Mason Crawford & Harmon Rottlage
A collaboration between
@Tyler and
@SepticGentleman
After Trevor informed him that he had arrived early due to work commitments, and thus was already settled in his dormitory, Mason bid him farewell and continued to the reception alone. After queing for a short while, he was given his room-key and paperwork.
"You will be living with Harmon Rottlage," the woman said sharply, not even looking in Mason's direction. "Next!"
Mason took the hint and headed off in search of his living quarters. The academy was like some sort of fun-house maze with a contemporary furnished feel, as Mason felt that he had walked along each of the corridors he passed through a thousand times in the short time he had been here. Finally, he arrived at his room, the tall wooden door equally as intimidating as it was inviting. Who would he be living with? What were they like? He wasn't going to wait any longer to find out.
Mason pushed open the door, the number '328' emblazoned across it in polished steel, and peered into the room inside. It appeared empty. It was not particularly large, but it definitely wasn't too small for two people to share. The room was furnished in two halves, with each of its residents having their own bed, desk and wardrobe; the latter of which Mason was particularly grateful for. He had brought all of his possessions with him, and this was mostly comprised of a large volume of clothing.
He was startled to spot a figure sat on one of the beds; so still and so silent that he had not yet noticed its presence. His features were concealed by a white hooded robe that seemed familiar to Mason, and a moment of thought recalled the strange individual he had spotted in the canteen. Thoughts of that gaping, cracked maw dominated his mind; that souless, eyeless visage...
He cleared his throat. "
Um, hi," he said, a tinge of nerves to his voice that was totally out of character. "
You must be Harmon," he added, regaining a degree of composure. He approached the man and extended a hand. "
I'm Mason."
Harmon merely aimed his camera up at Mason and pointed it at him for a moment, before slowly reaching up with one of his own spindly hands and taking up the man's offer for a shake. Was pretty weak, though. His hand dropped right back down.
"H-... h-hello..." He muttered.
Mason was thankful that their handshake had been so shortlived, pulling back his hand and awkwardly shoving it into his pocket. Harmon's skin was dry and coarse, his hands eerily bony. Mason glanced around the room, desperare for a conversation starter; his roommate's discourse was not particularly strong.
"
I see you're, uh, settled in..." Mason said, scratching the back of his head. "
I take it you've been here a while?"
"S-second year..." Harmon responded, still in a hush.
The way Harmon spoke unnerved Mason further; it was a low, empty whisper. Mason thought it belonged in a horror movie, and here he was sharing a room with the guy.
Never judge a book by its cover, he reminded himself. Whenever Mason felt judgemental, he quickly grew angry with himself and refocussed. He had been on the receiving end and it wasn't enjoyable.
"
Second year?" he asked, sounding notably more chirpy as he sat on his own bed. "
Perfect, I have my own tour guide!" he joked. "
This place is huge, I just know I'm going to get lost at some point."
"I, uh... I, I know the feeling..." Harmon responded, raising his voice just a little bit.
"Y-you get... used to it..." In truth, it'd taken him quite a while to get a feel for the academy's layout. Even then, he'd never even stepped foot in some of the buildings. Let alone off the grounds and into the wilderness. Lord knew what was out there.
Mason glanced out of the window as Harmon spoke. He didn't like the idea of staring at someone who could not see him. "
Heh, third floor... The stairs were a bitch, but the view almost makes it worth it, no?" he asked, before realising what he'd said. His desperate need for conversation had caused him to plant his foot royally into his mouth. "
I, uh... I'm sorry. I didn't think." he apologised, his voice urgent with sincerity. Heck, they'd just met and Mason was already screwing it up.
Harmon raised his head a bit and held up his camera, gesturing to it with his free hand.
"I, I can see..." He said,
"Just fine..."Mason would have been relieved that he hadn't touched on a sensitive issue, but Harmon's tone forbade him from feeling complacent. Instead, Mason felt suddenly exposed in the knowledge that Harmon could, in fact, see him after all. "
I, uh, don't quite understand," he said slowly, before remembering the nature of the academy. "
Your abilities?"
Harmon nodded.
"E-electronics... devices, I can... see through screens... feel their presences..." He paused for a moment before reaching his hand up and grabbing his hood, pulling it back.
"With, uh... with these..." He added, meagerly waving his hand around the shards adorning his crown.
Mason gasped a little as the man revealed his scalp. Strange, crystalline growths sprouted from his head and, like many of the world's oddities, they left Mason confused. On the one hand, these shards seemed to be physically burrowed into his crowd;
rooted, almost, deep inside his skull. On the other hand, the way the light hit them caused the quartz-like structure to illuminate and seem to glow. In some ways it was quite beautiful, but then again Mason had always been attracted to the stranger things in life. In fact, now that Harmon's hood was down and he was exposed to the full force of his striking appearance, Mason found himself feeling more and more at ease.
"
That's incredible," he said softly, his mind still half-captivated by the crowd of crystal spines.
Harmon simply nodded in response, lowering his head a bit. There was... a bit of apprehension, no doubt. But if he were being honest, he was enjoying the conversation. Sawyer, before, at the table, was a welcome bout of curiosity. And now Mason. Last semester, Harmon didn't receive anywhere near the same quality of attention. So, this... this was nice. He shook his head a bit, catching himself in his own silence. He raised his head again and said,
"Uh... you? W-what can... you, do?"Mason winced as the question was asked. Everyone he had met at the academy thus far had these incredible, life-changing abilities. The whole scenario left him feeling rather inadequate. "
I, uh... I'm not too sure," he said. It was a half-truth, at least. "
They've been developing over the past month, showing themselves in the middle of the night. But I only began to put the pieces together a week ago..." He sighed under his breath, recalling those nights and glancing at the full-length mirror in the corner of the room. He soon broke his gaze.
"
It's to do with mirrors," he admitted, gazing out of the window once more. "
I can sort of... Enter them. Like a door."
"Per, uh... perception-conceived pocket dimension manipulation?" Harmon asked, a little too fast for his character.
"R-Ruben... told me, about those..." This was the first he'd ever heard of it being linked to physical objects, though. Mirrors were an interesting manifestation of the concept. Maybe Tarblatt would like to speak with Mason at some point in the future. Harmon wasn't sure if he should bring up the class, however.
Mason looked at Harmon and raised an eyebrow. "
I have no idea what you just said," he laughed. "
But it definitely makes it sound a lot snazzier. I'll have to write that down..." As strange as Harmon was, there was no denying the man was incredibly intelligent. Mason was sure that sharing a room with Harmon was not going to be as unpleasant as some might assume. He hoped that as they became more comfortable with each other. his roommate would lose some of his nervous edge.
That reminded him;
I wonder how Casper is doing...
