Starting Over [Adaryn]

[Tori Peterson]

Tori passed the threshold of the door to the girls' dorms, still feeling slightly dizzy from everything that had happened that day. She was so used to presenting a false persona that it still felt paradoxically unreal to be displaying her true self in public. She could faintly hear the conversations of birds outside, and her wings stirred. The faint sensation of sky lust tugged at her stomach, the desire to take off and... well, run right into the ceiling. Yeah, not a good idea, considering she was indoors and had no flight training. She shoved the thought to the back of her mind and looked around the hall.

She passed a well-furnished common area on her way past the numerous rooms, scanning the doors for her name - her real name this time. Disorienting as it was, it felt unbelievably good to be able to say it aloud to other people, to really be herself. It... it felt right.

She eventually saw a paper sign on a door in the middle of the hallway:

Adaryn Breslin
Tori Peterson

Adaryn Breslin, she thought, marking the name in her mind. Tori thought it best to try and remember as many names as she could, especially that of her roommate. She pulled her key out of her bag, fumbling with it for a moment before sliding it into the doorknob and opening the door. Oddly, the room had four beds even though there were only two names on the sign. Apparently they hadn't filled it yet. It seemed fairly spacious at that moment, though she was sure it would seem quite a bit more cramped when the two other girls moved in. Same with the desk space and dressers, though she was sure there would be enough for everyone if they kept stuff to a minimum.

Sure enough, her bags had been dropped off in the room. She hadn't brought a whole lot, so there were only three - a suitcase, a box, and a messenger bag. Tori took one last look over the room and opened the suitcase. I need better clothes, she thought, somewhat intimidated by the prospect of assembling an entire new wardrobe. Well, at least it won't be very big, she thought wryly, noting how minimalistic she would need to be in the event of two new roommates. She tossed her too-baggy clothes carelessly in drawers, looking forward to the day when she wouldn't need them. She periodically glanced toward the door, awaiting the arrival of her roommate - Adaryn - and faintly wondering why she hadn't shown up yet.

[Adaryn Breslin]

Life in an all girl's dorm could be quite hectic, and rather unhealthy for this Empath. Females tended to have very strong hormonal imbalances once a month, and it has been found that women typically develop the same cycle habits as their roommates. That is exactly why you rarely seen Adaryn in the dorms anymore. On the days where she was at her weakest, she wouldn't be able to handle it.

But with news of a new roommate, Adaryn actually decided to stop by the dorms for a few minutes. Addie was not the most social girl in the world. In fact, she tried keeping any social interaction to a minimum, in fear of being snapped at. But she did have a few friends, or people she considered friends at least. Or were they acquaintances. Honestly, she didn't really know the difference.

The door seemed to be already opened by the time she reached the room, and she saw the girl was bending over for a moment to grab some clothes to place in an empty drawer of the dresser that Adaryn already inhabited.

Hoping not to scare the girl, she stepped inside the room and cleared her throat awkwardly. "I'm guess you're my new roommate?" Adaryn's voice was soft, as it usually was, as she stepped to place her sketchbook on her bed.

[Tori Peterson]

Tori had become rather focused on unpacking, rhythmically picking up piles of clothes and tossing them into drawers. She had filled up one drawer with horrendously disorganized masses of clothing before opening the drawer above her to find - it had been filled? Wait, what? Had she been taking over someone else's dresser by accident?

She looked around to take stock of her other options - and started at the sound of a cough behind her. "I guess you're my new roommate?"

Tori blinked and whipped around, moving her head too fast and hitting the desk beside her with a loud thunk. Dull pain bloomed in her cranium, and she grasped dizzily at the spot she had hit, trying to lessen the sudden pain. Owowowowow! A frusturated groan left her mouth. Great. This was a fantastic first impression for her new roommate. Like her nerves weren't already high enough, now she had made a fool of herself in front of Adaryn and taken over her dresser.

Hoping she could salvage the situation at least a little bit, Tori gritted her teeth and tried to stand up. Nope, not happening. She quickly pulled out the desk chair and fell onto it, making what she hoped was an apologetic expression to Adaryn. It probably just looked like a grimace of pain, but oh well. "Uh, yeah," she said, belatedly and oh-so-articulately answering Adaryn's question. "I'm Tori, you must be Adaryn? I can move my clothes if you want, by the way..." Well, she could at least try to cover her ass and make up for this first impression, right?

[Adaryn Breslin]

From what she had seen, the girl wasn't very concerned with being tidy, much like Adaryn was. She wasn't OCD about it though, it just gave her something to do when there was nothing but chaos going through her mind. Distractions were nice to have when you were the only one living in a room. But apparently that all changed, which may or may not have been a good thing. Only time would tell, as she so often heard.

The girl was startled by her voice, and spun around to face her, only to hit her head in the process. Because of the similarities in the way the brain detected physical and emotional pain, Addie could see the dull ache that begun to occur, much like if it was emotional pain. Adaryn flinched slightly as the girl's pain seemed to hit her in the face, causing her own head to begin throbbing. Addie watched as her new room mate sat down and introduced herself. So her name is Tori... She thought absently.

"Oh no, that's fine. Uhm, It's only me in here, anyway. I don't need much space..." She trailed off for a moment, her mind going towards the darker memories. She shook her head slowly. "Oh and yes, I'm Adaryn. Uh, if you need help organizing and folding, I don't mind..."

[Tori Peterson]

"Oh no, that's fine. Uhm, It's only me in here, anyway. I don't need much space..." Adaryn went silent for a moment, trailing off and staring into the distance. Tori tilted her head, slightly concerned. Was it really okay, was she trailing off to hide discomfort? She felt slightly guilty. She hoped she hadn't steamrollered in and taken up too much space with her stuff. Granted, she had only filled one drawer, which wasn't that much space, but she still worried slightly. "Well... I can always move something later if you need the space," she offered, wanting her roommate to feel like she had enough room.

Adaryn shook her head slowly and continued, "Oh and yes, I'm Adaryn. Uh, if you need help organizing and folding, I don't mind..." Tori blinked. Organizing? She figured she would organize more when she got different clothes, rather than the drab ones she had at the moment. The thought of letting Adaryn go through her clothes freaked her out slightly. Would she judge the blandness of Tori's wardrobe? It wouldn't out her if Adaryn did see her wardrobe, would it? There are plenty of girls who buy from the men's section, right? she thought in an attempt to reassure herself.

Still, there wasn't much of a point in organizing what she would probably give away as soon as possible. "I think I'm fine, but thanks," she told Adaryn, attempting to convey appreciation for the offer.

[Adaryn Breslin]

"Alright..."

The girl wasn't rude, but Adaryn could feel her discomfort. These questions were not the most relieving questions, Adaryn had to believe. Maybe if she allowed herself to step back a bit, maybe Tori would feel more comfortable? It was the best guess that Adaryn had at this point, so she took a step back and turned to the small mini-fridge in the corner of the room. Her father had given it to her as a gift when she came to live in the dorms. It was the last thing he had given her, and really, that the day was the last day she had really seen him. Kneeling down beside the fridge, she opened up the ice-drawer and took the tray out.

There were a few rags laying in the laundry basket, folded and neat, ready to be used. She took the first one out of the pile and laid it out on the top of the fridge and filled it with a few ice-cubes. Wrapping the material up, she put everything else away, and took the ice-filled cloth and took it to Tori. "For your head..." She said softly, still a bit shy with the newcomer. There was no fear that her new room mate would get mad for this gesture, but she was still socially awkward. That wouldn't change. "I can tell the pain is getting stronger."

Addie took that moment after Tori had taken the ice to locate and sit on her bed. It was sort of a way to say 'choose yours', since she seemed so uncomfortable with taking Adaryn's space. She wasn't attempting to be rude, but she was trying to show her what was free and what was not, to avoid any further mistakes. Adaryn also did it to give the girl some space. Hovering was never nice.

"So... You're new here. What is your power..?" Adaryn paused for a moment, hoping that wasn't the wrong thing to ask. "I mean, if you want to tell me. No rush..."

[Tori Peterson]

"Alright..." Adaryn seemed uncertain for a moment, then turned and started looking through the fridge. Tori bit her lip. Was she being too cold? Sure, she was shy and nervous from being in a new place, but she didn't want to come across as rude. She really did want to meet more people and make new friends, and being less than friendly to her new roommate wouldn't help any with that.

A moment later, though, Adaryn turned around with a piece of cloth wrapped around an icepack and offered it to her. "For your head. I can tell the pain is getting stronger." Tori was slightly surprised, and accepted the icepack gratefully. "Thanks," she said softly, placing the cold object to her forehead.

Adaryn went over to sit on what Tori assumed was her own bed. Tori glanced at the four beds and knew immediately that she would want one that was lofted. She had always liked those, they reminded her of bird nests up in trees. However, talking down to Adaryn from a lofted bed would be a little awkward, so she just scooted the chair around to face her more easily. The pain in her head was starting to subside, in part due to the icepack. "So... You're new here. What is your power..?" Adaryn paused for a moment, looking hesitant. "I mean, if you want to tell me. No rush..."

"It's okay," Tori responded. She was a bit surprised that Adaryn hadn't caught sight of her wings by then. She didn't say anything for a moment, but extended her auburn wings slightly with a shy smile. Was she showing off? This was totally showing off... Oh, well. It was kinda fun to show off.

"I can also talk to birds," she added, shy but excited. "What about you?" She was curious to know what other kinds of powers there were.

[Adaryn Breslin]

"You're welcome," She responded with a small smile.

Adaryn couldn't begin to understand how the hell she missed the girl's wings. Maybe she simply needed to pay more attention? Although, Addie wasn't the kind of girl to overlook details...Being an artist contributed to that ability. But, nevertheless, she had not seen the auburn wings that extended out from her back. "That's... interesting. Did they just grow...in?" It must have been a painful ordeal if it happened practically overnight. From what she knew, powers only began manifesting after puberty. And wait, she can also talk to birds. That must have been quite the annoyance in the mornings when they were all tweeting.

"Oh, uhm... Nothing interesting, really. I'm an Empathetic Manipulator." And she probably had no clue what that is. Elaborate, Addie. Elaborate. "Sorry. I can see and manipulate emotions. Except I rarely ever manipulate them because people find it an invasion of their personal space. I got yelled at quite a bit when I first started out." Her voice held a bit of bitterness, but she tried to swallow it down. The girl sat there looking like a scared puppy. New places were definitely terrifying, no need for her to scare Tori with her issues.

"So yeah," Adaryn gave a nervous laugh, "If you ever find yourself depressed, you can always ask me to cheer you up."

[Tori Peterson]

"Kinda," Tori answered to Adaryn's first question. " My back was really sore for a while, then they started growing out." It had really freaked her out at first, since she had no idea what was going on with her body, but then the wings grew in and she heard bird conversations, and she realized: she was a freaking bird girl. It was indeed pretty annoying in the morning. Tori couldn't really sleep in past 5 or 6 AM in the spring, summer, or fall, since the birds would wake her up.

"Oh, uhm... Nothing interesting, really. I'm an Empathetic Manipulator." Tori tilted her head. Adaryn was pretty shy about her power, she hoped she wasn't overstepping any bounds by asking about it. "Sorry. I can see and manipulate emotions. Except I rarely ever manipulate them because people find it an invasion of their personal space. I got yelled at quite a bit when I first started out." Tori's heart dropped at that. She knew what it was like to feel like a freak for her powers, she hoped that Adaryn had managed to avoid the worst it.

Hang on... can see emotions? Did that mean that Adaryn would feel dysphoria-by-proxy? Tori grew uncertain and concerned. There was the small concern about inadvertently outing herself, but she was more worried about the girl's emotional well-being. Dysphoria wasn't something she would wish on anyone, friend or otherwise, and it was probably hard enough seeing everyone's emotions all the time. Maybe she could just change before Adaryn woke up, or after she left the room? She probably woke up before Adaryn did anyways...

"Is- uh, can you ever tune it out? Other peoples' emotions, I mean?" Crap, hopefully she wasn't picking at a sore nerve here. She didn't want to ruin things with her roommate right off the bat.

[Adaryn Breslin]

"At times I can, but it can be really difficult. That involves a lot of mind power, and I typically get headaches if I try. So I just try and stay away from anyone with really intense negative emotions. It isn't as hard as one would think." Adaryn said with a shy smile. She could feel the sudden nervousness of the other girl, and she wasn't quite sure where it was stemming from, but she tried to hide the fact that she noticed.

It could be coming from the fact that the girl was brand new and was trying to fit into the school? Adaryn always felt different, considering she had a really complex form of Empathy and nobody could fully comprehend her power. Even Travis, a fellow empath, had trouble understanding the extent of her powers. Addie tried not to let it bother her, though.

"Out of curiosity though, what is it like to talk to birds? I mean, could you have a complex conversation or are they very simplistic in what they say?" Addie always wanted to speak to animals as a kid, especially when around cats and dogs. She always wanted to know what they were thinking, and what went on in their heads. "I hope I'm not being too intrusive," She rubbed the back of her neck nervously.

[Tori Peterson]

"At times I can, but it can be really difficult. That involves a lot of mind power, and I typically get headaches if I try. So I just try and stay away from anyone with really intense negative emotions. It isn't as hard as one would think." Tori nodded, thinking about ways to make sure Adaryn didn't feel her dysphoria. It was her personal little hell... and she wanted to keep it that way. It sounded like she would probably have to rely on getting up earlier than Adaryn and getting ready for bed when she wasn't around. Would she have to, like, creep on her roommate's schedule? I can subtly ask about it, she decided.

It occurred to her that Adaryn could probably feel her nervousness, and might misinterpret it. She didn't want the girl to feel self-conscious, so she tried to push the matter out of her head. Tori would think about it later, when Adaryn wasn't around.

Hmm, what was it like to talk to birds? "Well," Tori started, "certain birds are more complex than others, though none of them are quite like human speech. Most of it is about stuff in their daily life that they're looking at right then, they don't talk about abstract stuff as much. Or, like, the future." She didn't mind talking about her powers at all - it was a nice change from having to hide them.