.:.Why am I here?.:. ~Open~

[Analeigh Monroe]

Analeigh spread out under the large tree just a few feet away from the small Koi pond. Arms propped her head up so that she could stare up at the sky, the fluffy white clouds seeming to pass overhead without a care in the world. She felt that if she exhaled, they would all blow away, cascading into the never-ending blue that was the sky. A frown crept onto her lips, brow furrowing. She wondered what it would be like to fly, to be like the birds and soar through the air. She would never try, couldn't try. When it came to birds, bugs and aquatic beings, Analeigh was stumped. She could not hollow her bones so that she could be light enough to be lifted into the air by wings, nor could she produce the feathers. Ana was no shape shifter.

At the thought of the fish, a shiver traveled down her spine and she rolled onto her stomach, resting her chin on the back of her hands. Ears lay flat against her skull, perking up only slightly at the sound of some small creature scurrying through the grass. She tried closing her eyes, thinking perhaps that would relax her, but alas, Ana found herself staring out with wide eyes at the movement of the fish.

Growling slightly, she pushed herself onto her feet, grabbing hold of the book she happened to have brought with her and scurried up the tree to a semi-low hanging branch. Perhaps if she stayed up in the tree and read, she wouldn't have the urge to dive in after them. The thought of wading in the water sent her head into the pages of the book, her tail hanging down from the tree, curling at the end.

Maybe now Ana could think of something other than water.

[Colette Kendrick]

Of course she hadn't expected to be able to have quiet in her dorm room, but she'd at least hoped for an hour or so during the day... that was a pipe dream, though. It seemed like someone was always in the common room, listening to music, playing some game or other, talking... it was just too much for Cole. She was someone who craved time alone with her thoughts.

So when she'd found someone already set up in the dorm's common room after her last class of the day, she'd decided it was time to find a quiet spot. Hopefully.

She'd wandered around inside for a while, but found way too many people in the areas students were supposed to congregate. Besides, she didn't really feel like hanging out inside, anyway. Not if she couldn't do that alone in her room staring out the window and wishing she were at home with Cali.

Cole's feet led her outside, towards the little pond on the school grounds. There she saw only one person. She supposed that was better than anything else she'd come in contact with, so far, and she knew she should probably start trying to make some friends, anyway.

As she got closer, Cole noticed that this girl seemed to be wearing cat ears. Surprisingly enough, that put a brief smile on her face. She took in a deep breath and spoke softly. "Hey, there."

[Analeigh Monroe]

Ana finally managed to engross herself in the book, reading how Elizabeth was defying her mothers wishes to marry her cousin. Her nose crinkled slightly at the idea. Marrying a cousin? It disgusted her. She would much rather have Elizabeth marry Mr. Darcy. He was such a brooding character and she could already tell there was more to him than what she was reading. She was glad she had picked up this book.

She didn't get very far before Ana heard a small voice. Instantly, the ears pulled back, flattening to her skull, tail rising back up to her to wrap tightly around her waist, the tip resting on her shoulder. She stared down from the tree at the girl, eyes narrowing slightly to take in her features. She wasn't sure who she was but perhaps she saw her around once.

Finally, Ana gave a smile when she realized the girl didn't seem to want to cause any trouble for her. "Hi.." She managed to say. Ears perked right back up and she scurried out of the tree in record time, landing directly in front of Colette. Her tail stretched out behind her, the tip wagging slightly at ease.

"I'm Analeigh.." She managed to say, extending out her free hand that did not hold the book.

[Colette Kendrick]

Colette watched in amazement as the girl's cat ears moved on their own, displaying the girl's emotions as quickly as she had them. She almost gasped when the girl leaped out of the tree, landing easily on her feet. "How did... Oh... of course, meta-school. I guess there would be some cool powers, as well, huh?"

She shook her head, blushing deeply. "Sorry, I don't mean to be rude." She almost automatically took Analeigh's hand, then stopped herself, pulling her hand back, realizing she'd forgotten to put her gloves back on before she left her dormroom. "Oh, that might be a bad idea. Um... I think they called it Tactile Anesthesia. Unless you wanna pass out." She sighed heavily, wishing, not for the first or the last time, that if she had to be a meta, at least she could have had something that wouldn't effect others... "Oh, I'm Colette. Most people call me Cole."

[Analeigh Monroe]

Ana watched her with eager eyes, taking in every movement that she made. She had shocked her with her abilities and a slight blush rose to her cheeks. She was self conscious of her ears and tail but not enough to hide them. They made her feel better, especially when she was upset and could have her tail wrap around her in a comforting hug.

"Animal mimicry... I can obtain certain abilities from animals though.. I'm not a complete shifter." She was still quiet but her voice wasn't as shaky as it had been.

Ana recoiled her hand, eyes widening. She couldn't imagine suddenly passing out after touching someones skin. The thought gave her a small chill and her tail decided it was a good time to wrap around her protectively.

"It's nice to meet you Cole.. You can call me Ana for short.." She looked down at the ground, unsure exactly what to say or do. This was usually the point where she was judged and made fun of when she was younger but here, there wasn't much of that. At least, it hadn't happened to her yet.

"What.. brings you here? Too noisy..?" That was her reason for being out. Everyone was always so loud. It hurt her poor, sensitive ears.

[Colette Kendrick]

"That's just so cool." Cole smiled weakly, wishing yet again that her ability was something less harmful, more... fun.

Cole's eyes fell to the ground as she noticed Ana recoiling. Right now all she really wanted was the ability to turn invisible. Her stay at Hammel had been pretty miserable so far, and it didn't seem like that was going to change anytime soon, especially if she couldn't find a way to control this power.

Still looking to the ground, Cole nodded. "Yes, nice to meet you, too, Ana." She looked up to Ana to give her a little smile. It seemed like Ana was just as shy, or maybe even more shy than Cole herself.

"Mhmm." She laughed softly, though that laugh was quite forced. "It's gonna take quite a bit of time for me to get used to living in a dorm around so many other people." At home, most of the time it was just her and her parents. Here, it seemed there were people everywhere.

[Analeigh Monroe]

"It may look cool... but it's.. painful.."

Her abilities came at a cost and she remembered waking up each morning unable to stay balanced with her ears filled with blood. The headaches she would get and the nose bleeds never helped her either. All the joint pains and muscle tenderness drove her crazy. She would much rather have Cole's power. She wasn't one for physical interaction anyways.

"The noise is too much for my ears.. but you get used to all the other students. I've been here four years so.. I know a few things."

Ana wasn't one to brag, but she had done a few secretive things while she was here. One being sneaking off of campus late at night. She never had someone to go with her but perhaps if Cole was a risk-taker, she'd have a friend. She used to go to the lake but after the incident, she steered clear from the water.

"What do you like to do?"

[Colette Kendrick]

At Ana's words, Cole nodded. "Yes, well, I've had this 'ability' less than a month and I've already hurt myself a few times... It's not just other people that pass out. It doesn't happen every time I touch myself, but at random times. Before I knew what was going on, I was in class, started to lean on my hand, you know? Knocked myself out and hit my head on the desk so hard I got a bump that lasted almost a week." She sighed and shook her head.

Not that muscle and joint pains sounded any more pleasant, but at least she would be able to go back to hugging herself without worrying about missing half the day and screwing up her already screwed sleep schedule.

Four years? Four years living surrounded by people all the time. That would certainly take some getting used to. "Do you have to have the cat ears out all the time?" She was careful to keep her tone gently curious, she by no means meant any insult in that question.

She blinked. What did Cole like to do? "Well, I sing... love to sing, and I'm a big fan of animals." That thought almost brought teas to her eyes, as it reminded her of the kitten she had to leave at home.

[Analeigh Monroe]

"Wow... That sounds... unfortunate. Then again, I tend to doze during classes. Have to have a cat nap every now and then." Ana gave a small chuckle though it died quickly as she listened to Cole talk a bit more.

She reached up to touch her ears that rested against her skull now. Of course she didn't need them, but she liked having them. Sometimes she switched between cat and wolf ears. Maybe she could show Cole. Would she freak out? The process was painful, but she was learning how to handle the pain and was soon to graduate Hammel anyways, at least she hoped. Recently she had fallen into a funk where she could not communicate as well as she used to. She began growling, hissing and purring rather than using words. She hoped to grow out of that.

"I don't need to.. I like to. They help me balance along with the tail. Sometimes.. they aren't cat ears..."

Ana closed her eyes and began to concentrate. The hairs on her ears began to slide back into the pours and the sound of cartilage creaking filled her head. She winced as the ears slowly drew back into her, forming the normal human ears that everyone else seemed to have. She reached up to feel them only to encounter drops of blood seeping out. She flicked them away, not entirely concerned with it and began concentrating again. This time, the ears that formed were much more rounded and canine, fluffier then the cat ears which had been sleeker. These now sat more on the side of her head than at the top.

"I think these look cuter at times.. They're more fun to play with.." She wiggled them a bit, swiveling them around until she heard something. Turning sharply, Ana's eyes landed on a squirrel some ways away nibbling on a nut. She turned back to Cole and smiled softly.

Ana let out a small whine, much like a dog and her ears flattened to her skull. "Are you alright..? I sense you're.. distressed about something?" Being part animal had its perks. She could pick up on emotions pretty well. Animals could sense when something was wrong and that was exactly what Ana was doing right then.

[Colette Kendrick]

Cole giggled softly as she caught Ana's joke, then she nodded. "I don't know, I guess I've always been a bit of a goodie goodie in classes. I'd never fallen asleep in class before that, and my teachers have always loved me." She shrugged, catching herself a bit. "That's not to say I never break rules, it just means I've never really been caught."

She had a rather strong urge to at least ask to touch Ana's furred ears, but she knew that was a bad idea. She had no idea if her ability would work through the fur, though it hadn't seemed to work on Cali, she didn't want to risk alienating a potential friend that way. Besides, she wasn't entirely sure that'd be very polite, asking to touch someone's ears. "That's fascinating."

Then, Ana's ears started to change, Cole watched as they lost their fur and molded into human ears, Cole bit her lip as she noticed the blood coming from those human ears, but before she could ask about it, they were changing again, forming into canine ears. "Oh, wow." That was all she could think to say, there was a fascinated smile on her face.

Another soft giggle escaped her lips at Ana's explanation. "They are quite cute."

She shook her head, shaking off the thoughts of Cali, trying to, anyway. "Oh, I'm alright. Or I will be, anyway... I hope. It's just that I've never been this far from home, before, and I miss my family..." She laughed gently, though the sound was a bit sad. "Miss my kitten more than my parents."

[Analeigh Monroe]

Ana was enjoying herself. She was glad to be talking to someone who actually talked back. She couldn't keep the smile off her face now. Was this finally going to end in a friendship? She could only hope now. She was going to offer for her to touch them if she needed proof that they were real but remembered about her hands. It seemed rather sad to not be able to touch someone, but she still would prefer it over what she had.

Her ears perked forward at the mention of a pet and she smiled sadly. She understood that. Sure she missed her family, but it was Specia, her cat, that she missed the most. Specia was the one who got her started, actually taught her a few things in the three days before the recruiters came to take her. Now, Specia was left at home and, from what she heard from her parents, cried every night since she left. It killed her inside.

"I have a cat. Specia. I got her when I was ten. I was interested in Biology at the time so... Species.. Specia.. I don't know I was ten."

She gave a little chuckle before looking down at the ground. "Maybe you could request that you have your kitten with you.. Maybe they can have pet friendly dorms! Maybe we should petition for that!" She exclaimed excitedly.

[Colette Kendrick]

Cole had absolutely no doubt that Ana's animal ears were real, she'd simply always loved the feel of fur, really of any kind.

Barely a day here, and already she was getting to know someone, perhaps even making a friend. Were she honest with herself, she never would have supposed she'd find anyone to talk to on her first day. "So... you've been here a while, right? Do people always show up in the middle of a term? And... at the age of fourteen?"

She nodded. "Well, think about it... we can e-mail and call family, but with pets... those kinds of contact just don't do any real good. Oh, and as far as the name goes, I got my calico cat last year, at age thirteen, and named her Cali." She gave Ana a little grin. "Silly names are fun."

Cole's eyes lit up and she spoke excitedly. "Do you really think that would work? Having Cali here... at least there'd be someone it'd be safe for me to touch..."

[Analeigh Monroe]

"It's worth a shot isn't it? I mean, they expect us to be here year round without our pets? I mean, they think we can't handle it.. but half the time I find myself with absolutely NOTHING to do." Ana found herself very excited, very quickly. She didn't know if they could actually do this but if they managed to get the entire student body in on it, there was no way they could be turned down, right? A bunch of meta-students could take on the staff. Had that ever happened? She was unsure but the sudden thought of an uprising seemed much more intense than trying to petition for pet friendly dorms.

"I miss my cat.. And it's especially hard since she.. taught me.." Her ears flattened and she managed to stifle back the tears. Her tail curled around her quickly, defensively.

"I'm sorry.. But.. I hate it here. I've hated Hammel since I first arrived and that was nearly four years ago.. I'm constantly.. alone.."

Ana plopped down on the grass and buried her face into her knees. She was breaking down in front of a younger student that she barely knew. If that didn't scare her away, she didn't know what would.

[Colette Kendrick]

"Pets can be so therapeutic... I can't see why we couldn't have a pet friendly dorm... I mean, I understand why they can't all have pets, with so many people either not liking animals or having allergies, but being forced to move away from home is bad enough, and they don't even give us a chance to bring along little cats..." She nibbled nervously on her fingernail. These thoughts were actually giving her hope of enjoying herself, here. If she could just have Cali with her, maybe things would get better, or at least feel better.

Cole felt tears threatening to fall from her own eyes, then noticed the older student was close to a break-down. She had to stifle the instinct to hug Ana. That had always been her role with her friends back home, a shoulder to cry on, someone to listen. Now she couldn't even pat someone on the shoulder unless they had on sleeves.

When Ana plopped down on the grass, Cole followed and reached out a hand to touch the girl's shoulder, careful to avoid Ana's bare skin. She longed to hold this girl she'd just met, wished that she could hug her, so maybe they could cry on each other's shoulders. How she hated this power of hers.

[Analeigh Monroe]

Ana felt weak, breaking down like this in front of a new student. She couldn't help it though. The tears continued. She missed her cat, missed her life before ever developing the powers. She may have been quiet before but now, now she couldn't speak to most of the students. She knew they were similar, all dealing with their own power, but she felt stuck with a physical deformity. At least some didn't have their power stamped across their forehead, like Colette.

"I'm sorry..." She choked out, wiping the tears from her eyes and cheeks. She felt her hand on her shoulder and was glad she had worn a tee-shirt rather than a tank top. The whether was beginning to chill anyways.

Ana straightened herself out a bit and looked over at the Koi pond, nose wrinkling at the sight of it. She turned from it and put her attention of Cole. "I don't want you to.. hate this place.. I mean, I have my reasons... And everyone has their own opinions. I'm only saying mine.."

She sniffled.

"It's not really bad, I just.. hate.. myself... for the way I am.." She looked down at the ground.