Collab Thingy~ AliceInRedHeels&Card Captor
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Room 69
Mia Betancourt & Mathew Holmes
Blinking Mia looked up at the approaching figure, Mathew Holmes he said his name was with a deer in the headlight expression. ”N-nice to meet you as well…” came the demurred reply before his next action caught her completely off guard, her face flushing completely red as she quickly withdrew her hand. The glow from her eyes expanding with her eyes, as the last bit of what he said washed over her not entirely focused on that.
Biting her lip slightly, she straightened tilting her head as she listened to him go on about not having to worry that he wouldn’t fight her.
Though her eyes narrowed slightly in agitation at the suggestion she was weak, ”If I didn’t not wish to fight, mien herr, I would not be here.” the reaffirmation was more for herself, telling herself she did the right thing then it was for his benefit. Having said that, she ducked her head back down, letting her hair fall covering her glasses as she recalled the data from the few minutes previous from being trapped in the box.
"Now Prove Your Worth"
”What did they mean by that…"
Mathew bit back a curse 'it seems father was right; dealing with women really is like traversing a mine field.' Maintaining his smile, he said "I fear you misunderstood me; it was not my intention to claim you were weak. I of all people know that appearances can be deceiving. However not all of us are so eager to fight. Some might want to try and resolve conflict with words if at all possible. Not only that, but some of us are not...what was it that Jacob called it?" He mumbled the last part to himself "Ah, yes; 'front line fighters.'" Taking another good look at her, he thought to himself 'I wonder...just how many students are there right now without any direct combat ability are being forced to fight.'
"Scheiße" The young girl muttered under her breath, of course the first time she actually acts like she has a voice would be the one time she makes an ass out of herself. Clearing her throat she opened her mouth to speak before fidgeting once more unsure of herself, looking back down at her lap toying with a loose hangnail.
"A-ah....I d-didn't mean to o-offend..a-and p-people can be u-useful w-without always fighting.....r-right? She asked once more shyly peering up at him,waiting for an answer almost as if it would mean something to her as well before moving a stray piece of hair from her face, pleasantly surprised that he had not made such an issue over her eyes.
'It seems I might have to watch where I go in this conversation. It's almost as if she expects me to react badly.' Getting down on his knees so that they were at the same eye level, he responded "I never meant to imply otherwise." As he looked into her eyes, he got the feeling that something was...off about them, but he couldn't figure out what 'might be best not to mention it. Knowing my luck, it might be something that she's sensitive about.' Searching his mind for something to change the subject without looking too forced, he asked "since it seems that we'll be stuck in here for the forseeable future, is there anything that you would feel more comfortable talking about?"
As Mathew moved in closure, Mia's eyes whirled slightly refocusing slightly as a new stream of data ran across it in bright white letters adding more information to the dossier building on the strange male in front of her. It accorded to her that he was doing all he could to console and make her feel more at ease, the realization brought a very small smile to the shy girl's face. Gulping slightly she took a shaky breath before gathering all her courage as the words left her mouth, "M-maybe we could get to know....e-eachother....it be...n-nice to have a f-friend here...I've n-never meet a Uni"
Catching herself the girl looked down again, she forgot some found it unsettling when she used information most normal people wouldn't have, "..Lucian before..." she finished the last part in a barely audible mumble looking down again..
Mia caught herself too late; Mathew heard what she was about to say 'how? All she knows is my name, and yet she was able to learn what I truly am. That anyone could do so is most disturbing. Although I suppose I should count myself lucky that it first happened on the grounds of the Academy, seeing as I was already planing on not keeping it a secret here.'
Recomposing himself, he said to her "many of us live in hiding for most of our live. I've been told by my mother that it's because our bodies contain a wealth of alcemical ingredients, the most valuable of which is our horns. Many of us live in constant fear of being discovered. Although I had already decided that I would not need to keep my true nature hidden in this school. Considering the vast amounts of powerful people here, no one would be foolish enough to raid this school for one Unicorn. I'm not sure how you were able to tell, but in the future, you might want to keep in mind just how terrified we are of being discovered." Then leaning over closer to her, he whispered in a conspiratorially voice "would you like to see it?"
Her face flustered a deeper shade of red then it had been consistent at, as she caught on to the fact that he heard what she had tried to cover up looking more and more intently at her hands, "Entschuldigung...s-sorry...t-that sounds horrible..a-and...w-well... Fidgeting once more she tentatively reached up slowly pulling off her glasses, they hide most of the data stream unless she had information pulled up on the small platform, before looking at him again her hand's shaking..."I c-could tell.,.because my eyes don't lie...all they read it data...not illusion...or what thing's seem to be...just raw data..' She explained softly, blinking the glow from her eyes had intensified without the glasses to filter through and as the expanded wider at the notion of seeing an actual unicorn a small childlike wonder light up the small girls face.
"Can I?"
Mathew nodded "I did offer" Taking her question as a 'yes' he stood up and began his transformation. His body changing into raw white light as it was molded into an equine form with a horn, before becoming solid again. The entire process took roughly 10 seconds. "So...how do I look?" He asked, his voice coming from seemingly nowhere with a small echo to it. Lying down so that he was once again at eye level with her, he added "I must confess; I'm not used to others seeing me like this. In fact, this makes you the third person alive to ever see me in this form" he shook his head to get a stray piece of his mane out of his eyes
A soft gasp caught in the girl's throat as she sat transfixed watching the boy change shapes, or perhaps reverting back to his original form was the best way to put it. "Why would anyone want to hurt something so regal? She asked shaking her head, perhaps it was because it was an animal and not a strange person that her stutter was gone. In fact the girl look visibly more relaxed and at ease then she did talking to the male not minutes ago. Blinking once realizing she forgot to put her glasses back on she did so hurriedly before bowing her head meekly at the confession of her being one of the few to see him in his natural form.
"My thanks for this then, mien herr, it is a true pleasure." She replied still the well-mannered girl, however shy she many be, that her parents raised. Getting up slowly she stretched wincing slightly at the small tinge in her back from being holed up in the corner for so long. "If....if you do not wish to hide your true nature...will you stay in this form....or the other..?' Mia asked curiously before making a small loop around the box observing its dimensions, perhaps it was bigger on the inside? After all she couldn't imagine several of these being able to all fit in the main hall, or at least the section of it they were in.
"You seem much more at ease. It seems I can add 'calming others down' as yet another ability my kind posses." he teased her good naturedly "as for your question; I do believe I'll be spending more time in my Human form. You never fully understand how useful hands are until you've had to go without it. Truth be told, our Human forms are not entirely a disguise. Unicorns have no 'true form', as it were. In fact, according to my mother, we don't even refer to this form as our 'Unicorn form.' While I have no memories of the incident, I was told that I was born in my Human form." he explained
"But enough about me, I'd like to hear more about you Mia. I'm quite curious how your eyes gained such a strange abililty. I'm also wondering about a few words you have said that are quite strange to me...meinherr, was of them if I recall correctly. It leads me to believe that this is not the only language you speak."
A soft giggle escaped the girl at the odd way he tried to speak German, before shaking her head, "Its not an ability...per say..these eyes are....not real..an upgrade if you wish...I was born blind you see. Came the soft reply as Mia looked back down at her shoes, pleased that her uniform was still reasonably presentable, glossing over a few details about her eyes.
Shrugging slightly she turned back looking at Mathew, "Mein herr, it means sir. I had to learn Common to help my parents run their trading store, I kept track of all the stock and shipments, but when it's just us we speak German, its one of many Earth languages...does everyone on Lucian speak Common?" She asked curiously once more tilting her head to the side, as small quirk she maintained from her younger years whenever she was waiting on an answer.
"I believe that there are small groups that have their own language on Lucian, but it's not very common. I honestly can't fathom a world with as many languages as I've heard that Earth has. How the people of your world ever got organized I fear I'll never be able to understand." Trotting over to her, he added "also, you need not be so formal with me. While my mother drove it into my head never to ask or guess a lady's age, I don't think it would be offensive of me to assume that we are roughly the same age, maybe even both first years. I'm not sure how things work in your home, but in mine, 'sir' is something we only call our elders, or our superiors in work. Last time I checked, I am neither of these to you." He added that last part with an audible smile.
"Although I must admit; I find it fascinating that the technology to replace broken eyes exists, and is affordable enough for commercial use. Is that my any chance the reason why you wear glasses? Since I would assume that your eyes would already have perfect vision."
"Ah! Sorry!' Mia said almost yelping if you would as she covered her mouth with her hands, it didn't even occur to her that she was being rude by being formal with someone her own age, "S-sorry..I'm not really used to dealing with people my own age...only grown up's come to the shop...' She admitted sheepishly, before mimicking his smile softly, a odd thought about just how long they would be stuck in these boxes crossed her mind, maybe this was a test of sorts..
Her mouth twitched into a slight grimace at the notion that her eyes came at a commercialized price before shaking her head, "Hmm, not really? Honestly I'm not sure what it would take to break these eyes...The glasses act as a screen. I can use it to focus on certain data, or pull up anything in the past that they've recorded..So at least I won't need to take notes." The last part was meant to be a joke, she hoped she had never really told one before, it felt very surreal to have a normal conversation with someone..she wondered how long it would last before her nerves got the better of her.
Mathew chuckled "indeed, that does sound like a useful feature. It must save you a lot of time studying." He took a quick look at her face 'she seems to be growing more comfortable with me.' Suddenly, an idea came to him "you know Mia, you really should smile more often. You're so much more lovely when you do"
A split second later, he began to worry 'was that too soon? Gah, it's to late to second guess yourself Mathew.' Racking his brain for some way to salvage the conversation, he asked her "Would you like to touch my mane? I've been informed that most girls like to pet the manes of normal horses. If you think it would help keep you at ease, then you are welcome to."
The oddity of being complimented by a Unicorn was not lost on Mia, however her first and formost reaction was to turn a rather lovely shade of crimson red at this point it was a wonder that the small girl didn't pass out due to over stimulation. "A-a-ah...t-thanks..e-ehehee-heh' Came the stuttered reply, as she reverted back to her natural timid self, toying with a piece of hair suddenly finding the ground very interesting as she tried to keep her flushed face from being completely obvious.
Looking up at the hastened suggestion of petting his mane, "W-wouldn't that be a l-little r-rude...?" She asked curiously not knowing many people that would willing let someone walk up and start playing with their hair, she figured it was akin to walking up and touching a pregnant woman's belly, rather strange to say the least.
"I-it does..look..soft t-though.." She added on not wanting to insult someone that just might become her first friend here.
"It's hardly rude if I'm the one to offer." Sitting down on the ground, he continued "You needn't worry so much Mia; I am not easily offend. Although, I fear I might have been too forward. So if I made you uncomfortable, then I apologize."
"After all, I can see us interacting with each other much more in the future, so I think it best if we were both at ease around each other. If it's not too presumptuous of me, I dare say that we might even become friends. It would be nice to have someone to turn to here after all"
"F-friends..? I'd like that." Mia said with a soft smile before tentatively reaching out and barely running her fingers over his mane, surprised by how soft and smooth it was unlike horses hair which generally falls on the coarse side of things.