Stasya hadn’t responded when the Russian boy from before had greeted her. Everything about him, from the way he looked to the way he sounded, kept her nervous and on edge. Being a boy in the first place didn’t help his case either. The best she was able to manage was a murmured response that was, in all likelihood, missed completely.
She did her best to keep up with the conversation that followed the woman entering the room, trying to keep track of who said what as the little voice coming from the tiny speaker hanging around her ear translated for her. Kara had given it to her during one of their sessions, saying that it would help her communicate better with the other teens. It would be awkward, but she would manage until she felt confident enough in her English to converse without it.
So, this “Nilin” had been taken like us. Now she’s one of them. Stasya frowned slightly as she processed the new information.
Then I can’t trust her either. Letting the others ask the questions, she turned her attention to the other teens, reviewing what she knew.
The one called Mara seemed nice enough, she could certainly be a potential ally. From what she could currently see, she was also uncomfortable with what was going on. That would help. The loud one, Uriel, was… well, loud. He didn’t
seem to be a bad sort, just overwhelming. Avoid for the time being, at least until she had someone else to help her.
Arthur, however, seemed to be the exact opposite. Quiet, soft-spoken. He had even made an effort to speak with her once or twice, not that he had gotten very far. Not that he had really done anything, she just… wasn’t comfortable talking to the boys here, and he had picked up on that pretty quick.
Nikolai she simply stayed away from.
Lucie was the girl who spoke differently than the others. She had mostly kept to herself over the week, and always seemed slightly… sad when she did appear? Stasya didn’t have very much on her at all. The last boy, who’s name she had learned was Abe, always seemed frustrated and distracted by something, though he did go to great lengths to hide it when the others were around. Perhaps his own powers, whatever they might be, really were causing him distress? She didn’t know. Which left-
STASYA!The sudden and unexpected shout caused her to flinch and grab her ears, jerking in her seat. Scales flared all across her body, and a ridge of spikes erupted from her spine, tenting the back of her shirt. When nothing else was forthcoming, she raked her eyes across the gathered teens, sitting as though nothing had happened.
Did… did nobody else hear that? How did they not hear that? One by one, she looked at each person.
It sounded like…Her eyes fell on Irina. The one that Stasya was most uncertain about. On the one hand, she was the the only other Russian speaker there besides Nikolai. On the other hand, she seemed to change moods a lot, and kept giving Staysa looks like she had done something wrong.
Why would she shout my name? And why did it seem like only I could hear it? A brief look of shock crossed Stasya’s face.
Was it… in my head? Can she talk in my head? She blinked, her eyes boring a hole into Irina’s head.
Is that what you can do?