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Ronnie exited swiftly the room.

She walked with poise and purpose, gliding down the hallway to observe the place. Mutant. For every normal person the word brought either fear and curiosity, occasionally indifference. Often only the ignorant were indifferent.

Deciding to judge the school's inhabitants with her own eyes, she glanced around.

What she found, surprised her. Ronnie didn't expect the school to be so... normal and bland. She itched her eyebrow as she continued her brisk pace down the halls. Students of all walks of life appeared locked in their daily routine. A few crowded by their rooms, laughing or locked in conversation. She managed to draw a glance or two causing her to slow to saunter, enjoying the admiration of her figure. Others traveled in small packs through the narrow hallways. The sight of them pulled at her cold heartstrings before she pushed it away.

She didn't need the distraction.

After a few twists and turns, Ronnie’s direction lead her toward the cafeteria. A place she could sit, eat, and finally determine her next move. Her phone vibrated causing Ronnie to slip it out of her back pocket. She frowned then scrolled through the texts. She rested on a caller id labeled Father, her expression softened briefly and her thumb tapped it open. Just when she began to read it, her body collided with a smaller body of flesh. Four inches shorter than herself.

Ronnie stepped back as her fingers tightened around her phone, fixing it in her hand. Her teeth gritted and her mouth’s right corner curled up. She glared at the cause of the blockage. A bimbo with a dazed look found Ronnie’s wrath.

“Excuse you? Walk much?” She snapped, placing her phone into her pocket.

---

Anders sat up in the bed that he had been assigned, the room was empty aside from the bed and a couple of his belongings, though he hadn't had much when he arrived anyway. How on earth did I get to this place in my life? he wondered as looked around the room for his backpack, he had tossed it around somewhere. Half of the clothes and items that he had were all stolen, including the very nice hiking pack that he was pulling onto the bed, he dug around for a bit until he pulled an engraved silver case, he smirked a tad before standing and brushing hair from his face as he walked to the door.

Outside of the dormitory he stood back to the wall and opened the silver case, inside he had what looked like small cigars and a lighter. No smoking inside the dorms, ppffftt. he thought to himself, as if anything had ever stopped him before, but he figured it would be best to not rock the boat until he had a little rapport built up to not get just handed over to cops right away. He had been lucky that the institute was able to make a few moves to get him out of trouble. He pulled one of the cigars out and lit it, the scent of cloves wafting out, the same scent he gives off when he goes incorporeal. "I really need to get my bearing around this place, figure out how to leave if I need." The words came out loud, and not in his head, sometimes he gets mixed up having been alone a while. The campus was nice and really was a great place for him to maybe figure out what to do with himself, now that himself is a topic that he really isn't sure of anymore.

It wasn't sleep so much as it was emptiness. A long, aching, consuming darkness that seemed to take up her entire reality, not even the stars of her astral world dotting her vision. It surrounded her, filled her up. Aya couldn't tell if she was in it, or was the darkness herself.

Nothing felt right -- like she was wearing her body wrong, skin stretched odly over muscle that wasn't attached correctly to her bones. With every breath, her organs fought for space in her chest, moving beneath her ribs in an attempt to fit.

Sometimes there was pain. It burned her like fire, turning her to ash, black dust disolving into the nothing around her. It pierced her chest, ran her through, and all Aya wanted to do was scream. But she couldn't. She didn't have a mouth. Or a face, or a body. She had no way to open herself up, no vocal chords to stretch raw.

Bloodshot eyes flashed into reality. Then great yellow fangs. Grey skin stretched too tightly over a grotesque figure. It raised its clawed hand to run her through, eyes hungry for whatever pain it could harvest.

Then there was the steady beeping of a heart monitor, and the too clean smell of hospitals. Her father's withered hand, grey skin laying loosely over the sharp outline of his skeleton.

"W-what did you do?" a voice she tried to forget rang in her ears. "Put me back, freak!"

Pink eyes, yellow fangs, grey skin, panicked voice, it all flooded her nothingness, and she couldn't scream, she couldn't feel, there was only --

Stars.

Aya stood in a world made of stardust. Smoke like billowing galaxies rolled along the floor. A man emerged, with dark eyes and a smile that turned Aya's blood to ice. Then there was a throne. He took his seat, perfectly at home, but -- no. No, this was wrong. He opened his mouth to speak, his sly smile still curling his mouth, looking to all the world like an apex predator. But he had no voice. Aya's eyebrows crinkled together, and she stepped forward --

Pain weighed her down like a blanket, a steady, even pressure that kept her from moving. Her face scrunched up -- she had a face. Slowly, muscle by muscle, Aya became aware of her body again. Everything hurt. But it was nothing compared to the thunderous pounding in her head, like boulders piled on top of her temple until her skull cracked open. A tiny groan tried to escape her, but her throat was too dry for sound -- instead there was only a weak hiss of air.

There was the steady beeping of a heart monitor. For a moment, Aya didn't remember where she was -- that sound meant a hospital in Honolulu. Her father in bed, covered in wires, too skinny, hollowed out eyes, barely able to move.

It meant looking down at her own body, as Kainoa screamed and sobbed at her to put him back.

It meant she was helpless.

Aya managed to peel her eyes open, only to immediately regret it. The fluorescent light high above her head stabbed at her, and Aya flinched her eyes closed again. Regaining control of her body through the pain and the disorientation was a slow, agonizing process. But eventually, after what might've been minutes or hours, Aya was sitting up in bed, blinking blearilly down at herself. Needles stuck out of her arms, monitoring her, feeding her, keeping her hydrated. The sight of them was too familiar. It made her want to throw up.

She flinched as she removed each needle from her arm, watching pinpricks of blood ooze up from under her skin. When she looked down at herself after pushing away the thin hospital blanket, she found she was still in her wrinkled blue dress, though she was barefoot now. Aya nearly collapsed when her feet hit the chilly linoleum floor. She barely managed to catch herself on the heart monitor, now beeping incessantly to alert her that no data was being collected. The sound pierced her ears, each beep another stab at her brain.

Eventually Aya managed to stand on her shaky legs, and she made her way out of Ashford Academy's medical wing. She didn't know where she was going. She just couldn't be here.

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Heidi, on her way to the Danger room, would today see the first of the other students who had been at Nocturne. It was Cleo, with a student by her side that Heidi didn't recognize. And Heidi had the entire student pool memorized. She must be a new student, and Cleo must be showing her around. As she had just heard the announcement too, the Danger Room was likely her next stop unless she was going to give the new student a school tour. That was a possibility, as it would mean she'd get there late and have to clean less, but would have a very good excuse for doing so and would be let off. Heidi thought back to last night. The impression Heidi had of Cleo, who had tripped over Heidi at one point in the evening, wasn't of one who seemed that calculating. So they were likely heading to the Danger Room.

Heidi couldn't just pass them, as they'd therefore be going in the same direction and that would seem rude. So she waved at them and offered a half-hearted smile. "Hi. You two going to the Danger Room too?" Heidi asked the pair.

Ronnie, not bothering to pull out her phone, walked behind the Crazy Cleo. Her arms remained folded over her chest while she managed to keep pace. Occasionally, her eyes observed the scenery. Taking in all the sights to create landmarks in her mind and map out the huge building. She didn't want to get lost later.

She caught sight of a mousy looking girl. Several inches smaller than herself or Cleo, Ronnie took note of the girl's fashion. It screamed nerd and over comfortable. An outfit that belonged in the back of a hoarder's closet instead of on anyone with a shred of self-respect. Ronnie's lip to twitch slightly.

"Yes, we are." She resisted the urge to ask if the girl had begged a thrift shop for handouts.

Cleo had been showing Ronnie around the school a little bit, she pointed out the cafeteria and student lounge area before leaving of down the corridor, she went to mention the dormitories but had not the chance as their short trip was interrupted when the two bumped into Heidi. It was the first person she had seen all day from the actual night before. mainly as Cleo kept to herself and didn't surprisingly cause some sort of chaos. "Oh my god! Heidi!" Cleo beamed as she ran over to her friend, well Cleo considered her one as it was epic to see the girl come out of her shell and join them last night, even if it went bad.

Cleo refrained at the last moment to hugging the girl to death and instead place a hand on her shoulder, being unusually more reserved. "I hope you're doing okay after last night? And yes, sort of." Cleo slotted in to the girl's question. "You see I am showing a new girl around as it would be impolite not to do so... So this is Veronica, and Veronica this is Heidi. Cleo paused before just coming our with it. "I mean I would rather show Veronica around than go to the danger room, I still got to show the outside recreational areas and this awesome big crater that Isaac made a couple of days ago I think." Cleo smiled.

Heidi had braced herself for a hug, but relaxed when it became apparent in Cleo's movements that she was holding off on such an outgoing greeting. Heidi appreciated this gesture. Reading Cleo's lips, Heidi had been wrong. Cleo was planning on showing Veronica round, even if she didn't see to have thought possible consequences through.

"I'm alright. I didn't have much to drink at the club and I didn't really fight anyone at Nocturne. What about you? And I don't think we're supposed to be skipping cleanup duty, but if you're showing a new student around, I can't see that as something they'd punish you too harshly for."

Ronnie's eyes shifted from crazy Cleo to nerd Heidi, noting their behavior. An instinct developed from birth and honed through social survival. It took a few short moments to recognize a fairly causal and new friendship between the two. When Cleo introduced her, Ronnie raised her hand to give a half-hearted wave.

"Hi, I guess." Her tone remained indifferent.

While Ronnie could've judged the girl on her looks alone, she held her judgement and decided to wait. Looks were among the easier stuff to fix.

"If they had someone delegated to showing new students around, this wouldn't be an issue. I wouldn't need Cleo to show me around. Getting lost in a school this size, doesn't seem fun at all." Ronnie resisted adding heavy snark to her words. That included tacking on Crazy to Cleo's name. With their friendliness toward each other, she didn't need any enemies... yet.

"Going back to that subject of a crater, do I need to be worried? Is it common for people to lose control of their powers?" While Ronnie tried to sound calm, concern crept into her tone. Her eyes looked to both girls while still keeping up with them.

---

Kaylee woke up as normal with the dawn. She watched the sky go from a light gray to a beautiful blue while she sipped her coffee. She had called Cole last night and decided to text him letting him know that she’d be up early if he wanted to talk. She’d worn a nice sundress and flats.

Walking across the wing to the boys dorms Kaylee spotted Adam walking away from Cole's office. She raised her eyebrow in wonderment. He shook his head and moved on to his office. 

Kaylee knocked lightly when she got to Cole's office door. She was raised that you waited for an invitation. She was curious as to where exactly Cole had gone last night. She had sent him to get Uná and he hadn’t been on scene, but someone else was. Or were they?

Waiting patiently Kaylee decided there were a few things that, maybe, possibly added to one thing in particular that wasn't exactly alarming. While not alarming, per say, it was coming together for an interesting story. Which Kaylee had every intention of getting some answers from Cole.

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Smiling Uná helped Daniela up and started back toward the main building of the school. "So Daniela you're safe here. This school is almost an entity all its own. Pretty sure the cops if they came here would get a story they'd believe and go away. Ashford is like our Obi-Wan."

Uná grinned and wrinkled her nose cutely. "This is not the kid you're looking for. Move along. They'd go with it and you'd be fine. Come on, we'll head to the cafeteria and see what we can find. Then we can worry about where your room is."

As Uná practically dragged Daniela along one had to wonder at where Uná got the energy to be consistently on the go. They entered one of the side entrances and were making their way through the school. Uná pointed out the stairs to the upper lobby and talked about how that connected to the dorms as well with a great view, while they stayed on the first floor. Second floor was dorm rooms, Ashford was ambitious about how many students would eventually be here. Behind the lobby/cafeteria were the classrooms and the teachers offices.

There was no doubt that it seemed like everyone was taking advantage of the Saturday and either socializing or running around getting homework done. Uná looked up the hall, about to turn toward the cafeteria when she saw Aya stumbling around. "Oh my God Aya! Are you alright?" Rushing she dragged Daniela over with her.

@Almalthia

"So Daniela you're safe here. This school is almost an entity all its own. Pretty sure the cops if they came here would get a story they'd believe and go away. Ashford is like our Obi-Wan."

From what Daniela was understanding from this woman and from what she was finally seeing as Una pulled her out from the snack shed, she had somehow found a place...a school no less that was friendly towards mutants. Was it possible? Would she finally be able to stop running from people who were constantly hunting for her?

"This is not the kid you're looking for. Move along. They'd go with it and you'd be fine. Come on, we'll head to the cafeteria and see what we can find. Then we can worry about where your room is."

"I get a room? Like with a bed and everything?" She asked and immediately realized what a stupid question that was. Of course a room would have a bed. She felt her mouth water at the smell of actual cooked food but quickly did her best to maintain what composure she had with her tattered clothing and unkempt hair.

"Thank you Una." She whispered hoarsely. "I..I don't know what to say. I really don't." She continually looked around the school as Una pretty much dragged her along. It was a beautiful school. The high school she had gone to had been a bit run down but had still looked decent but this one...this school put her old school to shame. She couldn't help but notice however that she was getting a few odd looks from the various people around her which was only natural but it was freaking her out a little.

"A-Ashford is the one in charge here?" She asked quietly. "Do I talk to him or do I talk to one of the other teachers or...?" She was about to ask more questions when Una apparently saw someone she knew who was stumbling around. She immediately shut her mouth. She didn't want to risk upsetting anyone.

Aya blinked through her pounding headache at the figures in the distance. Uná. She was with someone else -- another girl -- and rushing towards her. Something Aya couldn't explain wrapped around her. She wanted to flinch back, away from her roommate.

Flashes of Uná appeared in her mind, dark eyed and wrong.

But before she could react, the younger girl was fluttering in front of her.

"Uná --" Aya cut herself off, catching herself against the wall. "You're... you're ok." Images flashed through her mind -- a pale man. A monster. Uná.

Smoke and a man with a dark, wicked smile. A headache shot through her temple, and Aya brought her hand up to her head.

"What happened?"

Coleman St. John

Cole’s small office was a spartan affair. Since taking his position at the Institute, he’d only occasionally used it and preferring to keep most of his work paperless, the desk drawers were mostly empty save for some basic office supplies. A small Harley pistonhead served as a weight over new student binders that the admin staff had left for his review. With the exception of a hanging clock, the walls were just as bare. He ran a finger back and forth over his lips as the Athletic Director, Professor Pierce trounced away, leaving the door wide open in his wake. He gave a small sigh. Maybe in some ways they were similar, but down in his gut, he just didn’t like the guy. There was no doubt that he cared for the students, but to Cole at least, it seemed like they were more his subjects than his pupils; it seemed Pierce never thought or wanted them to eclipse himself. Looking through the large window next to his desk at the courtyard where students moved and chatted casually, he shook his head a little considering the conversation that had just taken place.

It was in that same moment that a flash of white and yellow caught his attention and his glance shifted to the open door and across the small atrium where Kaylee stood, having apparently witnessed the AD’s less than cordial exit. Ironically, the same line of thinking seemed to be continued at his first glance of her as when Pierce had stormed out. He had to remind himself that she could sense the aura of his thoughts, however the next thought, quickly following, was that it was already too late to attempt to hide anything. With a small wave, he motioned for her to come over, taking another glance through the window as she approached. It was such a nice day outside, he lamented how he’d rather be out taking a ride by the beach or at least doing something more productive, but after the events of the previous night, he knew it would be better to be seen, even if no questions were asked. However, if they were going to be asked, he was going to get some answers for himself as well.

He examined Kaylee’s figure briefly as she entered before tilting his head past her briefly to get a glimpse of the other doorways in the wing. Being Saturday, the staff offices were empty for the most part, though in an Institute full of mutant abilities, he doubted how much privacy was really afforded. Still he spoke with a slight firmness before she could sit down: “Shut the door.”

@Almalthia

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Daniela was doing her best to keep her mouth closed but the more she saw of the school the more her jaw seemed to drop. It was beautiful. She looked towards the other girl who was approaching and immediately shut her mouth and stood straight.

Aya, still unsteady, vision still difficult to focus, braced herself against the wall as she saw the figure in front of her. It was a girl. Maybe around her age. Aya didn’t recognize her.

“...Hi,” came her soft voice, almost timid.

Daniela forced herself to make eye contact and tried to smile, but she was still nervous about this whole situation. “H-Hello.” She said quietly. She mentally slapped herself. You need to at least introduce yourself. She admonished herself.

“M-My name is Daniela.” She said quietly.

“I’m Aya,” she said out of reflex. There was something… surreal about all of this. Aya was still reeling from her… experience. What was she even supposed to call it? The fight, using her power for so long, the monster… She felt unmoored, like she was placed in a harbor when she was certain she still should’ve been caught in a storm out at sea. Another wave of dizziness came over her. Aya’s fingers curled against the wall holding her up.

“Ummm…” She didn’t know what to say. Eventually politeness won out over the need to find some sort of shelter. “Are… are you new?”

Daniela seemed to flinch slightly. “You might say that...I was hiding out in the snack shed.” She muttered as she looked down at the floor. “I-I was hiding. I-I think the authorities might be looking for me...T-There was an incident in New York a while back. I didn’t know it was a school. I just wanted somewhere to spend the night.” She motioned towards Una. “S-She found me.”

Aya tried very hard to focus on Daniela as her head swam. Her muscles ached where she’d pulled the needles out just minutes ago.

She clung to the name she knew.

“Uná,” she said, almost to herself. “She’s… she’s ok.” Images of the night before flashed in her mind. She looked back up to the taller girl. “The ahh… the school will take you in if you have nowhere to go and you’re a…” Mutant.

Daniela’s expression became a mix of relief and concern. “I appreciate that.” She said quietly. “I-I tried to go home...they yelled and screamed at me...called me a murderer.” She shook her head for a moment to clear the images of charred bodies from her mind. “If I may ask...where exactly am I?”

Aya’s focus pulled inward, fighting to stay conscious, stay upright, stay present. Daniela’s voice became distorted white noise as Aya squeezed her eyes shut. She stood in that hallway, bare feet against the cold tile floor, dress rumpled, skin too pale and eyes sunken in.

Daniela’s question some how drifted through the fog.

“Ashford Academy,” Aya managed to say. “I’m sorry, I think I… excuse me. I think I need to go lay down.”

As Aya answered the question Daniela had posed to her, she suddenly noticed the condition that this woman was in. She didn’t look the best.

“Uh...I-I think you might want to go see a doctor or something.” She said quietly. “Is...Is there a nurse here or something?” She asked Aya quietly as she more carefully examined Aya.

Aya shook her head and immediately regretted it.

“I just came from there,” she answered. “I’ll just… go to my room.” Aya managed to push herself up from the wall, though she was still unsteady. Then, because her manners required it, “It was nice meeting you, Daniela.”

Daniela couldn’t help but feel something was very wrong with this woman. She could see Aya was unsteady and obviously ill in some way. “Listen...I know I don’t have any right to say this...but I think you might need assistance getting to your room. W-Why don’t you let me help you make sure you get there. I’ll walk you there.”

Aya automatically opened her mouth to politely decline, but then another wave hit her. A hand came up to her head, her eyes scrunching shut. She nodded.

“My room is…” At the moment, Aya couldn’t quite remember. But if they started walking, she was sure it’d come back… hopefully. “Close. Thank you.”

Daniela nodded and waved at Una as she put Aya’s arm over her shoulder to support her. She was praying to whoever was listening that she didn’t blast this poor woman with a jolt of electricity or something by accident. “There you go…” She said quietly as she managed to get Aya mostly supported. She wouldn’t fall over or anything.

“W-Which way are the dormitories?” She asked carefully. “We’re bound to run into someone who knows which room is yours.”

“No, I can find it,” Aya said, trying to hold onto whatever was left of her dignity. “The dorms are…” it took her an embarrassing amount of time to remember. “Down this hall, then second left.”

As the two walked, Aya tried to find some way to fill the silence. This poor girl… it was her first day, she was clearly nervous, and now she had to deal with Aya being… Aya.

“So…” she eventually tried, “how did you find the school?”

Daniela was doing her best to keep Aya supported but it was somewhat difficult due to the height difference. “I-I was running from the authorities last night and I jumped the fence. I just wanted someplace with a roof so I could get some sleep without the fear of getting rained on. She paused for a moment as a sudden somewhat frightening thought came to mind. What if they thought she was a criminal with that last comment?!

“Listen...I-I’m not a criminal or anything.” She said quietly. “I-I just didn’t know what to do after New York.” As the two approached the dormitories she began looking for the correct door.

Aya only listened, letting the soft sound of Daniela’s voice guide her back to some sense of stability. That she’d been running was… concerning. But then, Aya supposed she wasn’t really in a position to judge.

“It should be the fourth door on the right,” Aya said. Then, after a moment, “The students here… it’s common to have a history, I think,” she murmured. “The… abilities. No one tells you what to do with them or how to control them when they start.” Kainoa’s scared voice drifted through her mind, still painful. “I don’t think this school judges you for the mistakes you’ve made.” It was like Aya was realizing the truth of it as she said it. Something small and tight loosened in her chest just a bit.

Daniela was a bit relieved to hear that hopefully she wouldn’t be judged for what had happened. A wave of guilt rose up in her chest though as she thought of the four people who had died because of her mutation activating. Granted, one of them had most likely been about to kill her but still...the idea that four people had lost their lives and that one of them had been one of her best friends still hurt her badly.

She saw the door that would lead to Aya’s room and opened it as she helped her into her room. “Here...I don’t know which bed is yours but I really think you should lay down.” She said quietly as she helped Aya towards one of the beds. Truth be told, Daniela had no idea what to do after this. Was she supposed to report to one of the staff? Was she supposed to just wait for someone to come and talk to her? She felt very lost.

The relief that reverberated through Aya’s body at seeing her little twin bed came as a surprise. It was familiar. Safe. Somewhere along the way, Aya had begun to think of this room as her’s — the school was becoming home. She let Daniela help her lay down, wincing as her muscles shook to try and control her fall.

“You should find a teacher — Professor Everose, or Ashford, the headmaster. They won’t turn you away.” Aya remembered when she’d first arrived at the school — how she’d gone to Professor Everose’s office to try and cancel her enrollment. She idly wondered about the poor nurse and if she’d found Aya’s cot in the medical wing empty yet, machines still beeping alarms. “Thank you for helping me,” she said to Daniela.

Aya wondered at her confusing, chaotic, painful time at the Ashford Academy. Last night had been terrifying, she remembered that much. But after a lifetime of feeling like an outsider, even if her powers still scared her, she couldn’t remember another time when she’d felt like she’d belonged somewhere.

“I hope you give the school a chance.”

Daniela smiled faintly down at the woman and turned around as a faint frown replaced the smile. “Anywhere is better than life I left behind.” She said quietly enough to herself that Aya couldn’t hear. She could still remember the screaming and angry yelling when she had gone home. The hatred in her adopted parent’s voices, the horrible things that had been said.

“Sleep well.” She said to Aya as she left the room. A moment after she left she had a sudden realization: She had no idea where any of the staff were.

The realization was making her nervous and a small spark of unwanted electricity erupted from her finger and she hurriedly shoved her hands in her pocket as she looked around for someone who could help her.