private Academy of Magic

[Flicker Sweet 3,391]

Red noticed, as other students began to trickle towards the docks, that one girl went and sat alone a few feet away from him.  He recognized the homesick expression on her face all too easily, he'd seen it in Boy Scouts when new kids were on their first campout.  He went up to her, sat down, looked out at the water, and politely said to her, "My older brother once told me, 'don't let people sit alone, it hurts to be alone.'  I look over and see you sitting here."  He looked over to her, he didn't say anything.  He just sat there, and waited for her to make the next remark.  He tried to remember exactly how he helped people deal with homesickness in the past...........all he could remember was that they were usually panicking since it was their first time form home.  Red couldn't tell if this was the case with this girl or not.  That being said, he still wasn't sure how to deal with it, being as it wasn't Boy Scouts where he could just take them aside and use his position as Fireman Chit Instructor as an excuse to set random stuff on fire with the upset person.......

[Artemisia 166]

Keren looked at the boy who sat besides her on the dock and spoke to her, she leaned back on her hands and spoke in a hushed tone. "Thanks." She picked at the rotting wood with her fingernails for a moment in thought. She spoke again, "I guess I'm used to it, the loneliness and sitting alone that is. That is how school often is...was." She breathed deeply through her nose and looked up into the cloudy night sky. "I guess that's just how it is, when you are the nerd,  the outcast, the weird one. I never really have a lot of friends, don't get me wrong I like people but...people don't seem to like me. And now..." She began speaking a bit louder, faster, truly expressing herself, "Now, I am just worried I am going to be all alone here, not even my mom or a single friend like back home. And all the rest of you,.." She pinwheeled one hand back with a dramatic flourish for emphasis, "You don't even notice me, you are all socializing and making friends and enemies and conversation, and I...I just haven't." She sighed. "Sorry for my...whatever..." She shook her head. She hadn't meant to bore him but with nobody to talk to she was about ready to burst.

[Apollo 297]

"Indeed. I figured it was for my sculpting, but who really knows."

*Xander said casually to Olivia, then Olivia said something that surprised him.*

"A creepy aura? Yeah, that sounds about right. Something dark, the atmosphere seems a bit, odd, if that makes any sense."

*Xander clicked his new cane on the ground as they arrived at their destination.*

 

-----

 

*Sasha sulkingly walked onto the docks and looked around at the group that had gathered there with a few hopes still intact. They were crushed though when she didn't see Jason among the students there though. There were a few faces that she hadn't seen on the train though. One of them she had seen in the art supply store, it was the boy she had bumped into. The other seemed pretty normal, he was talking to Olivia and holding a nifty cane. Sasha noticed that his eyes were empty.*

[blind? Kinda like.........]

*Sasha sneakily got a little closer without them noticing, and then she saw it. On the shoulder of the boy's jacked there was a little symbol. One she and her best friend had come up with when they were little. A cross with little circles on each end, and in each circle was a diamond. The same symbol that was on her own jacket's shoulder. She smiled and walked up to him.*

"Xander! You ol' bastard!"

*Sasha hugged her old friend.*

 

"Fluff! How good it is to... well not see you, but you know what I mean."

*Xander hugged her back. They held the embrace for a moment, then broke it and bumped fists. Sasha, happier now, flipped her hood down and smiled at the two of them.*

"I guess you have already met Olivia, seeing as how she knew about you when I mentioned your name."

*Xander said to his old friend.*

 

"Yeah we met before we got on the train yesterday."

*Sasha said, nodding towards Olivia with a smile.*

"Its good to see you Sand, its been way too long. Hows pimpin?"

*Sasha joked.*

 

*Xander laughed a bit.*

"Nonexistent. Seems like none of the girls at the place I moved to want to date a blind guy. Hows the old gang?"

 

"Same old same old. Anna got her first boyfriend, Patrick got into med school, Douglas nearly dropped out, and King is, well King."

*Sasha laughed.*

Edited December 12, 2012 by Thor

[Flicker Sweet 3,391]

Keren looked at the boy who sat besides her on the dock and spoke to her, she leaned back on her hands and spoke in a hushed tone. "Thanks." She picked at the rotting wood with her fingernails for a moment in thought. She spoke again, "I guess I'm used to it, the loneliness and sitting alone that is. That is how school often is...was." She breathed deeply through her nose and looked up into the cloudy night sky. "I guess that's just how it is, when you are the nerd,  the outcast, the weird one. I never really have a lot of friends, don't get me wrong I like people but...people don't seem to like me. And now..." She began speaking a bit louder, faster, truly expressing herself, "Now, I am just worried I am going to be all alone here, not even my mom or a single friend like back home. And all the rest of you,.." She pinwheeled one hand back with a dramatic flourish for emphasis, "You don't even notice me, you are all socializing and making friends and enemies and conversation, and I...I just haven't." She sighed. "Sorry for my...whatever..." She shook her head. She hadn't meant to bore him but with nobody to talk to she was about ready to burst.

Red turned and faced her, propping his head on one knee, "Nah, it's fine," he said, "keep going.  How are you a nerd?  What kind of nerd are you?  There's no way you are more of an outcast than a skinny, pacifist ginger who plays D&D and listens to Marilyn Manson to get to sleep at night."  Red thought about that for a moment, he could feel her pain from his own experience this time, not just his unique gift of extreme empathy.  He remembered bits and pieces of middle school, sitting in the back of the room with his CD player and a backpack stuffed with manga.  He felt the torture of being shunned by his first high school orchestra director for liking metal AND classical equally.  He remembered all of the shit he had to put up with daily during ROTC after revealing that he had no plans for a military career.  Red knew exactly where she was coming from, he knew what being alone was like........he decided it best to change the subject, "So, what do you plan on studying at the academy?"  He felt that was a fair question, though he also felt a bit of guilt in not letting her continue, "Actually, disregard that, continue with what we were talking about....."

[THE WILD HUNT 213]

Ajax walked over to the docks when he saw that nearly everyone destined to go to the school for the "specially gifted". There were a couple of new faces, namely one girl with brown hair who was at the moment, talking to Red (who thankfully had seemingly calmed down after his nervous breakdown when Ajax had earlier tried to manipulate his mind). He had caught a glimpse of her before at the train station, and from what he had managed to hear in Red's conversation with her, her name was Keren and was as troubled as everyone else who was around. He noticed Sasha, who was pretty depressed about something, so Ajax concluded it had something to do with Jason.

"Did they... get into an argument or something?"

Ajax looked around, and was rather confused to see that Jason was nowhere in sight.

"And that drops our possible friends list down to two. So now who do I have... Oh goodie, the kid who desperately needs to take anger management, and the girl who is too prideful to accept 'lower class' kid's help even though she's practically freezing to death..."

Ajax sat down on a bench near the docks and did what he usually did when he was bored and waiting for something: Draw. Since he was near the ocean, he decided to draw an ichthyocentaur (basically a sea-centaur, so it has a fish tail and other aquatic features).

"I wouldn't mind if one showed up right now, it'd at least provide some entertainment for now," Ajax thought as he looked towards the ocean...

[Mephala 2,632]

Olivia didn't want to bother them and she was obviously invading their moment, she she slipped away.

She noticed that Luce was still near the docks, brooding as she gazed over the ocean, and something twitched inside her. She had been quite rude earlier, and gossiping wasn't something she normally lowered herself to do.

While Luce's attitude towards the others had been made quite clear, Olivia still held her head high and strode in her direction, passing the others. Thalia was the only one who gave her a second glance, though her eyes were glazed and she looked incredibly tired. As she brushed past her, Olivia felt a chill go through her entire body. She shook her head and blinked, trying to convince herself that it was the chilly ocean breeze, but the doubt gnawed at her-it appeared that this was what was giving off the strange aura.

She couldn't just stop, especially now that Luce had turned her piercing gaze towards her, and so, palms now sweating slightly and heart beating a little quickly, Olivia approached her.

 

When she reached the blonde girl, she tried to smile and as was her custom stuck out her hand after she quickly wiped it on the back of her shorts.

"Hi. Luce, right? I'm Oli-"

"Olivia. I know. I'm not deaf," said Luce with no expression in her voice. She didn't even deign to look up and Olivia drew back her hand, blushing a little. Something about the way that Luce held herself made her feel inferior in her presence. Now she understood why it seemed the others kept their distance.

A thought-a memory-tugged at the edge of Olivia's consciousness  but she couldn't exactly pin what it was. It was as though her brain had been wiped clean. All she could conjure was an image of Luce with an angry expression and the newspaper article about the unsolved murder.

Before she could open her mouth Ms. Frey swept off the plane and towards them with a nervous expression. She gently grabbed Luce's shoulder and murmured something and Luce detached herself and began to walk away with her, still ignoring Olivia.

Confused, she turned, trying to figure out what to do next, when Jaime's voice boomed over the docks.

"The plane is now boarding. Repeat. The plane is now boarding."

 

Not wanting to look like a fool, Olivia hurriedly walked towards it, but noticed a much smaller float pane behind theirs.

Edited December 20, 2012 by PinkieDaShy