Location: Pacific Royal Collegiate & University, - Dundas Islands, Pacific OceanFirst Class #2.xx: xx
Interaction(s): Adrianna Team EclipsePreviously: N/A
None from Eclipse were quick to follow Makenna towards the Strigidae banners. There were, however, two girls from Firebird that had given their names. One was a complete unknown, but how could any modern hyper-human not recognize Adrianna Dahl? She watched the blonde from a distance as a cape in the house’s colours was draped over her shoulders, trying to decide the best approach to take with the self-made millionaire.
“Walk to the dorms with me?” Ignorance, paired with casual friendliness and an eager smile, was what she went with as she approached Adrianna. They were nearly of an age when compared to the younger students in the H.E.A.T. program, after all.
“I’m Makenna by the way, names might have been missed with all that nonsense.” She offered one hand while waving the other in the direction of where the team swap had taken place, only a few yards away.
Adrianna hesitated. Did-- did she really not know who I--?
No. Can the ego. This is what got you those houses. You're here to make friends. Friends. Besides, it's not the worst thing in the world that this Makenna here is nice enough, and willing enough to be friendly without knowing who you are. Says something about her character, doesn't it?
Adrianna forced a smile around her mildly bruised self esteem, until the smile came through naturally.
"Sure thing. Sorry, I'm Adrianna. Great to meet you."Much as the wheels were turning in Makenna's mind, her face remained beaming at the acceptance of her offer. The practiced business woman seemed easily thrown by simple conversation.
"Same to you. Everyone in Firebird seems lovely, had I know you'd have so many spots free up..." Her voice trailed off as her eyes searched for Lucas, Cooper, and Elodie despite herself.
"All painless at least- Came off looking much better than either Blackjack or Eclipse in that little display." Her smile turned to an embarrassed grimace.
"Gave the staff something new to gossip about at least."Adie considered what Makenna was telling her. She had held up the Eclipse band first, then Firebird. But if she'd assumed, like Adie herself had, that Firebird would hold firm, and a mass-exodus of her own team - perhaps not an unreasonable theory given their tumultuous penchant for drama - then it's possible her choice would have bounced back. Then it would have been first come, first served in a mad scramble for the free places in Eclipse.
Adie thought about how poorly Makenna's team handled people taking their opportunity to leave, let alone those who were forced back, and could immediately empathise with Makenna's position.
The only thing worse than being in a bad situation, is being stuck in one after they've seen you try and leave.
"Well, there's something to be said for someone having the good sense to leave a bad situation." Adie replied. Her smile warming more.
"And for whatever it's worth, I think you carried yourself with a high level of grace, given the circumstances the others tried to put you in." It was true. She carried herself with dignity, and her head held high. It was impressive.
"My father would probably say 'You had someone try and dump fertilizer on you and still came out smelling of roses.'" She added, citing her own best source of supportive advice.
"Although there's a fair chance he might not have said 'fertilizer'. He worked in construction."Speaking with Makenna seemed to come easy. And she felt her confidence returning, as she felt the nagging thought of the Gulo and Myotis invitations drifting further away. She seemed affable and open. Honest. Carried herself well. Adie's smile was not at all forced now.
There was another short pause, this time more deliberate. The pair had moved some ways away from what remained of the ceremony; and were more or less alone. About the highest degree of privacy one could expect at PCRU.
"An all the more apt comparison for Iñigo then." Makenna replied with a small wink before opening the first of the doors in the path. Adrianna's brow raised in curiosity.
"I wonder what he was going to do if that whistle hadn't gone off. From the little he told us, his enrollment wasn't exactly 'voluntary'. You'd think he'd want to keep on the administration's good side." They weren’t really details for her to be sharing but Makenna found herself unable to resist dropping a bit of gossip before changing the subject again.
"Though they seemed happy to watch long enough. Anything to distract and move on from Cassander. You notice how quick they were to blow the whistle after his name came up?" She shook her head, but not before first stealing a glance to ascertain Adrianna's reaction.
"Oh my-- I'm so sorry. I didn't even think to ask." Adie felt intense guilt and sadness as she saw Makenna's affable smile disappear with a morose shake of her head.
"The dead boy. Were you two close? I feel so terrible for not even thinking to ask!" It was a perilous issue to broach, and so many people left it unspoken, it almost became forgotten from the social surface tension until it was specifically
NOT being mentioned.
"Really, don't." Makenna waved the apology away with a weary sigh. Outwardly, she was taking a somber moment to reflect and collect her thoughts. Internally, she was kicking herself for falling into the trap of having to play through the charade all over again.
"The truth is I didn't know him as much as I'd have liked. We were all nervous and shy about opening up at first, right up until that first bonfire. For an hour or two there we really were a team, but then. You know the rest." She paused again, forcing her eyes to remain downturned until she deemed enough time had passed to emphasize her sincerity. Finally, she looked up to Adrianna with a pained smile.
"I at least won’t be making the same mistakes again." One more, she offered her hand, giving a single tight squeeze to Adrianna's before quickly releasing it. Adie returned the hand squeeze.
It was such a sad, visceral description. Adrianna could practically see it. Makenna's whole team gathered around the fire, trying to overcome their conflictive nature, Makenna being this same social affable self and trying to keep things harmonious, despite themselves. Perhaps talking down some of the more volatile members, the likes of this Iñigo troublemaker, or that Australian who shot his mouth off at the Hyperhuman terrorist Hyperion, or one of the others firing threats at the ceremony to try and keep the peace.
"How has your team been doing? Since the Plateau and all, even without losing a team-mate, it was... A lot."Adrianna felt pleasantly warmed. Even with Makenna's own team woes, struggles and losses, she still had the selfless decency and concern to ask about her own situation. She thought more about what she could remember about House Strigidae. Dependable. Yes. A truly selfless, caring dependable friend. That must be what they saw in Makenna, she thought as she considered how to best answer the question.
"Well, it's hard to say. I think they all seem to at least get along well enough. Should be able to work together, certainly the parts which chose to remain. But even of the ones who left, one of them said they had a friend on another team, and that was his reason for leaving. I will say, Alyssa seemed bright, if a little... much?" She giggled. She'd never normally talk about another colleague or teammate like that, but something about Makenna, had her feeling at ease. It certainly didn't hurt that she'd been so honest with her own thoughts on her teammate Iñigo.
"She'll be a great addition to your team, though. Disappointing to see her go."Adie considered the question again.
"Yes, I'd say it's pretty difficult to say. At least with the team you came from, they were kind of in the eye of the storm. And nobody would leave anyone wondering where they stood. If you're close, but outside of it, it's a lot harder to get people to talk about it and get a sense of where they are exactly and how they're feeling.""But enough about teams, how are you coping with everything that happened?"Makenna nodded, silently filing Adrianna's opinions in her mind. There would be time to reflect on it all later, after she'd ensured a friendship with ‘the’ Adrianna Dahl. A feat much more easily accomplished than she'd anticipated.
"Lonely." She said flatly, absently twisting the ring on her left hand as she spoke.
"Before, I always had my fiancé to talk to. Never about anything this serious before, but having someone in your corner, someone you can really open up or discuss anything with, means a lot." Her hands stopped fidgeting and feel to her sides again.
"I can't talk to him about Cass though. Or Hyperion. Or anything else that goes on here, really." Makenna's lips pursed together in a hard line. It was uncomfortably close to the truth that bit, even if she had omitted some details of her and Carson's struggles. She forced her face back into an embarrassed smile.
"Did- Do you have anyone like that?"Adrianna furrowed her brow as she considered how to answer.
"Well, if you're asking if I'm seeing anyone, then No. Not presently. But I can sort of relate to not being able to discuss things about this place with those I'm closest to. My best friend Alexis… she knows I'm a hyperhuman, and seems cool, or at least not bothered by the fact that I am. But it's almost like she's too cool about the whole thing, and just outright doesn't see anything about Hyperhuman issues at all, bounces off of her like a brick wall. It's almost like she's so tolerant she doesn't see anything, she assumes everyone else is like that. Call it the California bubble." She stopped before considering how best to phrase the next part. She was enjoying the balanced status of talking with Makenna and her having no idea who she was, and didn't want to drop any big clues, but she also wanted to answer her question honestly since she'd been so vulnerable with her.
"As for the school and things that happen here, no, I don't really have anyone I can talk to about that either. I have too much… invested in this place, as horrible as this has been, I don't want to see anything bad happen to the people here. I know they try hard, mean well and are doing a good thing in a situation where they often have to rewrite the rule book as they go along."Makenna didn't let her mind reflect back to her own friends. She instead nodded along with Adrianna and she spoke about her past life, and new one. Vague enough not to reveal too much of her identity; a modest little millionaire. So deft at masking her intentions and motives in fact, Makenna would have thought herself caught in her own game had Adrianna not come across so earnestly in describing a desire to better the school. Why someone like that would invest in PCRU begged further questions still. Not that this was at all the time or place for that.
"We'll show them what we're made of." Makenna replied with great optimism as they eventually reached the Strigidae dorms.
"Next thing you know, we'll be ones rewriting the rules." This struck the ultimate chord with Adrianna. The optimism, the camaraderie, the thought of two strong bold women forging the future. Makenna couldn't have picked a better sentiment to strike at Adie's heart. She was enamoured. Even as the returned presence of other students halted any further meaningful conversation she need say no more. The pair were given a brief run-down of the living-quarters layout. Individual rooms, but four to a living space.
"Hope you don't me taking a room across from you," She said as their guide left them alone in the barren living room of one of the unoccupied dorms. Adie was about to joyfully express her delight that she would do just that, before Makenna raised her own offer even further, completely unprompted.
"With the way this day has been going, I'd like to leave as little up to chance as possible when it comes to assigning groups- And I can make it worth you while!" Her eyes remained on Adrianna after she'd finished speaking, silently analyzing the girl a moment before continuing. She saw excitement and anticipation in what her new friend could possibly mean to make this great new development even more enticing.
"Do you know your measurements? Or size at least?" She'd begun to raise a hand to stop Adrianna from answering before she'd even finished.
"Sorry, you don't have to answer that. I just have a toile dress that runs just a hair short on me, but I think I could make alterations so it could work for you.""Ohmigod, you're amazing!" Adie exclaimed, before dialing it back. She wanted to return the offer, before remembering that the vast majority of her wardrobe was custom-fit and tailored.
"I'd offer the same thing, but I just culled my wardrobe right down before I came here. But if you see anything you'd like to try and think could make work, let me know? And I mean that, anything. I'm not much with a sewing machine myself - maybe the only machine I fall short with..." She said with a giggle.
"But anything you want to try, and think you could make work for you, let me know. Even with the cull, I probably still brought too much."|
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