VampireOracle

[Closed] Asbasta [Closed]

@CrazyShadowy Quick question, does my character (Helma) have her cell all to herself?

Men vs. Women Race to 1000

-1

—(••[ 𝕎𝕀𝕊ℍ𝔼𝔸𝕋𝔼ℝ ]••)—

Sophia Lemane

USARILN East, Ground Zero
September 7th, 2020 - 5:35 pm

Short recap of events

This morning had become too eventful too quickly for her liking. Instead of being held at gunpoint after returning from a very late breakfast, she would have preferred to remain in her room and basically do nothing and wander aimlessly. But it seemed that USARILN East didn't care much about what you wanted, did they? Or at least, not most of the time.

It would have been lying to say that she wasn't even the slightest bit happy over how she had gotten all she had asked for in the requisition form. She now had a phone and a laptop all for herself, the first time that had ever happened. Plus, a folding knife along with a safety kit she hadn't asked for... but would apparently come in handy. And the cat! Finally, a pet of her own. A companion, that treated correctly, would become loyal and true to her. A smile had slipped onto her face when receiving young Billary, and most of Sophia's lunch break had been spent getting to know the cat and introducing her to her new surroundings. Tonkinese were supposed to be adaptable cats, so hopefully her companion would settle in well.

After lunch break was over, she had been filled with a mixture of unpleasant feelings to find that the guard that came to escort her wasn't bringing her back to the classroom, but to some room she didn't know anything about. There she had found the now somewhat familiar face of Daisy, but that hadn't been of much comfort. Especially when that familiar face had explained to her and three other students that they were going to be healers in some compulsory "game" that would take place during combat training.

She didn't like the sound of the game; being hunted down by people who were supposed to be your allies wasn't her idea of fun. Sophia had plenty of uninterrupted time after she was left in a different room along with the other healer and a few guards, so she took a seat and began to brood.

But after what felt like a long time had passed, she wished she hadn't been left so much time to think about the game that she would soon be part of. All that thinking was just making her more and more nervous, and on top of that, she was sure she was missing important information that was being taught in class. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, she glanced at the fridge but decided against eating anything. She didn't feel hungry anyway.

Without anything to do in the room, anxiety was slowly and steadily mounting inside her, and Sophia's efforts to suppress that feeling weren't working very well. At last, the door opened as two guards walked in. Time to go. She let herself be escorted through the darkening streets with her gaze lowered, trying to tune out her surroundings and focusing on herself and dampening her feelings.

The firing of a gun followed by a scream made her jerk her head up, in time to see a teenager before them crumple to the ground. It was the prod from the guard that told her to keep moving, or else she might have stayed frozen to that spot for much longer.

Entering a three-story house a while later, this time her head was up and she was looking around as they made their way through the house and up to the top floor, where she was directed into the closet and told to stay hidden. Once the door of the closet closed, she was left in darkness.

The sound of her heart thumping in her ears made it hard to hear anything, but it didn't stop her thoughts from continuing to run free. Thinking about the place she had been hidden in, a closet didn't seem like a very good place. In here, she felt trapped. Plus, a closet was such an obvious place to hide. Anyone who had played hide and seek would know that. And when her hiding place was discovered, where would she be able to run? All they had to do was open the closet door, and she would be cornered.

She didn't like the sound of that, being cornered. There had to be a better place to hide somewhere. Right? Just because she had been told to stay hidden, that didn't mean she couldn't find a better hiding place, right? Hopefully there was still some time before the teams arrived. But then, what if she only had a few minutes? It could be that once she stepped out, the teams would arrive. However, thinking about it, she would probably get caught pretty easily anyway. She was pretty hopeless at this kind of stuff.

She hesitated for a while before making up her mind. Slowly pushing the door of the closet open, she stepped out and closed the door behind her, taking a look around the room again. The bedroom where she had been hidden was pretty bare, the only other possible hiding place other than the bathroom and closet was under the bed. That wasn't any better, so she turned her steps towards the doorway.

A distant crash froze her mid-step. What was going on downstairs? There were only two possibilities as to who had made that noise. First, the teams had arrived early and were already searching. Or... the boy had also abandoned his hiding spot and was doing some crazy stuff downstairs.

Tentative steps brought her slowly out of the room, flinching as another crash sounded and leaving the door just as it had been before she had exited. Then, more cautious steps towards the staircase. She peered downstairs, but the way the staircase spiraled down to the bottom floor made it hard to see anything except the stairs themselves. Another crash. Then as she strained to see downstairs, a soft sound reached her ears. Footsteps.

Now ready to bolt back to the closet if it turned out the person was coming to the top floor and not just the middle floor, she backed up a few steps but still kept an eye on the stairs. The figure came up until she could see his or her face. It was the other healer, and it didn't seem like he was running from anyone either. Some degree of relief washed over her, but she was still glad he had stopped on the middle floor. For some reason, she didn't feel like meeting him right now. Especially since he must have been the cause of those noises.

She would just have to be careful not to encounter him, for she really needed to find a better hiding place. Soon. Before it became too late. Unfortunately, that boy was still on the middle floor, so she would have to look around on the bottom floor first. She didn't like the idea of hiding on the bottom floor since the teams would probably enter there first, but it was worth a try.

Sophia began her descent, yet another crash convincing her that the boy was still occupied. Reaching the landing on the middle floor, she stared at the couches and chairs that were blocking the way out to the terrace. What...? Eyeing the doorway across from the staircase that lead down to the bottom floor warily, she waited for a sign that the boy was still occupied. As yet another sound of something breaking sounded from beyond the doorway, she rushed to and down the stairs that led to the bottom floor.

Reaching the bottom floor, she stood still as she took in her surroundings. Everything around her was not as it had been when she had first entered with the guards. Everything was... wrecked. She could hear water running, and water was pooling on the floor in puddles. Here and there across the floor lay wires. What had that boy been doing? He hadn't... lost control of his power and begun wrecking everything, had he?

Careful to avoid stepping on the wires, she peered into the nearest bathroom where she could see water was leaking from. It could no longer function as a bathroom, shards of glass and ceramic lying all across the ground. No hiding in there. Moving away from the stairs and into the kitchen, there she saw the taps running as well, and more water on the floor.

This was beginning to seem quite deliberate to her and less like what she had initially thought. Whose power would automatically clog drains and turn on taps? But why had that boy done it? It was so hard to move around-- that was it. He must have been trying to make it harder for the teams to get through and up the stairs. But now she was having difficulty making her way through, let alone find a hiding spot. His plan had so backfired on her.

Wanting to minimize the amount of water flowing onto the floor, she reached over and turned off the kitchen tap, just as there was a very, very, loud crash and thud accompanied by the sound of something splintering. Her heart seemed to jump in her chest as her breath quickened. She could have sworn she felt the ground shake under her feet. That boy had to be insane. What had he done now?

Making her way back to the kitchen doorway, she stopped as there was another loud thud accompanied by splintering. Followed by another of those noises, then another, and finally the appearance of a chair half embedded into the ground floor stairs. She stared. The stairs were entirely destroyed, and there was no way of getting back up. She clenched and unclenched her fists as nervousness, anxiety, and fear flooded through her once more, the emotions stronger than before. Now she had no choice but to stay on the ground floor. He was insane. Utterly and totally insane, coupled with a power capable of throwing around couches.

But she couldn't waste time. The teams would probably be arriving anytime soon, and she needed to be hidden. Stay hidden or risk solitary confinement, those had been the terms. As quickly as she could, she made her way through the rooms, searching for someplace that looked suitable. Unfortunately, nowhere looked suitable.

She couldn't hide in kitchen cabinets, the fridge, the oven, under any tables or couches, or in the bathrooms. Soon she entered the bedroom. There wasn't much in there except a bed, another flooding bathroom, and... that was pretty much it. Plus some pillows and a blanket. How could it be that there was no where else to hide? It really looked like she was going to end up hiding under the bed. Under the bed on the floor that was wet. She was going to have to get wet too.

Crouching down to peer under the bed, it looked like she would just fit under. Lowering herself down onto her stomach, she lifted the edge of the blanket and ducked her head under it before pulling herself in under the bed. Once under, she rotated herself so she lay under the diagonally, her head towards the doorway. The blanket that was spread over the bed hung to the floor and concealed her from sight, unless one were to peer under from the head of the bed.

A few minutes after she had gotten settled, the cuff announced the start of the game.

---

Notes

During the approximate two minutes after the start of the game, Sophia did not move anywhere or do anything that needs to be mentioned, so I'm not detailing that part in.

Men vs. Women Race to 1000

1

[Closed] Asbasta [Closed]

@CrazyShadowy Back from my vacation! Still interested in the rp, but it's going to take me a little while to get my post up since I'm still transitioning, and still need to read the posts and jog my memory.

Also, added a theme song for Helma. May or may not seem relevant depending on who listens to it, but one of the things I think it sort of matches is the way she lives day by day. Along with something else.

Iris Halo

Laura Tilney

Kitchen, Chroma Knight Base
December 19, 2016 - ~7:49 am

Just one remark from Laura, and Amelie was ready to take action. She had a pretty good idea what fixing Brian's absence from the table meant, this wasn't the first time Amelie had taken it upon herself to rouse Brian from his slumber. Shaking her head slightly as the older girl exited the kitchen, Laura used the time to pour herself a cup of coffee from the pot that had just finished brewing, and took a seat at the table to wait.

"HEY, GET UP, LAZY BONES!" That was Amelie. Brian should be here anytime. Looking down into her cup of black coffee, she sighed. Why couldn't that boy-- actually he was a man now, at eighteen-- why couldn't he just learn to get up at a reasonable time? It was already past seven thirty, in fact, it was pretty much eight. Soon enough, there was another yell from Amelie that announced her arrival along with Brian.

Looking up from her cup of coffee, her gaze traveled over to the Brian on the ground, and her grey eyes gave him a long look. Not that he would see it, judging from the way that he still looked half asleep on the floor. It was a few minutes before he managed to summon up the energy to sit at the table, and it was then that Laura caught sight of his face. Punishment for sleeping late, huh?

She performed another small shake of the head before accepting the plate Amelie handed her with a thanks, and beginning to eat quickly while she listened to the conversation. Enough time had been wasted this morning already. Seemed like she wasn't the only one who wanted to get going that day, for Darius was asking for a spar.

That invitation definitely wasn't for her, but it meant that she might have to keep an eye on whoever decided to spar with Darius, depending on how far they decided to take things. She found herself raising an eyebrow as Connor took the invitation. Connor was the newest recruit currently, having only trained for a month. Darius, on the other hand, had been training for much longer. How long had Darius been training again? Fourteen, fifteen years? Well, she needed to come along for that. Laura couldn't pretend that she wasn't interested in seeing how such a fight would turn out.

But before going, she needed another cup of coffee. Seeing how the two men were already heading out of the room, she began to call after them. "Wait to start until..." There they went, probably hadn't even heard her. Halfheartedly, she finished. "I'm there." Oh well, coffee the first. The initial cup had been to wake her up properly, the second was to make sure that the effects lasted.

Holding her warm cup in both hands, she began to make her way slowly towards the training part of the base, careful not to spill anything on her clothes.

—(••[ 𝕎𝕀𝕊ℍ𝔼𝔸𝕋𝔼ℝ ]••)—

Alright. Here's the announcement that I'm back from my super long vacation. Arrived back home last night, so I'm still half asleep from jet lag and such.

So about a few things... I know I said that I should have been able to read posts while being absent. Well, that didn't happen. A late decision dictated by parents to not bring any tech save for their own phones foiled that plan, so I was stuck without any way to read anything for the entire time. Or at least, almost the entire time. The only time I could read something was when I went to this high-tech gym once that had a screen that could connect to the web while you were doing your jogging and such. Still, I could only read a few posts then.

Now I need to catch up on an entire five pages consisting of 20 really long posts per page, and unfortunately that's going to take a while, especially since I need a magnifying glass to see the scroll bar. Still, I'll try to read as fast as I can without skimming since I'm picking up that a lot has happened during my absence.

@January@Baklava@banjoanjo

Question for the GMs: When I'm done reading, should I do a total cap of Sophia's reactions to all that has gone on while I was gone? Or should I just go over a bit of what happened most recently before jumping in?

—(••[ 𝕎𝕀𝕊ℍ𝔼𝔸𝕋𝔼ℝ ]••)—

Sophia Lemane

Crimen Culpae 1, Northern Outskirts
September 3rd, 2020 - 9:50 pm

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.

---

---

USARILN East, Building A: Suite 226
September 4th, 2020 - 7:38 am

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. Here goes, let's hope I can finish this soon.

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.

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.

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. Perfect! she thought happily. I can spend the afternoon there.

---

---

Sophia Lemane & Savannah Churchill

Two Socially Awkward Children Meet

Multiple locations
September 5th, 2020 - 12:35 pm

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.

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

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.

---

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.

Savannah's List

-A couple more cardigans
-more pants
-a couple sweatshirts
-toiletries
-sheet music
-shoes
-pencils
-more gum
-chocolate

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. "Oh." Her eyebrows drew together as she looked at the girl who seemed around her age. "Are you... alright?" she asked softly. Crouching down to offer a helping hand, she caught sight of the X adorning the girl's throat. She's an Abberation.

Savannah flinched away from Sophia's hand, instead picking herself up. "Yeah, I'm fine." she said, brushing herself off with a frown. Seeing her stuff scattered everywhere, she cursed. "Oh, shit!" she exclaimed, dropping to the floor to gather her stuff together. "I'm really sorry for bumping into ya." she said to Sophia, sneaking a look at her. From where she was crouching, the girl appeared to be a regular. Now that 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. "It's fine." 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, "Yours? Or did someone else drop it?"

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.

"That's mine. Thanks for helping." 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. Do you play the violin? How long have you been playing? What piece was that sheet of paper for? Those were some of the questions that went through her head. 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? She stood in place, her gaze still on the bag. "Uh..." she began, but that was all she could get out. Feeling her face get a little warmer, she closed her mouth. "Nevermind."

"I'm Savannah, what's your name?" 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, "Oh, my name's Sophia Lemane. Nice to meet you." After a second of hesitation, she managed to blurt out, "Do you... uh, play?"

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

Savannah's answer caused Sophia's smile to become a bit more genuine. Why had she asked? "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."

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

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

"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." she said, thinking a bit. "How old are you? You look about my age."

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. "I'm thirteen, same with you?"

"Actually, I'm fourteen. I was thirteen, like 3 weeks ago." Savannah said.

So that meant that they were almost exactly a year apart. Her birthday too, had been quite recent. "Well then, happy belated birthday!" 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. "Hmm, think we should move somewhere else?" She hurried to add, "Though if you're busy, you can go. Don't want to hold you up."

As Sophia wished her a happy belated birthday, Savannah emitted a big smile. "Thanks!" she exclaimed. "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."

Holding the bags in her hands higher for a few seconds to bring attention to them, Sophia said, "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." 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. "That place feels like bad omens and death. I'd much rather stay in the mall." Savannah said.

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

"I could use something to eat. I think the food court is right over there." Savannah replied, pointing to the nearby food court.

Now that she looked, there it was, just as Savannah said. The food court. "Alright, then, shall we?" 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. "What do you want? 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. "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."

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

"Oh." So that explained Savannah's accent. "Never really ate much fast food myself. Guess I'll just still have that pretzel, you?" 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.

"Yeah, I'll have a pretzel too." Savannah said, rolling back her shoulders.

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

Suddenly, Savannah shouted "No!" 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. "I-I can pay for my own food."

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, "Su-Sure you can. Want to go first?"

"Y-yeah, sure." 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, "You know... I should probably head back soon."

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. "Yeah, I totally get it. Don't wanna miss curfew and all." 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. I wonder why, maybe she's still embarrassed. Either way, perhaps it's best that I just move on now. Finishing her pretzel, she scraped back her chair and stood up, picking up her bags.

"Well, it was nice meeting you." 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.

"Y-yeah, same to ya." 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.

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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.

[Closed] Asbasta [Closed]

@CrazyShadowy Sorry about this, but I realize that I will not be able to post before I leave for my trip. Prep and all has been keeping me quite busy. I'll try to catch up when I come back, but until then you can do the puppetting of my character.

Iris Halo

I've informally mentioned this a few times in the discord, but I'm going to repeat it again here just to prevent any confusion or wondering. Very, very, early on the 16th, I'll be leaving for a month long vacation overseas. I will return the night of February 19th. During that time I probably won't be able to post much, if at all, so Laura's going to be on the sidelines for a while.

The plan is that she will come down with a flu and spend most of her time trying not to infect anyone. Though she's a healer, healing sicknesses is very difficult and she would only be able to make her symptoms a little less strong and annoying if she wanted to. So I recommend not starting or engaging Laura in any activities or conversation for the time being.