My room, my new prison... [open]

[Alice Brown]

The ship arrived at noon.

Traveling by boat was a long, and boring trip. But, in retrospect, maybe it was a good thing. It gave Alice plenty of time to think, without being disturbed by anybody. Plenty of time to remember... She spent the entire trip leaning against the window, touching the cold glass with her forehead, and watching the sea. Sunsets were a beautiful sight, the red orb of fire disappearing into the ocean and sending rippled rays reflecting across its surface. However, the girl was not in the right state of mind to truly appreciate it. In her thoughts, she was still home.

Upon arrival, Alice had to go through a lot of paper-pushing - going from one cabin to another, to another, making sure everything is accounted for, getting acquainted with the rules, and briefly explained what this facility was all about. They called it a 'school for the gifted', and tried to convince the girl she was lucky to end up here, of all places. 'Lucky'. Yeah right. But... I guess it beats going to jail... Probably.

It was nearing evening, when Alice was finally done with all the formalities, and given keys to her room, and send on her way to the west wing, from the administrative corpus. She hauled her baggage with her - two large road bags, and a suitcase on wheels. Quite a lot of luggage, that was, probably more than needed, but she cared not. Every item brought had some value to her, if only purely sentimental. But the downside... it was quite heavy. She had a bag over each shoulder, and holding the handle of the suitcase with a hand. Breathing out heavily, and frequently stopping to fix the straps that held the bags on her shoulders. Their ropes were cutting into skin, even under the clothes, and causing discomfort. It was impressive how such a lean figure, which looked to fall over from a single gust of wind, was able to carry so much.

- Ngh...

Weighted down, the girl's movement was rather slow, as she walked towards the West wing, where she was told the girl dormitories were. While most of Alice's thoughts revolved around how heavy her bags were. But she noticed that ... there were not many people around. A part of her hoped to run into somebody to help her out with all of this, but ... she didn't meet a single person so far. She found it odd... A school like this was supposed to be crammed with people. So... where were they?

- Gah, can't take this anymore... - she breathed out, and let the bags collapse down from her shoulders, unto the stony walkway. The dorms were still a good distance away, and up the hill. Sitting down on the suitcase, Alice took a breather, rubbing one of her shoulders with a hand. Catching a breath, breathing in and out. From afar, she could've been confused with a lanky boy of some sort, due to relatively short hair, and dark colors in clothes. At times, Alice wished to be a boy. Being stronger would've certainly helped right about now.

Just a little break, and I'll be on my way...

[Aura McKinly]

Aura stretched as she hopped to her feet, having just awoken form a nap in her room. She glided over tot he mirror over her desk, looking at herself for a moment, smiling happily. She always felt so refreshed after a nap, she couldn't help but bounce with energy. She smiled at her reflection, running a brush through her hair before smoothing out her tank top for a moment, stretching it back over her stomach before looking at her guitar for a moment. She'd leave it in there for the day, she wanted to go do some exercise in the forest. She moved over to her dresser and pulled out a pair of her jeans, swapping them for the track shorts she had on earlier. It was always nice to keep her legs protected from the brambles of the forest after all.

She walked over to her bed, pulling out a pair of combat boots from under it and slid them on, lacing them quickly before darting out of the room, sliding around on the floor as soon as she hit the stone for a moment before her boots caught hold and she was able to dart through the halls, heading directly for the door. She burst through it, not even slowing down for a shouting prefect behind her telling her to not run through the halls. Did she care she was being shouted at? Not at all. Prefects didn't really bug her, then again she knew how to get away from them. She had learned pretty much ever nook and cranny of the school by now, then again she'd been there for over a year now.

She didn't see the girl and her things int the middle of the walkway though, and found herself suddenly airborne as her foot clipped one of the many bags. Blinking once or twice, things seemed to slow for her as she reacted naturally tot he sudden tumble, her arms quickly moving up to cushion the fall as she rolled once, popping right back up to her feet, a little confused by the fall. She turned slowly and blinked as an aura and person slowly came into view. She looked at the girl, blinking a few times as she looked at all the bags around her. She was a new face, someone she hadn't seen before. It was obvious she had just arrived as well, though why she had so many bags she didn't even know.

Aura didn't even have that many bags to take to her room and she was a model as well as an upcoming singer thanks to her dad. She blinked a few times down at the girl before moving over and squatting down, looking at her. "Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going. Name's Aura McKinly, need any help? You look like you're a little overloaded with your things there." she asked curiously, offering a friendly smile before standing and offering her hand to the girl. There were absolutely no signs of the inner turmoil she had been experiencing over the past few months, jsut her usual happy-go-lucky outer demeanor.

[Alice Brown]

When you are waiting, time seems to slow down. 

And for Alice, time did indeed slow, as she waited for her little break to end. She kept staring at the small pocket watch in her hands, the arrow moving with a 'tick' or a 'tock'. This watch was her father's - she took it with her, as a little trinket of memory. And it was a useful thing too! There was just a minute left, before the girl would force herself to stand up, and continue the heave-n-pull. But then she heard someone coming.

It was a girl, a stranger. Granted, almost everyone was a stranger to Alice at this point. She straddled down the walkway, very fast, and very ... absentminded. So absentminded she didn't even notice the bag barricade blocking her path. Alice opened her mouth, hand lifted to her face, as she was about to yell a warning, but it was too late - the clumsy stranger was already plummeting towards the asphalt. She cringed, closing one of her eyes and looking away, before letting out a tired sigh.

Well that's just great. 

When Alice opened her eyes, she found that the weirdo girl was already up, and staring at her, curiously. The girl blinked a few times, her facial expression having a big 'What?' written all over it. She opened her mouth to ask if she was okay, but did not manage to do so - the stranger got there first, with an introduction, and a question, and a remark on her luggage. Quite a chattermouth!

- Um... my name's Alice. Nice to meet you... Are you ok? - the girl looked left and right, a bit reluctant to having to speak out her name. She was wary of strangers, normally. But the offering of help was certainly appreciated. She shook the hand offered, and, standing up, tugged on each bag she used to carry, figuring out the lightest one, and picking the other, placing it on the shoulder. The break was over anyway. Alice winced a bit, feeling the weight on the already sore shoulder. The suitcase on wheels was in the other hand.

- And ... yeah. Would really appreciate if you helped me with this. - she nodded at the lightest bag remaining.

[Aura McKinly]

Aura gave a light tug to pull the girl to her feet, blinking as she looked up at her. She had always seen herself as pretty tall for a girl, being taller then a lot of the ones she knew, but this girl had to be at least six feet tall. None-the-less she smiled at the taller girl, nodding curtly at the question. "It takes more than that to actually hurt me." She blinked as she obviously tested the weight of each bag, probably looking for the lightest to give to her. This made aura frown a little, for she could see that Alice was a little sore from the look of her physical aura alone. When she had said help she meant help take the entire load off her back. That was exactly what Aura was going to do anyways, she had the powers to make it a lighter load for her while not exerting too much effort. The girl's dorms were on the third and fourth floor after all. There was a bit of a walk still left.

Aura turned, looking at the other bag and tilted her head a little, trying to think of a construct that would suffice. Maybe a cart, but going up stairs with a cart would be a pain. She snapped her fingers, realizing she could do the same thing she did with the Christmas tree. She waved her hand, particles of light solidifying against her skin before a thin rope of it swirled away from her. She watched in satisfaction as the light did exactly what she wanted it to do, forming a thin, solid film that wrapped around the bag before forming a platform under it, lifting it up ever so slightly before the construct solidified, her light at it's purest white she had been able to achieve so far, though it was a somewhat dull white.

She smiled to herself and nodded, lifting the platform up off the ground, having it hover lightly in place before expanding it and putting sides on it so the bag wouldn't fall before motioning to the bag that Alice was holding. "Why not let me handle that? I can see you're tired from your trip and I just woke up from a nap. Plus, it's good practice for my constructs," she offered with a smile. She knew she was exhausted when she first arrived, even with the events of that day that included being randomly grabbed up and lead off in a wild random chase on ice. But that was nearly a year ago, and even back then it turned out she was helping him more than he helped her that day.

She waved off the memories after a moment, quickly pulling the hover cart construct up next to her and patting it, testing the strength with her own hands before nodding in content. It would do for just about as much weight as she wanted to put on it. She turned to the girl, speaking again. "Mind telling me your room number so I know which floor it is on?"

[Alice Brown]

- Your wha~...

Alice's eyes widened, and the girl took a step back, when the air around her new acquaintance began glowing, She didn't know what it was, and for a few moments, expected danger - clenching fists and preparing to defend herself, somehow. But a few moments later she heard the voice of reason ringing inside of her head: It must be her special ability of some sort. You're on a mutant island, remember?

That managed to calm the girl down, making her approach once more. The 'construct' seemed to resemble some sort of carriage, on which the bags were to be placed. The advantages of such a power was pretty obvious, Alice had to remark. And if someone else were to carry all of her bags - all the better for her! 

- That's ... that's a pretty awesome ability to have. You can make any object that way? - the girl inquired upon approach. With a grunt, she dropped the bag off of her shoulder, and unto the carriage, letting out a breath.
Perhaps carrying so much was not the best idea, but every item within the bags was dear and precious to her - a memory connected with each of the objects. 

- Oh, and the dorm is on the fourth floor. There's no elevator, ... is there?

Alice didn't sound too optimistic. And despite having watched such a neat display of power, the girl was not too eager to show hers. The less everyone else knew about her, the better. As they would move towards the dorm, for a while, she would remain silent. Looking around, with her observing eye. What kept bugging her was the eerie silence over the entire campus.

Kinda creepy...

__________________

OOC: Terribly sorry for the delay. I had computer trouble for entire week T^T Won't happen again.

[Aura McKinly]

Aura resisted the urge to wince, having to concentrate a little harder to keep the cart hovering over the ground from the weight before shaking her head at the question. "I can't make any object. Like, I can't make super complex machines or anything but I can create more simple things like carts and what not with it. Hell, I've created a fork just because I didn't have one before," she said with a light laugh. It was true, every time she tried making something more complex it ended up just falling apart on her. She hummed for a moment, thinking on the fact before her attention was caught again, turning to the girl and shaking her head.

"There is no elevator, which is why I offered to carry all of this for you. It's much easier to use a platform to carry things up stairs than to find yourself weighed down." She smiled and nodded towards the school, turning and starting to walk. It had been quiet for a while now, but that didn't surprise her. After what had happened it wasn't surprising to her that it was so quiet. She thought for a moment, noting that Alice's aura seemed to show a bit of unease. It was probably the silence, it would be a bit unnerving after all.

"If the silence is bothering you...well it's been like this for a while now. Some things happened and now everyone is pretty much recovering, don't worry though. It's not normally this quiet," she stated, offering the girl a friendly smile.

---

OOC: It's fine, irl stuff happens ^^

[Alice Brown]

- Huh?

If it was a guess, it hit spot-on. But it probably wasn't. It surprised Alice though, her eyes widening as the girl just snatched the thought right from the tip of her tongue. The eyes narrowed a bit, as she looked away, staying silent for a little while. - So you can read minds? I was just thinking about how quiet it had been around here. 

Alice did not exactly feel comfortable with the thought of meeting someone capable of mindreading. The privacy of the mind was one of the most sacred things to any human - it was the vault of personal opinions, secrets and fears. To have someone with a key to open that vault was ... unpleasant. It immediately made the girl wary of the other girl's presence, no matter how helpful she was. An ability to read minds would be ... disturbing. Just gonna roll with it for now. Once I reach the room, this girl will be away from me. I will be safe. 

But what kind of things was Aura talking about? 

Alice did not meet many students on her way here. In fact, this one was the first. And back at the office in charge of the paperwork... they seemed understaffed. For such a busy place, it was manned by merely a handful of people. Conclusions were easy to draw. Something bad must have happened. She sounded awfully vague too...

- Recovering, huh? From what?

Though sounding only mildly interested, Alice was all ears. Whatever was the mystery behind this place, she wanted to know. This was no ordinary school, she was able to tell that much. And things were, probably, solved differently around here.

She had no idea...

[Aura McKinly]

Aura held up her hands at the suggestion, waving them a little. Her reading minds? That was insane! Now her reading emotions, that wasn't insane. "No, I can't. I only see auras and I could tell the silence was making you a little uneasy I didn't mean to freak you out or anything. It was a lucky guess really, I just figured the quiet would make any new student uneasy" She smiled a little, hoping she had eased the girls mind at least a little. She couldn't help it if she couldn't not see auras, she didn't want to freak anyone out over such a small thing. She relaxed a little after a moment, the construct behind her having flickered for a moment in her small panic.

After she relaxed she took a moment to make sure her light was still fairly pure for the construct before the next question came. She winced at it, not wanting to really think about what had happened. So many people had been lost, some of which she was close to. She sighed a little, checking the construct again to make sure it was steady for a moment before turning around, figuring a new student should know what had happened. She needed to know, that way they could try to avoid trouble. She didn't want anyone else getting involved in combat that they had no part of, too many had already gotten involved in the last scuffle.

"Well...there was a bit of a...really bad fight. IT started out as an argument, then all out death match. some of us barely made it out alive getting others to safety. I still don't understand why it happened....but we lost a few lives that day to it." She shook her head, forcing back tears. She wasn't going to fall apart in front of this girl, it was not something she'd let herself do. Her hand subconsciously went to her side where she had recently had stitches removed. At least that had healed faster than the wound over her eye from the encounter she had the previous year, the lack of scarring on her side made that obvious. "I'll give you a word of advice, try not to get on anyone's bad side here. You could find yourself in a lot of pain...or worse."

[Alice Brown]

- Say... what?! 

Alice followed the story relatively contently, up to the point where she said the word 'deathmatch'. That word alone made her stop, suddenly, in her tracks, standing still for a few moments. The girl had pale skin, but it would seem that she would become even paler, white as a paper-sheet. One of her eyes twitched, as she processed through everything she just heard. Did she mishear? No, Aura mentioned it several times in her speech. 

- Did you just say that ... people died in here?

Up until now, Alice was under impression that this place, this island, was a school. Sure, not an ordinary school, considering the contingent of students around here, but still. A school. To have someone being killed in a school was pretty much unheard of. But here, it was not just one someone. Several someones! In fact, enough to make the place look deserted? The news alone was enough to shake anyone. Alice put an effort to not freak out, and suppress her own fear spike.

- I thought this place would be like back on the mainland. Guess not. - she breathed out, giving Aura a somewhat tired stare.

But then... maybe it makes sense. Kids are dumb. They often fight. If dumb kids have superpowers... when they fight, it's gonna end up badly. Always.

- I'll totally enjoy my time here. - she said, with a heavy doze of sarcasm. Alice was no mindreader, but she could tell Aura wasn't cool with the subject either. The way she kept things vague hinted at that, so this girl decided not to prod the issue.

- Uh... so, anyone in particular I should be wary of?

Alice wished not to run into local nutjobs any time soon. But still, what she heard shook her to the very core. Isolation was bad enough. Danger of dying? Worse.

[Aura McKinly]

Aura winced and stopped at the sudden halt. She knew she probably shouldn't have said as much as she did. The girl's aura was a mixture of surprise and fear. The young light manipulator nodded at the question, not wanting to say anymore than that. She herself was barely keeping herself in check and she was not going to be showing weakness in front of someone she just met. That was just not something she'd let herself do. She had already cried enough. She blinked at the tired stare as she spoke. She obviously had been hoping for the island to not be much different from wherever she came from before. Then again, who really came to the island and found themselves in the same situation as before?

Not many.

She couldn't help but giggle though at the sarcasm filled statement. It was something she didn't expect but at the same time enjoyed. She hadn't heard good sarcasm in a while and had been sorely missing it. She blinked at the last question though, a little caught off guard by it. Anyone who she should be wary of? Most of the people she'd recommend had died or seemed to have faded from existence. She scratched the back of her head in thought. Who would be best to be wary of? She didn't even know anymore. There were too many factors, it all depended on what a person thought after all.

"Honestly...no. Everything got so shook up that I honestly don't know who to trust and who to be wary of other than those I've been close to for a while now... All I can really tell you to do is, if you want to survive with no issues, follow the rules and stay neutral. You're less likely to find yourself fighting for your life that way..." The young singer's hand slowly drifted up to her eye, touching the end of the scar. Had she stayed neutral she wouldn't have found herself fighting for her life twice now. But did she truly want that? She wanted freedom, and she was going to keep fighting for it. The Prefects weren't all bad, no. But that didn't mean that there weren't issues among them, but the same could be said about the Battle Front.

Aura did know one thing, she was going to stick with Calista and her Battle Front. She felt most comfortable there after all.

[Alice Brown]

- Well, that's ... uh ... reassuring.

It was another sarcastic remark, to hide the fear the chilling news have induced. Although, the fear itself was far weaker than it would've been if she had been present during these mysterious and dangerous events that unfolded. She's still being vague. I'll have to find out what happened, but from somebody else. Someone more open to telling. 

- And ... I am not looking to cause anyone problems. Didn't come here for some unstable nutjob to incinerate me to crisp or something. I'll stay out of trouble. - Alice spoke out, solidifying her stance on whatever that has been happening around here. She even cracked a smile, attempting to look cheerful, but instead it only made her seem more nervous. She sighed - this was not exactly the kind of welcome Alice expected to receive on her first day here. 

So... watch where you're going, who are you talking to, watch your tongue, don't participate in anything shady. Go to classes when needed, stay in your room when not, and you should be alright, Alice. Provided that the roommate is not an unstable nutjob herself. Hmmm...

The last statement actually felt more like a question, a question she needed an answer to. Who was her roommate? What to expect of her? Maybe the Aura girl could help her out here, too... Hmpf, a girl named Aura can see auras. What kind of parent would call a child 'Aura' anyway?

- Say... do you know my roommate, by any chance? Her name starts with a K. Was it ... Kayle? Kayla? Something like that.

[Aura McKinly]

She started walking again a moment later, wanting to get a move on it, listening to the girl's statements halfheartedly. She was pretty much reiterating what she had just said, but did that bother her? Not at all considering she would have been doing the same thing. Then again weren't most people doing odd things these days? It was a school full of powered teens cooped up in a five square mile area, it would lead to some oddness in how people reacted and interacted in general.

She paused at the question, tilting her head as she thought about the name. Kayle? That was definitely not anyone she knew, but Kayla? That was definitely a name she knew. She had never actually spoken to the girl or had any real interactions with her but she knew the name and how to place the face. She nodded a little, trying to find the words to say before speaking to her about the girl.

"I don't know her know her, but I know her face and aura. She's a fairly friendly girl and I'd assume easy to get along with. I've only said hi walking through the halls, hell our rooms are on opposite ends of the hall. She doesn't seem insane or anything at least."

---

OOC: Sorry for the shortish reply, low on muse ^^;;

[Alice Brown]

- Lucky me...

Well, at the very least, the roommate girl was not going to cause much trouble. But still, Alice figured out that she will be the final judge of character, although the fact she was roomed with a friendly, non-crazy girl was promising. Even if it was somebody else's opinion. 

The dorm was getting closer and closer. For what was supposed to be a jail island, it was kind of impressive. Alice's head tilted up, as she stood and stared at the building for a little while, before going for the door and opening it, holding it open for her new acquaintance and the constructs that held the bags.

- After you. - she said, nodding towards the open door.

It wouldn't be much further, now.

[Aura McKinly]

Aura nodded in thanks to the open door and slipped in, the construct sliding in behind her as she hummed a bit, her soft voice staying in perfect pitch with the tune in her head. She was a musician after all, it was not uncommon to hear her humming the tunes in her head. She paused for a moment, letting her eyes adjust to the dimmer light and started walking towards the stairs, still humming happily. She was in a good mood despite the earlier conversation, it surprised even herself but it wasn't a bad feeling. She hadn't really felt herself in a while, so being happy was nice. She continued the humming for a bit before pausing, tilting her head a little in thought. Maybe she should have just brought her guitar with her. It would have been nice to just sit in the courtyard and sing, drawing a small crowd like she normally did. She glanced at the girl next to her, thinking for a moment before speaking, figuring she could change the subject to something more fun.

"So... What do you like to do for fun? Got any talents or anything interesting?" she asked, trying to look for a little bit of small talk during the climb. IT was an innocent question right? There wasn't much to it after all, it was a question she asked often enough of people back in the States. She smiled a bit, noting that they were now on the third floor at her questions. Maybe she'd get an answer before they reached Alice's room? If not she'd ask her later if the girl wanted to be left alone to settle. If not she'd help her settle in before going back to her room for the guitar, having a strong urge to go sing at some point today now.

[Alice Brown]

Alice did not answer the question immediately.

For a few moments, as she and the weird construct girl went up the stairs, she was trying to figure out whether this question was about her hobbies... or her powers. The latter the girl did not wish to divulge to anyone ... ever. Secrecy was the key to safety, even when surrounded by people who could do the weirdest of things. She was afraid too, and was able to understand the fear of a common man.

I'll treat it as a hobby question.

- I like drawing. And whistling. That's ... about it. Nothing special, really. You could say I'm average. Yourself?

Soon, they'd be getting to the fourth floor as well. Alice was ... pretty happy about that. Because she got her bags carried by someone else, meaning she wouldn't have to sprain her back trying to drag it upwards. She even shot a grateful smile - probably the first smile she had during the entire day. She'd go to her room now, but first ... a show of gratitude was in order.

- Well... we're here. Thanks for helping me with the bags. It would've been ... difficult without your help.