[IC] Stalwart University

[Lilacs]

"Far beyond the looking glass..."

---

Graduation is the beginning of a new era.

Eva thought that it made much more sense to say that graduation was the end of an era, and that the first day of college was the beginning of a new one. This thought resonated with her even more, now that she was actually standing in front of the large university. Clutching her bags in her hands, she balked slightly, the days of mental preparation forgotten as she gazed upon her new home. It seemed so foreign, unnatural. At the moment, she wanted to run back home and curl up in her bed, safe from all of the people around her. Maybe it wasn't too late to become a hermit, and live alone in the woods. Would she be happy here? Would she find chances to be alone? Would she make friends? Would she be able to maintain her grades? Would she survive? And most important of all: Could she keep her secret? Many questions swirled about her mind as she stood there silently, her knuckles turning white as her grip tightened.

Almost instantly, she absorbed a cascade of information that washed over her, informing her of exactly everything she packed, when she packed it, how many times she's worn certain clothes, what every word of her favorite book was, all the songs on her iPod, and that her favorite dress shirt was getting wrinkled, just to name a few. Feeling a wave of dizziness, Eva shut her eyes tightly, exhaling slowly as she willed herself not to faint. Not now, not ever. Please. As Eva felt herself drifted away from consciousness, she bit down hard upon her lip, the pain bringing her back to the present, slowly but surely.

"Strange, isn't it? Looking at this place and thinking, 'Wow, this is going to be my home.'" Eva's eyes snapped open as she twisted her upper body to see her mother stepping out of her car, and her father following close behind. Each of them had some of Eva's bags in their hands as they assisted carrying her luggage to her new dorm. Thinking in hindsight, Eva would've had a much easier time simply teleporting them to her dorm, but she had no idea how far it was, and she couldn't do it all at once. And her parents didn't know about that peculiar ability she had. She would've been found out for sure.

"I still can't believe that I'm here..." Eva murmured, glancing at the school once again before turning to rest her gaze on her parents. "It's so surreal. I knew this was coming, but now that I'm actually at this place, it feels like I'm in a dream."

"If that's true, then it's time to start lucid dreaming sweetheart, because we should go get settled at your new dorm." Her mother said with warm eyes. She opened her mouth to say more, but closed it, unable to say what she had wanted to. Besides, it wasn't time for goodbyes yet. They still had a little bit of time to spend as a family. Mrs. Coleman unfolded the campus map, and scrutinized it briefly before nodding towards one of the buildings. Mr. Coleman looped his wife's arm through his own, and the couple led the way to the female dorms, with Eva trailing after them.

Once in the building, they made a beeline towards the desk. At this point, Eva made her way in front of her parents, approaching the desk as she placed her duffel bag on the ground. "Hi, I'm Eva Coleman, and I'm here about my dorm?" She had already whipped her brand new student ID out of her wallet and presented it to the receptionist, not needing to touch her to know that she was going to ask for the identification. After a slight exchange of words, Eva had her new dorm key in hand, and they were standing in her new home.

Her parents placed her belongings in the room, and they stood there in silence for a little bit, none of them knowing what to say or do. After a long period of silence, Mrs. Coleman remarked quietly, "Well, I suppose we should go now."

Her father looked upon his daughter in a slightly strained way before turning his head away. "Yeah..."

"I'll walk you out." Eva murmured softly, nearly tasting the bittersweet air in the room.

Within minutes, they were standing in front of the school once again, all awkwardly standing around and unwilling to be the first one to say good bye. Then, Mrs. Coleman reached out to Eva and wrapped her tightly in her arms, burying her face against her daughter's shoulder.

"Remember to get enough sleep, and eat three meals a day, okay? Find friends, wake up on time, and have fun. I know you had some problems in high school with making friends, but that's all behind you now." Mrs. Coleman's voice caught slightly before she rushed on. "Don't just eat junk food, make sure you eat your vegetables too. Always do laundry at least twice a week and--"

"It's fine, mom. I've got it." Eva chuckled, embracing her mother tightly.

"Oh my sweet girl." Mrs. Coleman disentangled herself from Eva, holding her at arms length to examine her. "You're so beautiful, and people are going to love you. Don't be afraid to put yourself out there."

Eva fought the wave of emotion that crashed over her, wanting to break down and tell her mother that it was the one thing she couldn't do. However, she managed a smile and nodded. Next, it was her father that embraced Eva closely, and Mrs. Coleman saw the rare display of tears in his eyes. Eva's psychometry accidentally kicked in again, and she saw the overwhelming emotion her father felt, as he held his little girl, and how much he was willing himself to be strong.

"We love you E." He muttered gruffly, "Never forget that."

With some final farewells, hugs and kisses, Eva found herself standing alone, gazing at the car that grew smaller and smaller as it sped away into the distance. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand as she whispered a final goodbye to her parents.

---

Now what was there to do? Eva had heard the announcement of clubs, and she was itching to join the art club. However, she was still feeling insecure and terrified about going to the gymnasium where there would be a crowd with no doubt. At the end of the day, Eva was a loner, and she preferred to be alone. So, she wandered along to a more woodsy area of campus, feeling at peace and at harmony with nature.

Making her way to a particularly tall tree, she placed her hand on it, and gleamed information from it. "Wow, you're 115 years old? Talk about impressive..."

Eva closed her eyes and felt a cool breeze tease the ends of her hair. At the moment, she could be anywhere, by an old, tall tree. She wasn't at college, where there would be many strangers wandering about. For now, she was one with nature, far away from all humanly concerns.

[Blackwolf]

A.J. didn't get far leaving the stand before he heard some one call his name. Stopping he turned around looking at the guy he was just talking to. "Call me A.J." he said as the guy smiled "Sure thing, I'm Damian. I just wanted to ask. Do you have a camera?" A.J. Looked a little surprised as he looked up "ahhh..." was all he said as he didn't really think about it. "Yea...on my phone I guess" he said as Damian laughed. He lifted up rather expensive looking camera with a telescoping lens
"here use this, I just got a new one so I was just going to give it to the club to use anyways" A.J. blinked taking it
"thanks"
"I have a bunch of accessories for it as well, i'll drop them by your dorm later. I'll just get your room off of the sign up"
"Oh, um I don't have a dorm, I am renting a house out in town. I put the address on there"
"Nice parties at your place then"
"Only if you help clean up"
"Sure thing man, oh and it's a film camera, but i just put a fresh roll in it so it's clean, just when your ready i'll show you how to devlop photos, and even make some of the cool effects"
"thanks a lot man" he said smiling
"Not a problem man, remember Burn rubber, Not your soul"
The both lowered there left hands and held out two fingers sideways as they turned and walked away from each other. Well so far college isn't as shitty as he thought it was going to be, he thought as he looked at the camera, messing around with it as he accedently took a picture of his feet. "oh shit" he muttered as he looked up and walked out side. He walked for a bit not really paying much attention to anything fiddling with his new camera before she stopped and pulled it up looking through the lens messing with the zooming and focusing. he felt like it was Christmas and he ran down stairs wearing his little biker boots and Harley Davidson pajamas to see that pocket bike sitting under the tree. As he was looking through he was looking at some parents dropping off there daughter. Her mother was hugging her as he zoomed in closer and took several pictures, soon her father was hugging her and he snapped a couple more. Then she was standing there alone, the car driving off as he moved to get a better angle taking a few pictures. He didn't know why he just did that, something seemed right about that moment though.

Looking down at the camera he was reminded of a few weeks ago when he was dropped off, by his parents. It was much different. There wasn't any hugging, just unloading furniture, setting up the house, they had dinner and then he gave his mom a quick hug and his dad made a joke about not driving off any cliffs. Man if they knew how close he had come to dieing that day. He remembered falling, plummeting down as every thing was spinning, sky, horizon, ground, clif, sky, horizon, ground, clif, over and over again. There was no flash, before his eyes, he oddly was just thinking, that he was going to go out and become a permanent red stain on the rocks below, it would probably taken a week for his body to be found, by then animals would of picked it clean. But that isn't what happened, instead he landed softly on his bed as if he was only a few feet above and was never falling at all.

He snapped back into reality as he looked up at the girl, there was something else about her, something...familiar...he couldn't place what it was but he felt, well he didn't really know. Wait, was this that love at first sight bull shit you always see in movies, no fucking way was that going to happen to him he thought. Personal reservations aside though he quickly dismissed that theory, it was something else. It was like he had passed her on the street or something, seeing her before somewhere.

What he didn't know, it was it was because like him, she was a teleporter.

He soon started walking again as he fallowed her. Seeing her at a tree he walked up to her, a big smile on his face "Hey I'm A.J" he said holding out a his hand, realizing he was offering her his new camera...he blushed a bit pulling his hand back and switching the camera into his other hand before holding his own back out. "Umm Nice to meet you, whats your name?"

[Lilacs]

"Shattered Silence"

---

Her eyes jerk open as she steps away from the tree, taking her hand off the tree, severing her connection to it. She was absorbed in listening to the tree, she hadn't noticed anyone approach her. Eva blinked a couple of times before plastering a smile on her face.

She hesitated for a moment when AJ extended his hand, momentarily frozen at the possibility of accidentally delving into his thoughts. However, she managed to keep her smile intact as she chanted to herself, 'Keep it under control, keep it under control...'

Grasping AJ's hand in the shortest handshake possible without being rude, she replied, "I'm Eva." She was so occupied with keeping control, she didn't notice the little blunder with the camera. "It's very nice to meet you as well."

She unfortunately wasn't able to completely keep her psychometric ability in check, and when their hands made contact, she saw a flash of some of his thoughts. There was a motorcycle, and a near-death experience. He didn't die though... Instead, he appeared in his bed, almost as if magic was involved. Eva felt a flash of intuition creep up, but she quickly dismissed it. It was probably a dream or something, and he had that falling sensation when he woke up. Yes, that had to be it. She quickly pushed that thought out of her mind as a new thought entered. It seemed that AJ felt something about her. She couldn't quite place it, but there was something. She gave an inner wry smile. They've never met before, that was certain. Unless she looked like someone he knew, it would be love at first sight, and Eva knew it wasn't the same thing.

[Blackwolf]

A.J. felt something weird when he shook her hand. This day was just full of weird feelings it seemed as he smiled widely. "Eva...That's a nice name" he stated as he had to look down as he was a foot taller then her. "I have to say, I hope you don't get mad but I was messing around with this new camera, and I don't know I was looking through it and I saw you with your parents and I couldn't help but take some pictures. I'll give them to you if you want, and i'll even give you the negatives." he was still smiling as he reached up rubbing the back of his head "I don't know, I just saw you all and couldn't help it. It just felt, right you know. That moment" he said "If they come out crappy though I can't be held responsible, seeing as I've never developed pictures before, I mean I've been in a dark roo.."he suddenly cut him self off choosing his words right now. "Yea my high school had one and I had to get something out of it, that is about my extent of experience with that... and holy shit i'm rambling right now" he laughed some smiling at her "sorry I get overly excited about things some times, and I can't stop shaking this feeling like I know you from some where, where are you from if you don't mind my asking?" He pushed his hand into the pocket of his leather motorcycle jacket looking at her.

[Hagura]

Kacela felt at home in the wild places of the world. Or more like, she enjoyed the excitement of seeing new places. It made her forget the past. She could be submerged in the openness of the world. She always had a connection to the earth. She understood the land. In the twisting halls and winding stair cases of the college, Kacela was taken back to her past. Back to a time when she had discovered the true beauty of the land.

Kacela stood upon the mouth of the world. On the lips of the mountains in her families valley, Kacela's eyes stung with the cold air, her boots crunched the soft fresh snow underneath her. She stopped a moment turned to look back down the path and was captured by something she could not look away from. She had discovered the infinite untainted beauty of earth. That particular morning she understood that she stood upon a being more ancient than thought. Something that ignored the trivialities of time. Her gasp of breath held within her lungs stung. But her cheeks warmed with salty tears. Then she laughed at how insignificant she was compared to all that existed around her. It was so sudden, one moment she was hard and rigid against the weather. But now she was hysteric as she saw a glimpse of nirvana. As all of this slowly sunk in, she heard the world breath and exist as it saw itself. A euphoric feeling rose and enveloped her. She saw and heard the world for what it was. The world was just alive as anything else was. But its expressions were on a much grander scale, a whole different level than humans. The earth cried just as we did. It did so in the storms and rain, a long sobbing cry that occasionally screamed with thunder and lightning. Its laugh captured in the crescendo of animals if you walked upon it on a quiet time. The enchanting laughter letting you know that all was well. It could also be angry, its tantrum heard in the roar of avalanches or earth quakes. The world was precursor to age, it was so young. Kacela would remember that moment of clairvoyance forever. She was so small, yet felt so connected and key to the world.
The weight of her bag and rifle was nothing to what she saw. Now she held the weight of the memory to bear the vast and mind blasting view she had. Now she wanted to see the rest of the world.

Then reality crashed back into Kacela. She refocused on where she was. She had no idea on where she was. But that was usually fine with her. She had memorize where she had wandered. Easily being able to find her way back if needed. But Kacela also felt safe here. She had come to appreciate the constructs of humans. They were organized and easy to live in and accept a simple life. That wasn't for her, but its what she was settling for now. Kacela then continued to walk around reminiscing for a moment about her old life. Pushing away the painful memories and embracing the good ones.

"Please treat me well here."

Kacela whispered to herself and the earth beneath her feet. She hugged chest tight hoping that the world heard her insignificant voice. She smiled and her face blushed. A twinkle appeared in her eyes as she stumbled around slowly.

[Lucek]

Lucius stood there for a second going over his options. On one hand he could decline but then what would he say when asked about how he got here. Furthermore he just couldn’t “stash” his violin with them present. Even after leaving the same way he came, by running through the forest, it would look surprising if he met them on campus and his violin was missing. After all they would presumably have arrived faster then he’d be able to. Running with the case out was also out of the question.

Well if you don’t mind giving me a lift, I’d be grateful, thanks. Running back through the forest is fast but I’d rather not risk damaging my violin. Lu held the violin case at his side as he finally nodded and told Mark his conclusion. This was by far the safest option for his secret could be found out and that was something he didn’t want. I don’t mind classic cars and the Impala make ’67 is one of the ones I liked. Granted I drive a black Volvo TP21 Sugga, it’s maybe not the hottest tool in the shed, but it’s one I grew up with. He gave a sheepish smile remembering his rides in the Piglet when he was a kid. Maybe it’s not the most beautiful car, but it’s versatile. So, shall we go? He asked, waiting for Mark and Paris to begin walking back.

[TaliPaendrag]

Once she was done looking at the display for the Art Club, Avery looked around at some of the nearby booths to see if any of them would spark her interest. Some of the clubs, like the Sports Club, were eliminated just because of her... oddity. She certainly didn't want to throw a ball or something hard enough for people to notice that it was strange. And, with her inability to control it all the time, that meant that it was better to play safe than be sorry about it later.

Surprisingly, a club did stick out to her across the aisle between some of the different booths. So, she made her way over to the booth to get some more information, hoping that they wouldn't have anything that would make her quirk too noticeable. Again, most of the people managed to avoid tripping over her as she crossed the traffic, though it helped that there weren't all that many people assembled together in the gymnasium at the moment. It seemed that, by now, her size wasn't all that novel, as she did notice people didn't seem to stare for as long, if at all. Not that she minded, of course.

Upon seeing that most of the club members attending the booth were busy doing various tasks, like stringing up some decorations or talking to potential members, Avery walked up to the main table of the booth and grabbed some of the papers, not sure what was what due to the fact that the table was level with her nose. Then she proceeded to flip through the brochure she had grabbed, placing the flier back on the table. The brochure outlined several of the events that the club had, as well as the fact that all kinds of supplies for camping or backpacking were available for rent to new students until they got there own. In the end, she decided, perhaps against her better judgment, to join the club, walking over to one of the members with a clipboard and tugging on his pant leg to get his attention.

The member, a blonde boy with blue eyes and a sticker on his shirt that said “Hi! My name is Mark!” seemed a bit surprised to see her, though he didn't react like Jessica had. “I-I would like to sign up,” Avery said, pointing to the clipboard that he was holding. His initial surprise seemed to fade away, being replaced with a huge grin as he held the board out to her so that she could scrawl her name on the list.

“Always glad to welcome someone new!” he said, giving her a thumbs up. “Just so you know, we have club meetings every second Monday of the month so that we can go over club business, but all that information, as well as the schedule for events, is on the back of that brochure you've got there. The rest of the info you need will be given at the first club meeting, which is held in the Lodge building on the other half of the campus near where the trails start. Can't wait to see ya there!”

Avery nodded in response before heading away, Mark turning to talk to another individual that approached the booth. Figuring that two clubs was enough, if not pushing it altogether, she decided to return to her father, who had been looking at the Engineering Club's display booth with mild interest. Really, it wasn't all that surprising that he would be interested considering he was a mechanical engineer himself. In fact, he was the head of research at the plant back home, which is one of the reasons he never had to worry about whether or not he would be able to support Avery, though the child support checks he got from his wife didn't hurt either.

“Ready to go, kiddo?” he asked, smiling as his daughter nodded. Truth be told, he had hoped that she would have taken an interest in the field of engineering like he had done, but he also understood that mathematics were terrifying for her with her dyscalculia and that her interests rested elsewhere. At first, he hadn't been able to believe that his daughter would have such an issue with math, and therefore science, but he was glad that he had grown to accept it. Pressure from him was the last thing that she needed.

“So, what clubs did you sign up for?” he continued as they exited the gymnasium. He was fairly certain that she had signed up for the Art Club, as that was the one that she was most excited about being a part of once she got accepted to the College, but apart from that he had no idea. He hoped that she had joined at least two, as it would be a great step-up from how she had been back home.

“Uhm, the Art Club and the Outdoors Club,” she said, smiling with anticipation of the things she would get to do. The voice of doubt that seemed to have taken up residence once her mother had left whispered that it was all a mistake, but Avery refused to let It have any influence, silencing it for the time being. It was a time to be happy, and she wanted to enjoy it while it lasted.

“Outdoors Club?” he asked, honestly a tad surprised. Having grown up in the city for most of her life, it did seem a bit odd that she would be interested in anything to do with the outdoors, especially considering the fact that they had never been camping or anything like that. “When did you get interested in the outdoors?”

“When we moved from the city,” Avery responded, a faint blush tinging her cheeks. “I used to walk through the woods and stuff during the summer. I always thought it was fun and... relaxing, I guess.”

“You should have said something then,” Mr. Thomspon answered, a bemused smile on his own face. “We could have gone camping or something anytime.” He left out the fact that the reason they never had was because his wife hated being away from civilization for more than five minutes. He supposed that he had assumed Avery to be the same way.

Before Avery could respond, the two of them ran into a very tall girl with blonde hair partially covering her face. “Sorry about that, miss,” Mr. Thompson said after catching his balance and keeping from from falling. By virtue of the fact that Avery hadn't physically run into the other girl and had been holding onto her father's hand, she had no trouble keeping herself from falling. “Are you okay? We really should have been watching where we were going.”

[Hagura]

Kacela whilst walking ran into some one suddenly as she turned a corner. It shook her completely from her day dream. She was plunged back into the real world that she existed in. The sound sights and smells assaulted her for a moment. She looked around quickly for a moment in a daze. Not sure what to do. Then she heard them.

“Sorry about that, miss,”
Kacela was confused at the sound of a voice. She quickly looked around for a moment. For some strange reason she looked up at the ceiling and then down. Spotting the people she had just rudely ran into. It was a man and his young daughter. Possibly a professor at the university. She concluded this was a horrible way to a first impression.

“Are you okay? We really should have been watching where we were going.”
Kacela looked at the father. Her face blushed a brighter red underneath her hair. She instinctively hid her face with her hands. Crunching down her body together in an attempt to hide herself. Shoulders in and legs bowed together like a kid, she peeped in surprise at the situation. A moment of fear and anxiety gripped her. The social awkwardness slammed in her face, causing her to shake a bit in nervousness. But she mustered her courage again and decided that she needed to conquer her fear and say something instead of allowing this air of awkwardness to continue. She saw that the other two were obviously waiting for a response.

"Oh.... Its okay. I should be sorry...."

She managed to say slowly. Now that the initial problem was fixed, she decided to direct the conversation in her favor, becoming on the offensive with a question.

"Is that your daughter? She's really cute."
Kacela then kneeled down as much as she could and patted the kids hair.
"How old are you?"
Kacela asked while staring into her blue eyes.

[TaliPaendrag]

To say that the girl reacted strangely to being run into by Avery and her dad would have been a bit of an understatement. Understandably, her face turned red and she seemed to get a little flustered, but the way she seemed to withdraw, pulling her knees and shoulders in slightly, was a bit unusual. The same could be said for the way that she was shaking as well. Sharing a glance, Avery and her father figured that the most probable reason for the reaction was that she was shy.

She seemed to overcome the anxiety fairly quickly, however, standing up and responding with an apology of her own. “You're fine, so don't worry about it,” Mr. Thompson said, smiling at her earnestness. Her accent, a bit rough compared to other places, was definitely a little strange, but she spoke English well, so there was no real problem understanding what she was saying. “No harm, no foul after all.”

Any air of social awkwardness or anxiety about her seemed to have vanished completely, which was honestly a little comforting, if only because the two of them knew how to deal with regular situations like a conversation between people. And it helped that the girl actually seemed to be pretty friendly now that she wasn't being run into, as she continued the conversation with a question of her own. “Yeah, this is my daughter, Avery,” he said, reveling in the compliment like any parent would. “And I'm Richard Thompson, though I would prefer it if you call me Rick or Rich.”

Avery, to her credit, didn't seem to be too bothered by the fact that the girl called her cute, though being patted on the head definitely crossed the line. Pulling out her student id card, which was going to end up tattered beyond recognition at this rate, she answered, “I-I'm seventeen.” She refrained from adding that she was a student as well, as the student id card should make that point perfectly clear all by itself. Despite how much it bugged her to be treated like a kid, she still couldn't avoid the timidity she had when talking to new people, though it was lessened by the presence of her father. She also didn't actually sound angry that the mistake had been made, just tired.

Mr. Thompson smiled apologetically before explaining. “Avery has proportionate dwarfism, so she's always been about the same height,” he said, pulling his daughter close to him affectionately. Before he could continue, his phone rang, the ring tone sharp and clear. A few of the people around them turned to see what the noise was, though they quickly lost interest when they realized that nothing was going on at all.

“Hold on a sec, girls,” he said, as he took the call a few steps away, chatting animatedly with the person on the other end before returning. “Sorry, but I've got to go. Apparently they need me at the plant for something.” Picking Avery up into a hug, he kissed her on the cheek before setting her back down and beginning to walk towards the parking lot, calling “I promise I'll stop by this weekend so you can finish giving me a tour, kiddo!” as he went.

A bit surprised by the turn of events, Avery just turned to the other girl with a shrug, though her attempt at nonchalance didn't mask the fact that she was blushing. “S-So, uhm, h-have you s-signed up for cl-clubs, yet?” she asked, making an attempt, weak though it may be, at continuing the conversation normally.

[General Scales]

Donovan took a slow pace moving about the campus even if he had a purpose there was no reason he couldn't enjoy the sights along the way. It took a bit of time to put the names to the locations but it wasn't something he was likely to forget among the thousand other things he would likely have to remember. Afterwards there was time to appreciate just how well kept the whole place seemed to be and in his mind the question of his being here was thrust into his mind again. He has seen others at the college who looked like they had money to throw around but most seemed about the halfway point between him and the "rich kids" which did ease a bit of worry as to what kind of place this college was. "Could be worse." he thought keeping absolutely positive knowing the alternatives to his circumstance.

Donovan continued walking occasionally stopping to exchange a greeting with some of the more friendly students or noting some of the others who were either just shy and/or uninterested in others at the moment. He thought getting a first impression of people was a good thing but not pass judgment until he knew someone better if at all. Looking around he saw some people in twos or more either just hanging out and talking about whatever the subject was, he had yet to make more than small talk with someone but it was bound to tune up in a time so he kept to himself for the moment. Someone did look towards him from a little ways off squinting as if they were trying to pick out his face which made him realize the shadow must have covered his face again and quickly removed it turning attention away from him.

"This is gonna be harder than I thought." Donovan mumbled to himself.

[hefewy]

A loud sigh echoed through an empty hall in the residential area of the university as a slouching, messy young lady walked down it, her hood mostly concealing her face. She was carrying two duffle bags over her shoulders, presumably full of clothes, and was glancing side to side as she looked for something. "Now, where is it... ?" She mumbled to herself as she scoured the halls for her assigned room number. She certainly didn't show it, but she was actually rather excited to be getting a roommate with her dorm. She searches for a few more minutes before finally stopping at one door, sighing in relief. It was her room. And her roommate's. That's when something hit her.

"... What if she's in there? Oh man... I didn't prepare myself for this!" Liz worriedly whispers to herself, hesitating on opening the door. She waits a few moments, staring at the doorknob and contemplating whether she should knock or not. "Come on... I need to talk to someone sooner or later...". Taking a deep breath, she finally struggles to bolster up her courage as she raises her dainty fist to the door and knocks. ... No answer. Shrugging, the girl slowly takes hold of the doorknob and twists it open, peeking inside before heading all the way in.

"Oh, thank goodness..." She sighed as she saw that there was currently no one in the room. However, she did notice that there were already a lot of things in the room. Her roommate must have already gotten here and dropped off her stuff. Glancing around, she felt the slight temptation to take a look at the her roommate's things, to get a better idea of what she was in for. "No, that's weird! What's wrong with me? Gross!" She thought to herself, shaking her head to get rid of the immoral thoughts. Deciding she ought to check out the clubs next, she slowly removes the two duffle bags and sets them on one of the beds. She'd unpack later, but for now she wanted to check this place out. It was her very first college, after all, and she's heard colleges have some pretty cool clubs available. Liz slowly walks towards the exit, before heading towards the gym to take a look at the clubs. Maybe joining one could give her a chance to make a friend or two, even!

[Hagura]

Kacela was glad to learn their names. She was really liking the little girl. She was cute and so small. Like a tiny version of a human. Or maybe kacela was just so tall it made her seem smaller. The distance and difference in size was quiet large. A strange fact that most likely the tallest and shortest girl meet on the same day. Kacela played with that thought for a moment in her head.

Then an ID was shoved in her face. Kacela was surprised to see that she was seventeen. Not only did she look young, she acted like it. Kacela felt a tinge of embarrassment for assuming that she was a little girl. Kacela stood up to her full height and apologized.

"Sorry. I didn't know. " she mumbled quietly to her self.

Kacela kept quiet as Rich had to leave. Letting kacela and Avery be alone. Kacela was glad that she didnt have to start the conversation up again. Taking the question and thinking wether or not to answer truthfully or answer her own craving to continue exploring. But she pulled out her own student ID and showed it to Avery.

"Oh. I forgot. My name is kacela. Nice to meet you.... Avery. " kacela remembering the name from the ID card. She then retracted her long arm and replaced the card back in her pocket. Now kacela addressed Avery's question.

"Oh. Uhm. No I haven't yet. Have you?"
Kacela answered. She wanted to keep exploring as her wander lust came overher again.
"I don't want to get a club just yet. I want to go exploring first."

[Krodin329]

Marc smiled, at the mention of Lucius' car, if the driver liked the car, then it didn't matter. To each their own. " Ya man I think if you love the car, than there's nothing else to it. Your car is your car. But anyways, we should probably head back now, I wan to see what clubs they have before they close up!" He turned around and walked back to the Impala, evaluating that starting on a trail this difficult probably wasn't the best idea for Paris, it was probably even a bit... Discouraging. However, if Paris wanted to keep with it he would. As he walked back to the impala, he turned aroun and studied Lucius, te way he walked was... Odd. It was the walk of a martial artist, knees bent slightly, a little extra stress in the toes for lightning movement, and a good solid build that musicians usually tended not to have. He threw a spit ball and asked "so what kind of fighting do you do, Lucius?" Unsure of wether or not he was right.

[hefewy]

As Liz walked towards the gym, she began to hear more and more voices coming from it, meaning there were an awful lot of people in there who could possibly see her scars. Nervously, she pulls her hood a bit further over her head to do her best at concealing her deformation. The last thing she wanted was attention from any more than one or two people at a time, if that. Finally, she enters the gymnasium through the open doors, and is instantly greeted by the sight of rows of small booths detailing each of the clubs. Liz simply stood there for a moment, quickly glancing over the booths. She wasn't sure what clubs might interest her, so she decided to begin wandering around the outskirts of the aisle, nervously sticking her hands in her hoodie's pockets. As she passed by the booths, one particularly caught her attention; The Gaming Club.

She's spent plenty of time playing video games during her difficult time of shutting herself in her room for a few years. So much that she might be good enough to impress some people here, if she tried hard enough. However, she didn't have the courage to go there alone at the moment... so she continued to wander around, pacing along the edges of the aisle in search for her own bravery.

[Lilacs]

"Follow the river bend."

---

Eva felt her face heat up, as there was no doubt a scarlet flush spreading over her cheeks. Inwardly, she cursed her lack of social interaction. If she had spent more time mingling with other human beings, it was very possible that she would've learned how to conquer the blush. She hated that about herself. Not being used to compliments, she discovered that her face would sport a blush if there was even a small one showered upon her.

That blush faded however, as AJ mentioned the photographs he had taken. Blinking rapidly to herself, she pondered his words for a moment. Not only had she not noticed that there were photographs taken of her, someone thought that intimate moment with her parents was beautiful. Normally, this would be an invasion of privacy but the way AJ explained it was actually very sweet. Now Eva was a little flustered, but fortunately, the blush didn't make a reappearance.

"I'd love to see them, but only if I look good!" Eva said a bit cheekily, before immediately biting her lip, realizing that it could be interpreted as 'you suck at photography' she added, "I'm not exactly the most photogenic person."

"You think you know me from somewhere?" Eva questioned with a bit of feigned surprise. She had seen that question flash through AJ's mind during that handshake. Although, she couldn't place the reason why he felt that way. "I'm from Boston. You?"

[Blackwolf]

A.J. looked at the girl blushing some thinking she looked cute, very cute., ", you look really cute when your blushing" he stated as he couldn't help it as he was smiling. He could tell she wasn't used to such things as she was blushing so easily. "I'm sure you'll look great,Though I might mess them up since I have no idea what i'm doing. Give me a car or bike and i'll strip it down and put it together with my eyes closed. Put me in a dark room with some random little buckets of...I have no idea what and i'm lost " He said as he honestly felt a little nervous, which was weird for him.

"Ah, well I guess No where really." he said rubbing the back of his head "My dad is military, so I've moved around a lot. I was actually born in Germany, then we moved to San Diego, then Georgia, up to Washington and back to San Diego, and now i'm here" he said as he nodded "and yea, I don't know what it is...I just, felt something about you, like there is something familiar about you"

[General Scales]

Donovan enjoyed watching crowds of people move around and go on with whatever they were doing, it sort of fascinated him in a way and he did plenty of it back home where there was little else to do. Some of the best friends he had made caught his eye among the multitude of other people who surrounded them they were a bit different from the rest like him, none were as different as him though, but nonetheless they stood out in actions or just presence. He would miss all of them to one extent or another however there was always doubt as to what they would be like knowing the actual him not just being human but more than human. It tipped a small frown onto his face for a moment which made him want to move on and keep certain thoughts in the back of his mind.

Donovan walked around towards the front of the gym again passing two girls, one significantly shorter than the other, he kept going not wanting to break up a conversation that seemed to be going slowly. "Must be here for a reason so no shame in that" He thought calmly as he moved to his desired location were the most people were coming and going because of the club displays. His eyes slowly scanned the other students as they moved about while he kept his head down slightly which paired with his sunglasses would make it difficult to tell he was staring out with genuine interest. It took a bit of time for him to pick up on it but he could've sworn he was seeing his own shadow shifting through the crowd except the hair flowing out of the hood and figure of the girl was only a bit different from how he looked in his own hoodie. Seeing her go towards the club stands he did his best to keep pace from a little ways away keeping his head down to prevent him being noticed.

Donovan kept his gaze focused while he slipped in through the crowd and doors seeing where the girl was looking towards the video game club, but moving off shortly after. "Too nervous to go straight up there..." He thought keeping it in mind because it would change his method of approach. It took a minute or two to close the distance between the two but he could wait until she stopped moving for just a moment to look at a display. His patience was rewarded and he stood ahead of where she stopped but to the left, he removed his glasses for the moment given his intention, and looked to where she was at the same time. He looked for a moment intently as if he were perfectly interested in the display, not that he wasn't but it had to be a bit convincing, then he looked back slightly as if just noticing the girl for the first time since entering. He walked over casually as to not bring any other attention to either of them and stood next to her as opposed to trying to force eye contact.

"See anything interesting?" He asked with curiosity seeing if he could get a conversation going or just a few words.

[hefewy]

Her focus directed at her own thoughts and insecurities about the club, Liz didn't even notice the stranger walk up next to her, and was rather startled at the sudden voice. Cautiously turning and peering up through her messy hair, partly revealing her scars unwittingly, her eyes widen in surprise at the man's size. He had to be at least a whole foot taller than her, and twice her weight! He was huge compared to her, causing her to feel a tad bit intimidated. Taking a nervous gulp, however, she was able to squeak out a few words, hard as it may be.

".... U-Um... The... The video game club..." She mumbled, barely audible even to her. Of course, she didn't realize how quiet she was, and quickly turns away slightly in hopes to hide her scars before he noticed, hopefully.

[General Scales]

Donovan couldn't see her face but it did dawn upon him that maybe a big guy moving over to talk was unsettling but it wasn't as if he could change his size so he rolled with it. He did notice however that she hid her face very quickly behind her hood and hair again as soon as she got a look at him. It made him feel a bit guilty that he was intimidating someone even if it was entirely unintentional. He had considered joining this club though his lack of experience with video games would normally keep him away but he thought he might be able to use it to his advantage. The quiet reply almost slipped by him however he did managed to catch enough of it to make out what was being said.

"Thought about joining too. Not feeling so confident though, haven't played much before." Donovan said letting slip some truth while toning down his voice a bit so as to not be as loud.

[Lucek]

Lucius nodded in affirmation in response to Mark’s car comment. A slight smile on his face noted that he was pleased with the opinion. People rarely talk kindly about the piglet that way. Almost face palming himself he quickly added. That is how we call the car in the family, after all it looks like a boar’s head. He chuckled. You’re right we should go, the day will end before if we take our sweet time. Maybe due to the bit of rush or being distracted, Lu wasn’t prepared for Marks question.

As his combat instincts kicked in, drilled into him over the years, Lu’s face hardened, features sharp as the emotionless piercing gaze looked at Mark. Something in him turned cold, like in a trained professional who had an enemy one had to take care off. He almost broke into a stance but stopped and shook his head, visibly relaxing. It was but an instant but a trained person or one who looked obviously would see what happened. Well that was awkward, damn instincts. Lu looked at Mark with a bit of a sheepish look in his eyes. Sorry… He said. Well… It’s not really a martial art, I’ve been trained by my mom in a few… let’s say styles. Lu scratched his head looking down at the ground, he looked back at Mark after a second or two. I’ve been trained in MCMAP. This he added a bit quieter. Also elements of other ones my mom picked up and found useful. He loked away. Goodie now I might as well just split, I doubt both of them will want anything to do with me after hearing this… Why did I even say it, idiot! He screamed at himself in his mind, a bit of a depressed look showing in his eyes. Well we should hurry and go or they really might close everything up. Lu made his first and last attempt to get this conversation onto other rails. However he was never good at social skills, he knew that himself.