Everyone has a Mask [Addie]

[Candence Waterson]

One two three four five six seven eight...

Candence moved almost mechanically as she worked through the dance moves of the current routine. Going through the motions, that was what she was doing at this point. Just one more time through, and she would try it with music.

....five six seven eight, turn two three...

And finish.

She dropped her arms and pulled her iPod from her pocket, tugging off a glove so she could scroll through the songs and find the proper one. Ah, there. She tapped it and hurriedly stuffed both her iPod and the glove into her pocket. She didn't have time to finagle with getting it back on before the song started, and it wasn't as if anyone was around that she could accidentally touch and make fall asleep.

Now, with the music, she threw herself into the dance, executing each move carefully and on rhythm, while still taking a level of artistic license with it. Dance wasn't simply to be stepped through, it was meant to look well and truly felt, and she was quite enough the actress to pull that off.

She continued on through her dance, mentally berating herself for the couple of missteps she made as she went. As usual, she had her music turned up enough that airplanes flying over Pilot Ridge could likely hear the music blasting from her earbuds. Also as usual, she was exclusively focused on what she was doing. The zombie apocalypse could have occurred, and she would have been none the wiser.

It wasn't until she had finished her dance, and pulled her iPod from her pocket to stop the next song from playing, that she thought she heard something that wasn't blaring music in the auditorium...

[Adaryn Breslin]

Adaryn wasn't the most social girl, not in the slightest, and that had to do a lot with the fact that she had been conditioned to fear her power and people alike. Because of this, she had developed reclusive tendencies. The Empath did have friends, but there were times where she just needed to leave and not be bothered; her friends had found where she typically stayed, and so she felt it necessary to change it up a bit. The Auditorium, most times, offered the solitude that the brunette desired with little to no fear of being found.

She held her sketchbook pressed to her chest with her fabric covered arms, her back sweating slightly from the 70 degree heat that was present outside the Auditorium walls. Most people didn't understand why she wore such attire, but majority of that misunderstanding was because of her lack of desire to speak. Her chuck taylors were silent against the carpeted floors. What she didn't anticipate when she was walking in was that a girl was dancing on the stage, clearly listening to music as she recited movements with such expertise, it almost seemed natural.

Adaryn stood in awe, mouth opened slightly as she watched, and walked. Eventually, she felt a sharp pain in her thigh, and she gasped, her arms releasing the grip on her sketchbook as she gripped her left side.

"Crap," Addie muttered, a bit breathless, kneeling down and grabbing the book, ensuring all of its contents were safely tucked away behind the cover.

The Empath stood, noticed the girl had her headphones out, and looked away with reddened cheeks because it seemed the girl was staring directly at her.

"Sorry," she managed, "Am I disrupting?"

[Candence Waterson]

Ah... it was just another girl. Candence walked over, snagged her hoodie, and pulled it on in preemptive protection measures. Just in case the girl got a wild hair to run up and hug her. She'd thought things like that would never happen, but one of her first days at Hammel some girl had done just that. Crazy people... Of course, no one else had done that, but one couldn't be too careful. She didn't want to accidentally put someone to sleep again. Though, this girl was wearing enough clothing that maybe she wouldn't have had to worry about it.

"No, you're fine," Candence said in answer to the girl's question. "I was just finishing up." Well, technically she'd been going to go through the routine a time or two more, but she'd already been practicing it an hour or so, and she wasn't one to hog the auditorium when she could be doing other things. She could work on her gymnastics. Or work some weights in the weight room. Or beat on a punching bag... There were plenty of things to do that didn't have to do with the auditorium.

As she plopped down to do her post-dance stretches, she noted the other girl's sketchbook, and considered asking about it. Art wasn't really her niche, but there were some people who were pretty good at it, and she had to admire the hard work that they put into their stuff. Curious or not, it did take her a couple minutes to finally ask, "You draw?". A broad enough question that she wasn't too likely to end up stuck in a conversation she didn't want to be in for too long. She wasn't really one to hang around chatting with people.

[Adaryn Breslin]

The girl was young, Adaryn realized, maybe fifteen at most. Granted, Addie wasn't much older at seventeen, but she did have the growing curves that this girl seemed to lack. The girl on stage was pretty, that much Adaryn could say, so when the girl immediately reached for her jacket, the blue-eyed brunette arched a brow. Why would she need a jacket?

Then again, she was sure most people asked the same thing about her.

"I really don't want to kick you out. I was just trying for a place to relax." One or two people in the same general area never truly bothered her; it was when there were large crowds and talking that made her nervous and eventually leave. Her form fell, and she recognized post exercise stretches. Great, Adaryn, you scared her away. Great going.

Addie wholeheartedly believed that the girl was going to leave with nothing further to say, so when she asked about drawing, her gaze was painted with legitimate surprise. "Uh, Yeah I do," the Empath responded, a bit delayed. "Your dancing was really nice," She added, though she idly wondered if that was the right thing to say? She still wasn't very good at determining whether someone was speaking just to lift the silence, or if they wanted a legitimate conversation. Adaryn hoped she assumed correctly and the girl was expecting the latter, but knowing her luck, the dancer probably was thinking of the former.

[Candence Waterson]

Trying to find a place to relax, huh? So at least this girl probably wasn't an extrovert would would try to talk her head off or something. That was a definite plus. "It's fine," Candence reiterated, a little more sincerely this time. The girl obviously seemed the unassuming, don't mean to offend people type, after all. Candence had to admit her own people skills weren't the best, but she was slowly beginning to learn how to treat different people types. Not everyone was the break-into-your-hamster-ball and become your best friend within a few hours type.

The other girl seemed actually surprised when she asked about the drawing book. The reaction was to be expected, Candence supposed. It wasn't as if she gave off the most personable vibe. "Thanks," she said in answer to the compliment, despite the fact she wasn't terribly happy with her practice performance. It'd felt sloppy to her. But then again, it usually felt sloppy to her, no matter what other people said.

"You any good at drawing?' she asked. A moment after she'd said it, she felt pretty sure it wasn't the most polite way of phrasing the inquiry, but the words were already out. She didn't have time to let herself overthink her social interactions. So, instead of thinking about it, she shifted into a new stretching position.

She noted that the other girl was wearing quite a lot of clothing, in consideration of the weather. She briefly wondered if she had the same problem that Candence herself had, but wasn't about to ask. If someone had asked herself she wouldn't have answered truthfully, after all.

[Adaryn Breslin]

"I'd like to think so?" Adaryn offered in return to her question, her lips tipping up into a sheepish smile. Of course, not many people asked her about her love of drawing except for a select few, and each of them had told her how well she could execute abstract pieces, since majority had to do with the visual of her powers.

Adaryn allowed the girl to stretch in peace, and instead, she sat in one of the auditorium seats, sketching a scene from a dream the previous night. Darkness, suffocating darkness, but in the far corner, a beckoning light peeks out, sending shadows scattering, darker black on a light gray background. That light was Adaryn, expelling all of the demons that ailed her, much like she had expelled the demon in her labyrinth dream.

Adaryn was growing stronger, and it truly was a nice change.

[Candence Waterson]

Well, at least the other girl had given an honest answer. This made Candence all the more curious about her artwork. However, she continued her stretches painstakingly. She wasn't one to rush things simply because of curiosity. Instead, she watched as she began drawing. Not really a chatty person, was she? Of course, Candence wasn't really in a position to say much about that, since she herself wasn't really the most chatty person either.

After several minutes of stretching, Candence finally got to her feet, stood awkwardly for a moment, then hopped down off the stage. "What's your name, anyway?" she asked, deciding it would be weird to end up leaving without the other girl's name. Then if they ever met again she'd have to deal with the weirdness of, "Oh, it's you, the Girl-Whose-Name-I-Don't-Know.".

She wandered a little nearer to the other girl as she did, still curious to see what sort of artwork she did, and how good she was at it.

[Adaryn Breslin]

Curious, she was curious, Addie smiled to herself continue the sketch, especially proud of the ability to depict pain on a faceless being. "Adaryn," The Empath replied quietly, never one to raise her voice too high, yet still loud enough to hear. "And you?" Quite obviously Adaryn wasn't skilled in the art of conversation, but since this girl was trying, so would she.

Well, now would be a good time to take her eyes off the book, right?

"Sorry," Adaryn apologized, closing the sketchbook and offering Candence her full attention.

[Candence Waterson]

"Candence," she replied, not really thinking much of the other girl, Adaryn apparently, keeping her attention on the sketchbook. She was drawing, after all, and Candence half felt it was nearly a breach of etiquette to talk to someone while they were doing something they were passionate about. She'd often got annoyed when she was practicing gymnastics and someone started talking to her, after all. It was irritating, and so she fully intended to leave Adaryn to her drawing as soon as she'd gotten her name.

This in mind, Candence was somewhat surprised when Adaryn actually apologized and lowered her sketchbook. Candence blinked at her, then shrugged. "No need to apologize," she muttered. "I was just curious about your drawing. Looked pretty decent. From what I saw anyway." She shrugged again and glanced away. Conversation. She was not good at it.

"I didn't mean to interrupt it," she added, perfectly honest.

[Adaryn Breslin]

"Don't worry about interrupting. I literally have all the time in the world to finish this." And it was true; Adaryn had work, sure, but that didn't cut into her time to draw. It never had. The Empath took every possible free moment in her sketchbook so long as there was nobody around to pry that attention away, which was more often than not since she tended to stick to herself. There were the occasions where she would instead hang out with Monroe, or even Eloise, but if she really wished to, they wouldn't deny her the pleasure of working in her sketchbook. The two were artists of their own, so they very much understood her desires to get a scene onto paper.

"You looked really nice up there. Dancing, I mean, you looked like you were a professional," Adaryn was being completely honest. Her movements seemed effortless and natural, though the blue-eyed brunette knew that the routine was anything but. To make a scene such as that seem so easy was a way you judged true talent. To an extent, Adaryn envied that ability, but not enough for her to gain bitter feelings, and instead she respected it.

"How long have you been dancing?"

[Candence Waterson]

"Don't worry about interrupting."

Well, Adaryn didn't seem annoyed anyway.

"Thanks," Candence said in answer to the compliment. "I've been in dance since I was like two." She shrugged. "Dance when you're that young is more like toddling around, but it gets things started anyway." She gave a smile. "My parents were sorta obsessed with us doing things like that, I guess." Both of her siblings had been started just as early, after all. Of course, they hadn't be started on gymnastics until they were older, since that was a lot more likely to cause injury if not done right.

"How long have you been drawing?" she inquired in return. "Do you do many different kinds of art?" She found it pretty awesome that people could master more than one kind of art. There were so many different kinds of paintings and pencils and things. Though she supposed it was similar to the different kinds of dance that there were. Ballet, Hip Hop, Jazz... There were plenty.

[Adaryn Breslin]

"Well, it definitely worked out for you." Addie tried to smile at her, but the mentioning of parents was enough to send a wave of pain through her being. However, Adaryn was very good at just shoving down and ridding of those emotions, and that was exactly what she did, better late than never.

"A long time," Adaryn replied, her brows furrowing as she tried to recall an exact date. She seemed to be drawing ever since she could remember, though for the majority of those years she wasn't any good. "Not really, I just... sketch whatever is on my mind. My dreams can be very vivid, so I sometimes take images from those dreams and put them on paper. Other times I just have an idea. I'm not really good at portraits, so I typically avoid drawing vivid faces." To say Adaryn didn't realize where her strength lied would be a lie, but she was humble about mentioning it. The brunette didn't really enjoy the attention too much when it came to her artwork, since it was just and outlet, and because it was an outlet, it could be very personal.

[Candence Waterson]

"I guess." Candence gave a mild shrug. Her parents would have said that too. Actually, most people who didn't know what happened would say that. But if it hadn't been for dance, nothing bad would have happened to either her or her sister. Stupid dance. But she couldn't just give it up now, could she? She shoved the mental retort to the side. Adaryn didn't know.

Vivid dreams? As a dreamwalker, dreams naturally interested her. "Taking ideas from dreams is a good idea," she mused. "What sorts of dreams do you--" she cut herself off as she realized how weird of a question it would be to ask about her dreams. "Nevermind," she muttered, glancing away and reaching up to rub her nose to prevent Adaryn noticing the slight blush.

"Anyway, that's cool," she said, coming out of the muttering. "The drawing, I mean. You part of the Art Club then?"

[Adaryn Breslin]

They both hid information from one another, it seemed. Adaryn could physically see the shift in her aura - a bitterness that appeared without the understanding of why. However, as the girl continued to speak, and promptly cut herself off, the Empath found her curiosity piqued.

Not that she would do anything about it, anyway.

"My dreams aren't really consistent," the brunette offered, unsure if she should have even gone that far, "So sometimes I have really... unusual dreams that don't make much sense, and then others that I can remember for weeks." The answer she gave was specific without being too much so; a good answer for a girl who didn't have a desire to expose too much about herself.

Addie went along with the subject change without hesitation by shaking her head no. "I just draw on my own. I'm not really into being into clubs." Her general fear of people was a contributor to that, but she also wasn't confident enough in her own artwork to be in a club dedicated to it.

[Candence Waterson]

Candence brightened slightly when Adaryn began answering her question, despite her having thought it too strange a question. Apparently she'd been wrong. Then again, this was Hammel. Normal rules didn't really apply.

Inconsistent dreams. Remembered dreams. Unusual dreams. Just about normal, she figured. She nodded in acknowledgement, gave a smile. "Sounds pretty normal," she said. She briefly wondered if she had experienced any of Adaryn's dreams. She couldn't keep what people she saw in dreams and what people she didn't see in dreams straight in her head, let alone which were actually the dreamers and which were fake people-- figments of the dreamer's imagination. Apparently she would learn how to tell the difference eventually, but it was too difficult to mess with, she figured.

She nodded as Adaryn informed her she wasn't into clubs. Yeah, those weren't for everyone, she supposed. They could probably be stifling to some people, especially the larger clubs. Of course, she had no idea how large or small the art club was... "The smaller ones are nicer," she offered. Not that she was intending to try and convince the fellow student to join a club. It wasn't any of Candence's business who joined what where, after all, and she didn't really care about the art club anyway.

She shrugged. "Probably better doing art on your own though," she stated. "More fun that way, I guess, right?"