconds to bring attention to them, Sophia said, [color=BD892F]"I'm done shopping. So... I guess? We could head back to the school... unless you'd rather spend more time out of that place than in? Then we could just sit somewhere. Up to you."[/color] She really didn't want to seem as if she was trying to order anyone around, and she was fine with either option.

Savannah frowned with distaste at the mention of the school. [color=crimson]"That place feels like bad omens and death. I'd much rather stay in the mall."[/color] Savannah said.

Sophia nodded in understanding, for though she hadn't been at the school long, the place was far from her liking. [color=BD892F]"Alright then,"[/color] she began hesitantly, [color=BD892F]"I was about to find something to eat... if you're hungry?"[/color]

[color=crimson]"I could use something to eat. I think the food court is right over there."[/color] Savannah replied, pointing to the nearby food court. 

Now that she looked, there it was, just as Savannah said. The food court. [color=BD892F]"Alright, then, shall we?"[/color] And Sophia began to head off towards the court, the scents becoming stronger as she neared. Something simple to eat would do for her, there were often those larger pretzels at such places. A hand slipping inside her cloak, she gripped her ID to make sure it was still there.

Savannah trailed after Sophia, going toward the food court. She observed the various places around the food court, not able to decide on one. [color=crimson]"What do you want?[/color] she asked Sophia. 

Having a whole lot of choices was never a good thing for Sophia whenever she had to choose. Trying not to look at all the different things and mainly looking for something she knew she liked, she decided on what had been on the mind earlier. Pretzel. Though, perhaps Savannah had been here for longer? Maybe she knew something good. [color=BD892F]"I think... I'll go with a pretzel. Stick to simple things. But actually, do you know anything good? If you've been here before... and all."[/color]

Savannah chuckled, amused. [color=crimson]"You're speaking to a girl who was born in rural Ireland. I know nothing about fast food."[/color] she said, looking around the mall.

[color=BD892F]"Oh."[/color] So that explained Savannah's accent. [color=BD892F]"Never really ate much fast food myself. Guess I'll just still have that pretzel, you?"[/color] She took a few small steps towards the place that sold her food of choice, but looked at the cashier warily. She didn't quite feel like talking to another "normal" person and being stared once more. Having had that thought, she pulled her hood back up so it once more covered most of her face. There were quite some people at the food court for a late afternoon snack, and, well, she didn't want them to see who she was.

[color=crimson]"Yeah, I'll have a pretzel too."[/color] Savannah said, rolling back her shoulders. 

[color=BD892F]"Yeah, okay."[/color] Sophia's gaze remained on the cashier, trying to decide how to approach her. [color=BD892F]"Oh... wait."[/color] she said aloud, as a thought occured to her. [color=BD892F]"Uh, should I pay? I can pay. Unless... you want to pay separately?"[/color]

Suddenly, Savannah shouted [color=crimson]"No!"[/color] As she said this, a bunch of people turned towards her. It seemed that she had drawn the attention of the crowd, and blushing, she forced out a sentence. [color=crimson]"I-I can pay for my own food."[/color]

As Savannah suddenly cried out, Sophia's eyebrows raised. She hadn't expected such a big reaction from just a little suggestion. Were the Irish picky about who paid for food? But it seemed that the small girl was embarrassed of her outburst, and Sophia didn't want to make things worse. Hurriedly, she whispered, [color=BD892F]"Su-Sure you can. Want to go first?"[/color]

[color=crimson]"Y-yeah, sure."[/color] Savannah said, still blushing. She paid for her pretzel, swiping her card through the thing. When she received it, she went and sat down, her face still red from her little outburst.

After Savannah paid, it was Sophia's turn. Stepping up, she kept her head down, ordering what she wanted in a quiet voice, just loud enough for the person taking her order to hear. After paying and getting her pretzel, she sat down by Savannah, and began to eat. Biting into the warm dough, she glanced up at a clock on the far wall. 4:10 pm. Wow, it was already that late? She had spent the entire afternoon at the mall, and it was probably time to head back soon. She took another bite, finishing to chew before saying, [color=BD892F]"You know... I should probably head back soon."[/color]

When Sophia sat down, Savannah was already eating her pretzel. She had tried to dip it in the mustard the cashier had provided, but found it a bit... much for her taste. Glancing up at the clock as she saw Sophia's gaze avert to it, she frowned. It really was getting late. [color=crimson]"Yeah, I totally get it. Don't wanna miss curfew and all."[/color] she said with a very forced smile. 

The curfew part of what Savannah said didn't make much sense, since there weren't curfews on the weekends, but either way she was glad that Savannah said she didn't mind. Though, looking closely at Savannah, she noticed that the girl's smile seemed stiffer than it had been earlier. [color=BD892F][i]I wonder why, maybe she's still embarrassed. Either way, perhaps it's best that I just move on now.[/i][/color] Finishing her pretzel, she scraped back her chair and stood up, picking up her bags. 

[color=BD892F]"Well, it was nice meeting you."[/color] She said softly, and though the words were a formality, she really did mean it. It had been nice to stop being invisible and silent for a while, and actually have a conversation with someone. What was even better was that Savannah was a stranger, maybe Sophia would never even see her again. With that, she began to walk away, exiting the mall and heading back to her suite.

[color=crimson]"Y-yeah, same to ya."[/color] Savannah said as she finished her pretzel. She waved to the girl as she walked away. It had been nice to talk to someone close to her own age- even if they were both pretty socially awkward. 

[hr][hr]
[hider=Notes][@canaryrose]

Just wanted to note that that's all I'm putting out about what Sophia did over the time-skip, though ideally I wanted to put in more. I didn't write in the 6th or the morning of the 7th, that's because I ran out of time. She wouldn't have done much on those days anyway.[/hider]