Snowdrops {Open}

[Clementine Cho]

"Mmm..."

her eyes closed half way and the young woman's almond shaped eyes squeezed shut.

Her thin eyebrows were drawn together as she held onto her stuffed lamb. It hadn't been something she had for her entire childhood but something she bought four less than ten dollars. Burying herself into the fake wool she murmured, "Go back to sleep go back to sleep..." Rolling onto her side she hugged the stuffed creature to her chest and brought the lamb up to her face. Auuuuugh. She was so bored!

What time was it? She had fallen asleep earlier in the evening and obviously slept too long because she coldn't go back to sleep. Was the sun out? Her curtains were drawn to block out any of the light so she had to look at her clock which showed 7:16 AM. It was way too early to be awake for a day she didn't have to go to school. Staring down at her feet sadly her thin eyebrows knit towards each other and her almond eyes squeezed shut. She was so hungry. Finally, she sighed and rolled out of her bed. Rubbing at her forehead she drew in a deep breath and her shoulders rose up. Bare feet pounded on the ground and meandered out of her room and into the bathroom. She'd shower before she had to do anything she supposed.

The water ran over her pallid body as she washed out her hair, rubbed the soap all over her skin, as she started to wake up beneath the hot water she sighed happily. That felt a lot better now that she thought about it and the rotten mood she had been in while she had woken up was starting to wash away along with the sweat, troubles, and worries of the day before. Turning off the water she dried herself off and shook the water off of her hair. Slipping on her robe that was hanging outside of the shower and she dried off her hair. Since it was so short it didn't take her that long for her to get it how she liked it.

Getting dressed she put on some nice clean clothes. Slipping on a gray sweater she then put on a pair of blue jeans and socks. It was nothing all that special, Clementine was a plain girl as she reasoned a sparrow could put some peacock feathers on but it would still be a sparrow. When she was all dressed she examined herself in the mirror that was in her room and she smiled at her refection.

She winked at her reflection and struck a pose before she grumbled and then shook her head. Grabbing something quick to eat she raced outside as quickly as she could. It looked beautiful in the snow and the lake was probably iced over. As she grabbed her red peat coat she buttoned it up and slipped on her boots. Snow crunched beneath her boots as she tucked her hands into her pockets and looked out.

She had always loved the snow, ever since she was little it never ceased to enchant her. Even if it was freezing and felt like it was twenty below zero out. Her lips were drawn up in a smile as she sighed quietly. Though nothing grew out in the snow. Which did make her sad.

She was feeling a bit moody and was trying to cover it up with a smile. She was sure that she caught a glimpse of green and she rushed to it. Kneeling down in the snow like a hunched over rabbit she pawed the snow away and saw some emerald green grass with sprouts. Smiling she leaned forward and blew at it with her hands as she whispered to it, "Live."
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[Nina Levitra]

Nina had woken up that morning at five to find it snowing, and had screamed with joy. Nothing thrilled her more than a fresh snow, even though living in Vermont meant that the flakes came fast and furious almost ever other day. Her scream failed to thrill her cousin, and Nina found herself outside just two minutes.

"Its still snowing Joel!" she screeched, feeling far more awake than she should have. Nina was just so thrilled, and now that she was awake, she could see no point in going back into the house. "I'll bet anything the school looks just picturesque right now." she whispered to herself, looking up and out. But the school was soooo far away... Maybe she could shorten her travel time, just a little. "Let's do it to it!" she whispered, gently punching a nearby tree. Her quiet moment ended, and she threw her head back, shouting towards the sky. "Wonder Twin Powers activate! Form of snow! And... form of... a pony!"

Battle cry complete, Nina focused on thoughts of a fair pony, going around and around in circles, looking rather silly and she felt her spine twisting, her body changing and a tail and mane growing. A tail was super fun because you could braid it or just swish it around, and it was really long. It was like normal hair, only so much better. Shaking her head, Nina neighed softly and then took off at a leisurely trot, leaving her clothes behind without much care. She was going to be a chicken anyways, and chickens had no need for Betty Boop pajamas, no matter how nice a shade of blue they were.

Keeping her feet high, Nina crunched her way up to the school courtyard before stopping and quickly changing back to a human, then her usual chicken form, attacking snowflakes as they fell with her usual enthusiasm, not really paying attention to time as she flapped her way up into a bare tree, taking a quick nap on her new roost.

When she woke up again, Nina tried her wings, and then tried her body. Never mind that she would have fallen naked out of a tree and into a snowdrift, at a time that students may well have been awake. Luck was with Nina, and she found her body unwilling to change. Content with this, Nina hopped out of the tree and found a fun surprise; a student.

She looked like a student anyways, due to the fact that she was on school campus. She was actually really cute looking, and without thinking, Nina hugged the strange girl's ankle with her stubby wings, hoping afterwards that she wasn't a skittish pyro. On of those had attacked her once and she actually had to jump into the pond and disguise herself as a black koi. Bad memories aside, Nina fluttered back, and quickly made her tracks in the snow, hopping up and down and not noticing a thing the girl was doing. Though she did get a really strong feeling of corn. And it was coming from the girl...

Nina automatically assumed that the student girl had to be made of corn, and clucked with delight, standing at her feet expectantly and flapping her wings, trying very hard to convey that she would like cracked corn, and a meal worm if possible.

[Willow Kovacs]

Generally, Willow didn't give much of a care toward the things she couldn't change. Weather, for one, being the prime example. But it was already April, and it was snowing. Again. The early riser scowled at the flecks of white snow descending from the sky, caking the ground in at least four inches of white powder already. Without an end to the grey overcast and freezing temperatures, the raven let out a long sigh and took another sip of chai tea. It warmed her body, sending tingles into the edges of her cooled skin as her brown eyes flickered between snowflakes. Willow knew it wasn't going to be a good day - being of a reptilian sort, her body was cold blooded. Which meant she ran cold unless warmed by the sun. Which was no where in sight.

Cold day = unhappy Willow.

Finishing her tea, she went about her regular schedule. Pulling on slacks, a blouse, and a good pair of winter boots (which were unusually hard to find in a stylish fashion), she combed through her short hair easily and turned her head in the mirror. Inspecting every smooth detail of her face, the arches of her eyebrows, the keen spark in her eyes. Nodding in approval, she snatched a blue hat from the rack and headed out of the apartment, and into the freezing crisp air of the morning.

Walking with her hands in her pockets, instinctively her feet turned toward the school which was only two miles from her apartment building. Crunching through the powdered snow, the city remained eerily silent as it did all Saturday mornings. Few people woke up this early regularly, especially not on the weekends. Not that Willow minded - she preferred the silence. A shiver threatened to twitch through her as the cold seeped into her skin, but with a determined look, the woman ignored the chill and walked faster toward Hammel. Within a few minutes, her eyes caught something blue peaking from under a pile of snow. Curiosity etched into her brain as she picked at the blue, finding a garment hidden in the powder with a cartoon figure all over it. Pajamas. Her eyebrows creased as she looked from the clothes, up toward the home only feet away. Familiarity took over as a pang of annoyance seeped into her, "Nina," She hissed tiredly.

Trudging quickly the rest of the way to the school, it wasn't hard to take notice to the disturbances in the snow and followed through the woods to reach a point just by the farthest building on campus. Willow was met with a student, her back turned on the adult, with a... chicken, currently prancing around by her ankles. Clearing her throat, her eyes moved sharply from the student to rest on the chicken clucking about. "Nina," Her tone was warning, "You dropped something." Presenting the folded, damp pajamas toward the chicken, her eyebrow rose expectantly. "Public indecency is a crime,"

Willow was not amused.

Her eyes glanced back to the student she idly recognized, and raised her eyebrows. "Surprising a student would be up this early on a Saturday." She said to no one in particular, "Sorry if she's bothering you," Making a slight gesture toward the shape shifter.

---

Outfit

[Clementine Cho]

"It was winter-time; the air was cold, the wind was sharp, but within the closed doors it was warm and comfortable, and within the closed door lay the flower; it lay in the bulb under the snow-covered earth," She mumbled quietly as she breathed out towards the grass once more. Cold snow dripped along the emerald blades. "The rain fell and washed back some of the snow." She made a large heart in the open space of grass with her fingers. using four of her fingers she swished the snow away.

It was cold so she blew into them vigorously wanting to warm them up as quickly as possible. When they warmed up she reached out to the grass again and breathed in happily. Focusing on the flowers once more she sleepily closed her eyes. The snow, the winter chilled her to the bone and she couldn't help but feel tired. Clementine wanted nothing more than to curl up into a ball and sleep until it was Spring. Much like the little plants before her wished to. She felt a bit bad for waking them but it was spring, the sun would be out soon!

"The rain came and the Snowdrop felt the Sun, 'come in come in.' the flowers said but the sun couldn't since it was still too cold and the sun replied that he'd return in the spring. How long was that?"

Clementine had a distinctive voice. Her voice was childlike and mimicked that of tinkling bells or a wind chime that danced in the breeze. It was hard to believe that Clem was almost an adult let alone over the age of fourteen. "So the snowdrop waited for spring. So it grew and grew and grew and pushed and pushed and pushed through the snow. Then it felt the warm sun on it. 'Good morning!' the snowdrop cried and the sun replied happily." She left out the part about how it was far too cold for the snowdrop and how it was plucked and pressed into a letter. Away from the sun.

However, Mr. Anderson gave the end a happy ending to the story which he rarely did. The snowdrop was sent to a lover and kissed tenderly and kindly before saved in a book. The green grass curled up towards her and wrapped around her tiny fingers. She smiled gently towards them as she saw the emerald green grass cling onto her fingers as though they were tiny children's hands. She supposed that the plants, the flowers, the trees, the bushes, the grass, everything were like her children when she could take care of them.

Clementine kept still there as she kissed the grass before she breathed out to it. If it showed signs of getting warmer sooner she would have made them grow. But she'd have to wait. Dark eyelashes caressed her cheeks and she saw her breath before her face. Since she was in touch with the earth she was starting to feel much better than before.

"And then the spring came," she finished up. She spoke to all the plants, she tried to give them attention especially love to the tenacious ones. Blinking, she felt something on her leg and she jumped back with a squeal. What the? A chicken? It didn't surprise her, hardly anything at Hammel did. Blinking her almond shaped eyes she stared at her and her lips parted gently. Perhaps it was a student? Some were shape shifters after all.

Clementine supposed perhaps it was a freshman or someone's pet chicken. "Shoo shoo shoo," she waved her hands as she covered up the grass protectively. In grade school she took care of chicks in the class and some of them liked nice grass. Maybe this chicken would too? A new voice snapped her to attention and she saw Willow. Shaking her head she said. "Well, I just don't want her to eat them," she motioned to the grass. "I don't want them to be eaten, it took them a very long time for them to come up."

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[Nina Levitra]

Nina liked this girl already. She had some kind of control over plants, which looked both fun and like she was rather skilled in the area, which was good. The snowdrops actually looked really nice, and Nina found herself liking them before she was distracted by an all too familiar voice.

Willow was there, what a nice surprise! Willow, the girl who was her reliable friend and the girl who liked to scold her when she did things that were kinda frowned upon in public and the girl who was nice enough to bring her pajamas when she left them in the snow. Willow was basically her best friend and her toast in a world of Pop-Tarts, saving her from metaphorical diabetes. Even if Willow did try to mother her a bit, they still fit like peas in a pod. Mmm... Peas.

At the suggestion that she might eat the girl's grass, Nina felt almost offended. She would never mess with another student's powers, especially not after seeing how lovingly she had worked on it. Nina believed in gifted karma, that if she ever messed with someone else's ability, it would come back to her with three times the intensity. That would be especially bad for he, seeing as how she was a chicken the vast majority of the time. Eating that girl's growth might mean that later on, someone might want to eat her.

Still, Willow's accusation stung just a little, and as Nina circled around to Willow's ankles, she tried to think of a way to explain why she was fine being naked as long as she was a chicken. While she thought, Nina got a floaty feeling in the back of her head and suddenly knew that she could definitely go human at this point. And what better way to explain herself than with her words?

Nina though about it for just a second and then focused on how messy her hair had been upon her waking up. Way too fluffy for her tastes, and as she thought about it, she turned back into herself just behind Willow, leaning on her shoulders.

"Okay, first of all, its only public indecency if I'm really human naked around someone who cares and two, don't sound so grouchy. Its not good in the snow." Nina said, smiling slightly and blowing stray hair out of her face. "Oh, and hi student girl, I really like your gift. And no worries, I would never eat another student's power creation things. I'm Nina, by the way." She waved candidly before remembering that she was cold, and figuring she was done talking, Nina shifted back down to her chicken form.

With a content ruffling of her feathers, Nina flapped up onto Willow's shoulder, flicking her wing towards Willow's neck, trying to tickle her. It was white out and she was seeing all kinds of friendly people. Really, on a day like today, what could go wrong?

[Willow Kovacs]

Willow tilted her head to the side as the girl spoke with a quiet tone - it matched her sort of persona, the girl was small and mouse-like but cute nonetheless. Her eyes were wide and delicately shaped, lovely curved features of Asian decent. Her brown eyes studied the girl's features momentarily before her attention was directed back at the chicken. "Oh no, she's human... I think, she won't eat grass," She was going to add an "I hope," after that, but really would rather not startled the girl. It must be strange enough to see a chicken out this early in the morn in the snow. Well, she thought. This was Clementine - a girl she had know almost sense she had started working at Hammel. The plant manipulator must have been at least mostly used to the bizarre things that occurred at the Institute on a daily basis. Chickens were no exceptions.

Sending the clucking bird a skeptical glance as it neared her, strutting behind her. Willow stiffened visibly as she felt the sudden form that had erupted there, the warmth of another human body suddenly against her back. Naked. The raven resisted the urge to drop her head into her hands, and instead just squeezed her eyes shut with exasperation. Really, could she expect anything less from Nina.

Feeling the girl change back into the smaller form, Willow whipped around and gave the bird a menacing look. "Bloody foul," She said to the shape shifter. "I ought to eat you for that," Almost serious - but she was vegan, and in turn, so was her reptilian counter-part. "You'll freeze to death out here, by the way. Don't try that again," She sighed in defeat as the bird ended up on her shoulder. Twitching her head, she sent the bird another look as if to say 'stop touching me' but didn't shoo her off.

"Clementine, what are you doing out so early in the morning? It can't honestly just be because of the snow, can it?"