Just Chillax [OPEN]

[Audrey Reyn]

Four A.M.

An ungodly hour, really.

Its a time between sleep and...Well. Hell. Its just an ungodly hour. No one's really up yet -- no one sane would be. But Audrey wasn't sane, not really, at least. She was out on the quad, after all, in a pair of polka-dot, flannel pajamies and a spaghetti-strapped top with a giant smiley on it and no shoes.

At four AM in the morning.

She hated when this happened. Most people would be sleeping, or maybe preparing to get out of bed for an early morning jog... But not Audrey Louise Reyn. Oh, no. Her stomach would start growling and because normal-person food just wouldn't cut it for her stubborn tummy, she had to go scavenge.

She felt like a freaking Hunter and Gatherer!

The early birds were just beginning to rise, and that's what she was waiting for. The minute their song burst into the air, she'd suck up their sound and nom-nom until her tummy's content. And then she'd get back in bed... Until she had to wake up at 8 to get ready for her first class.

But until the birds started singing, Audrey could only stand in the dew-soaked grass and wait. Standing...because if she sat, she'd stand up with a nicely drenched butt. And that was just uncomfortable.

Especially at four AM.

[Courtney Ross]

This was slightly maddening, this odd sleep schedule that Courtney had somehow deluded her body into thinking was natural. She had started sleeping in fits and starts, and now she was awake at four in the morning because she had been foolish enough to go to bed at ten. What kind of teenager was asleep at ten in the poor unfortunate night? That wasn't even the point. The point was that now she was awake in the too early morning, and there was no chance for her getting back to sleep.

For some reason, her recently awakened brain thought it would be a good idea to stumble outside in just a nightgown, tripping out of the door as she did so. Nevermind that anyone else awake would see her, or that she could catch some disease from the chill, or that her hair was a mess. No, going outside was an excellent answer to her sleeplessness. Obviously, the only answer, and once she was outside, Courtney noticed how oddly different everything was.

It was dark, yes, but she could see plenty with just sightly blurred edges. There were trees and a fence, the normal courtyard, all somehow better in the dark. Things weren't as sharp and her eyes weren't darting around like normal, and it certainly didn't hurt that it was wonderfully quiet. Her bare feet curled and she could feel the dew and then the texture of the dirt beneath, and it was somehow exciting. It was probably just her brain over reacting from the lack of sunlight, but there was a distinctly good feeling about the ambiguous darkness.

Taking another step, Courtney almost, almost started to laugh, then quickly noticed that she was not alone. Either a very small tree had planted itself in the middle of the courtyard or there was someone standing there as well. Maybe a dreamwalker, or just an average teenage insomniac. Whoever they were, the darkness gave the normally social defective Courtney just enough courage to speak up.

"Uhm, hello." Courtney said, smiling even though she doubted the person could see her - unless they had enhanced vision? - at the moment. "I hope you don't mind me disturbing you..." She tried to keep her voice low, just in case. "I'm Courtney Ross, by the way. Good morning." There, that sounded friendly enough, didn't it? Her brain at four in the morning certainly thought so.

[Audrey Reyn]

Audrey was just about give in to the incredibly strong urge to sit down when she tasted something on her mouth, like the grass was being rustled somewhere behind her. The taste was so natural, so deliciously fresh with the dew, that Audrey Lou immediately tried to suck as much of the sound up as she could, closing her eyes to better enjoy it. But as soon as it was there, it was gone.

And instead, came a voice. Distinctly female, with a hint of nervousness. Audrey turned as the girl introduced herself as Courtney. Audrey's smile appeared, a teasing smile, but happy. So, she wasn't the only one up. That was a relief. Now, Audrey couldn't feel like a ghost.

"Hey!" Audrey said, and waved. "Don't worry, you're not interrupting anything." She slowly approached the girl, to get a better look. She was wearing a nightgown, as barefoot as Audrey. Audrey couldn't tell what her power was because the girl hadn't spoken since she'd come closer. But she was curious. The girl was very unique looking. Her skin was incredibly pale, her lips red, with freckles everywhere. She was beautiful, and Audrey wondered if it was natural.

"My name's Audrey Louise Reyn," she stuck out her hand kindly. "Its nice to meet you, Courtney, so early in the morning." She smiled enough to show a bit of her teeth.

[Courtney Ross]

Courtney's eyes were getting better and better and as the stranger came closer, she looked less tree-like and much less intimidating. She even sounded friendly, this early in the morning. In her pajamas too, and looking content. This was a good choice in conversation buddies, and Courtney was glad she had chosen her over the hundreds of other people standing in the courtyard before the sun was awake. Ha. Was her brain laughing at her?

"Nice to meet you too Audrey." Courtney replied, smiling and holding out her hand. "Is it okay if I just call you Audrey? Full names tend get a bit unwieldy on the tongue." Oh, sassy language so early in the morning. Where was she getting this backbone and this near-wit? It was witty for Courtney, anyways.

Still, she was all too aware of her surroundings. It was a fresh, not quite morning and she felt like she should be savoring it somehow, like she should be breathing in the morning and enjoying the peace. It was just barely light enough to see and just barely wet enough to feel, and Courtney found she liked it.

"So, any reason why you're up and about so early in the morning?" Courtney asked, wanting to keep up the conversation. She was up, she might as well talk to fill the unusual silence. She was just so used to buzzing and chirping and all those ridiculous creature sounds. She half expected a possum to pop up out of nowhere and try to devour her ankles or something odd. "I know I just went to bed too early and I'm paying for it now." But really, meeting new people wasn't so bad, especially not here in the dark.

[Audrey Reyn]

Ah, so maybe she wasn't all like Audrey. She had just slept too early. That must've been nice. Audrey was a bit of a night owl, sometimes, and enjoyed sleeping in when she could help it --even if she did go to bed earlier.

All around them, creatures were starting to stir. She could taste their sounds on her tongue, and her stomach growled temptingly, reminding her of why she was awake at this hour to begin with. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply before opening them and smiling slightly at Courtney. "I'm hungry," she said.

She rolled her eyes at her self and ran a hand through her hair. "Actually, its been happening a lot lately. I'll wake up early in the morning with my stomach growling so much that I have to get up and scavenge for food. Which is difficult in the morning, what with everybody and everything asleep on the campus."

She paused and leaned back on her heels before rocking forward. "I guess both of us are kind of screwed. I bet you're like me; once you're up, you're up for the day."

[Courtney Ross]

Courtney appreciated the smile, but was unsure what to do about Audrey's comment. Hungry? Wasn't it a bit early to be hungry, really? But, if Audrey normally got up this early, maybe she ate this early too... Though Courtney had no idea what she could eat, with the cafeteria being closed and all.

As soon as she mentioned scavenging for food, Courtney's first thought was vampire. It was quickly followed by no Courtney, you're an idiot, and then why would you even think about vampires in a school full of mutants? Obviously, her mind was not amused. It was still a strange thing to say.

"Uhm, if you don't mind my asking, what exactly are you scavenging? What are you trying to eat out here?" Courtney asked, looking around. Unless she ate dirt or clover, food was a bit scarce in the middle of the courtyard. Which, Courtney reasoned, really wouldn't be the oddest side effect of a mutation that she had seen so far.
"Yeah, I don't think I can get back to sleep." Courtney said, not too concerned. "Which is a bummer, because I'm probably going to get tired super early tonight and this cycle is just going to keep going." She was so talkative this morning. "Oh well... In a couple of hours, the sun will come up." Giggling slightly as she thought of the context of her quote, Courtney figured that maybe being up early wasn't too bad.

[Audrey Reyn]

Audrey could tell that her comment had left Courtney a little bit confused. Which was completely understandable. The girl didn't know that Audrey couldn't eat normal-person food. Even normal for a meta. It was one of those annoying little quirks of her power -- actually, it was the quirk of her power. The one that had most disrupted her life. Out the window went her dreams of becoming the world's greatest dessert baker, or chef, or whatever they were called. She was going to be the best, behind her mother.

And the minute she turned 14, everything changed.

Finally, Courtney seemed to give up guessing as to why Audrey Louise was out in the wee hours of the not-so-morning-yet morning. Audrey laughed in embarrassment, scratching the back of her head. "Its, umm, one of my power's downfall. I, uh, I can't eat normal people food. I can only eat sounds."

She waved around her, at all the creatures that were waking up. "I am a...sound ingester. Its what I do." She shrugged, looking down. Suddenly, she looked back up. "What do you do?"

[Courtney Ross]

Alright, so vampire was definitely out as an actual power. That was a dumb guess anyways. However, Audrey's actual power seemed almost as different. Sound ingestion? So she really ate sound? That seemed almost fun, maybe, except the part where she couldn't eat normal food.

Courtney couldn't imagine not eating food. How did she eat sound, really? Could she taste it and feel it, did sound have texture for Audrey? Of course, asking questions like that out loud would probably be intrusive this early in the morning, and were probably rude. Courtney was still unsure about meta-human etiquette and she really didn't want to offend her in the early morning.

"My power?" Courtney said, unsure how to phrase it properly. Her - skill, ability, mutation? - was kind of an embarrassment for Courtney. But Audrey had been so candid, and it was really an innocent question. "I, uhm... I kinda have a thing with insects. They say I'll be able to control them, but right now I can... talk to bugs and stuff. So yeah..." And now she was starting to sound like her normal self. Quickly, think of something to say before you turn back into your normal skittish self Courtney, quick! "So, you're normally up and a morning person, huh? Do watch the sunrise?"

Oh, great job Courtney, great job.

[Audrey Reyn]

Audrey couldn't help the grimace that graced her lips. Bugs? She hated -- hated -- bugs. She supposed insects were technically a different type of creepy crawly than bugs, but it didn't matter. If it was small, had a tendency to crawl, jump, and attack unsuspecting bystanders than she hated it. And talk to bugs? Audrey Lou hadn't even thought to consider that the disgusting creatures had a language. "I'm sorry," she said, and she meant it, with the pity and concern as sincere as ever.

But then the girl seemed unable to control her mouth and she asked if Audrey watched the sunset. It made her laugh -- really, really laugh. It was her true smile, one so rare. It pulled up her lips, showed off her teeth.

For a minute, Audrey Lou thought if the girl was perhaps hitting on her. It just seemed like such a line! And Audrey in no way swung that way at all -- not that she had a probably with that sort of thing. It just wasn't her thing. But it was just an innocent question, she was sure. "I don't normally get up so early, not always," Audrey tried to clarify, "And I try to watch the sunrise when I actually can. But I'm usually too concentrated on trying to find food." Suddenly, there was a twinkle of bird song behind them and with a quick "Excuse me" Audrey spun around and sucked the sound up as fast as she could.

[Courtney Ross]

Ah yes. As soon as Courtney mentioned insects, she saw Audrey make The Face. The Face could vary from person to person, but it always had that same look of vague disgust and horror that came from the mention of what most people considered the worst of pests. For her, insects were interesting, well-structured creatures that she had gotten used to playing with, to being near and comfortable around. For the rest of the world, they were nasty little bugs that bit and stung and buzzed and scared you when you were just trying to sit peacefully outside. She was used to The Face, but it was still a bit saddening. The quest for her fellow entomologist was still unfulfilled.

"Its really not that bad." Courtney said quietly, feeling almost obligated to stick up for her odd little power. "Insects aren't too bad once you get used to them..." It sounded weak, even to her, but it was what she had at the moment. Courtney even thought that she might be able to hear the obsessive talk of flight and of food in a moment, since birds waking meant insects waking as well.

Audrey's laughter startled her, and Courtney almost jumped before realizing how gently genuine it sounded. Apparently, there was something really funny about the sunrise. Audrey's explanation was plenty nice as well. Having to catch your own sound food was really something to think about and caught in her own thoughts, Courtney almost missed the girl's quick turn.

"Wow." Courtney said, her fingers twisting together and then untwisting. "What was that?"