Something has Changed (open)

[Lani Hunter]

Lani knew it was about time he had done something like this. He was in the office loitering just hovering outside the door with a defiant glare in his eye. He didn't want to be here. He didn't want to admit that he needed help. It was partly his fault. He had been tossed around so many times with different trainers that he never knew who was going to show their face in the room he was told to go to so he stopped going. That was probably not the best idea. He had kept his power under tight control afraid that if he let it go something bad would happen. Plus his wounded mind was not healing but rather it was starting to get worse from his perspective. It hurt so terribly bad he was irritable all the time and his power was starting to lash out at random intervals just to relieve some of the stress created by the agony.

He wasn't sure what he would even accomplish today but he knew he had to do something before he brought down a roof on his own head. So here he was lurking outside the office doors. There were several offices inside of some people he knew by face only and others who knew him personally and not for a good reason usually. He wondered if he shouldn't just walk away now before he started regretting his decision. He was pretty sure he looked like a fool pacing like a caged tiger outside the door and shying away every time the door opened of he got close and tried to force himself to go inside. Lani was one of those people that hated authority and had a hard time giving respect to people who looked down on him. In his mind he had matured quickly and should be treated with the same respect as an older person. He wanted to be treated like a peer not like a student.

Finally with closed eyes like something would bite him he opened the door and forced himself inward and to the receptionist's desk where he was sure she had been watching him with bemusement. He grabbed onto the edge of the desk as he spoke to her as though gripping it would keep him from flying back out the door the way his body increasingly wanted to. His senses heightened, he was so out of place with his black jeans and smoky concert tee, dark sneakers with sharpie all over them covering them with personal quotes and friend's drawings. He told her he needed to talk to someone but wasn't sure who to go to. He didn't give her anymore detail than than and went to sit in one of the uncomfortable chairs by the door to wait for something to happen. He chewed his lip his leg tapping with anticipation and the desire to run as fast as he could away. He knew he needed to talk to someone before he went insane, he felt like he was going no where here and if he wasn't going to do anything here to improve he didn't know what he would do but he didn't want to stay here. He glanced around at all the people filing in and out without paying any attention to Lani who was disappearing into the shadow in the corner.

[Stella Pinyin]

Mark Liu, for all that he was stern, was very protective of his 'niece'. He had demanded requested that Stella check in with one of the teachers weekly for her first month, just to make sure she was settled in properly, keeping on top of her studies, making friends, had enough warm clothes.... etc etc. It was how he showed he cared, and Stella didn't want to disappoint. Still, there was the slight embarrassment of having to check in with the teachers, and so the receptionist had promised to simply draft an email that one of the teachers could forward with their letterheads. Still, Stella was to stay until it was confirmed someone had been able to forward it.

She'd moved quickly out of the way once the receptionist had read back to her the letter she had mentioned. Given the number of students already in the room, and the trouble the changing lamplight caused her eyes, she had backed out of the way as quickly as possible to sit down out of the way, her cane compacted into a small white baton clasped neatly in one hand as the other rested on the chair beside her. Unfortunately, when a boy went to sit on the chair beside her, her reflexes were not quick enough to snatch her hand out of the way. It had been foolish, no doubt, to have taken up that extra space but she had not expected this.

"Ah, sorry, um, you're sitting on my..." Stella mumbled to Lani, shame-faced as she tugged her arm back towards her. He was another student, not a teacher so that was perhaps a little less humiliating, but still, no doubt he did not need some strange looking freak forgetting someone might actually want to sit on the chair beside hers. In the real world, for all people stared, they usually gave her a pretty wide birth. "Um, if you could just move a little..."

(OOC: hahah couldn't help it, hope you don't mind)

[Lani Hunter]

((Of course I don't mind! ))

Lani was irritated. More than usual. His power had decided that it was going to be less agreeable than usual. That was part of the reason he was here. His mind hurt more than usual and it was killing him. Thus his powers were going haywire to try to compensate for that. To make matters worse his recruiter was in the office when he sat down and she made an 'I'm watching you' motion. Why did it seem like everyone here was just waiting for him to screw up? Without reaction the receptionist put a hand on her rising pencil holder and pushed it back down. Lani winced. He had never been this out of control before. Sure he had never had what one would call control but he had never been like this before just lifting up everything and anything and launching it somewhere if someone didn't catch it in time.

He was so inflamed he hardly noticed the person he sat next to he just wanted something to explode of go crazy to release some of his stress. He was afraid that that might happen at any time. He needed to see someone about this. It had gone to far already and despite the fact that his pride would never let him admit it he should have been in here from day one seeking out a trainer or a mentor of some sorts. He blinked coming back to the world out of his brooding as the person next to him spoke. He came back to earth like he had been doused with cold water. He stared at her for a moment as he mind focused and he came to realize what she was talking about.

He jumped up like he had been burned, "I am so sorry!" He exclaimed looking much like a disoriented fox. His face turned red with shame and embarrassment. He could not believe he had just sat down on someones hand. That was it. Lani Karl Hunter was going to go live in a box. He sat down again much more carefully this time. "I'm really sorry about that I've been... distracted lately." He apologized, "I'm normally not this discombobulated." He assured her. He finally got a good look at her. She was not your atypical person. She looked like someone had bleached her through and through. She carried what looked like a blind-man's stick, was she blind? He wondered. "I'm Lani, sorry about that." He was still burning red with embarrassment. He certainly wanted to crawl into a corner and disappear. It was times like these he was really mad that he hadn't gotten a power like invisibility cause this would be the perfect time to use it.

[Stella Pinyin]

Her hand was now back on her lap, and no worse for wear. Stella's blush matched Lani's and she blinked hard, trying to see if he was angry at her absentmindedness. It was soon clear however that the opposite was true. Stella's eyes were wide with surprise at his outburst. "No, no, it was my fault, I didn't see you sitting down," she said quickly, then realised how stupid that must seem. She was holding a blind man's cane, of course he would think she couldn't see at all. To make sure he understood she wasn't completely without sight, when he talked again she looked at him squarely, or, tried to. Her pupils still moved slightly, a muscle reflex outside her control. A slight frown creased her forehead, and she tilted her head quizzically. "Ah, sorry, discombobulated?" she asked, searching her memory banks for a translation. It didn't even sound like a word, it sounded like a string of silly sounds... bob. bo b bob bob...

Remembering what she'd witnessed at almost all her encounters with new people, STella stuck one small white hand out somewhat stiffly, and curved her lips into a smile. "I'm Stella. It is very nice to meet you," her voice was, as usual, a tad formal, but she was trying, bless her. "It's fine, really. We must both have been distracted, yes?" She smiled again, this one a tad less forced, and her violet eyes crinkled slightly at the corners. "Are you waiting for someone?" The past few weeks had lead her to understand that small enquires were not considered rude by other people, and in fact, it was rude to say nothing. Confusing, given that the importance of silence in etiquette was so engrained in her mind. But it was getting slightly easier, and the bone white girl was sure it would become easier, if not more natural, with practise. practise makes perfect after all.

The receptionist was clearly busy, it was obvious it would take a while for her to have a chance to type out the letter to her uncle, and so it would be pleasant to chat to someone. Though it was a little bright to be comfortable, Stella could make out that the boy she was talking to was about her age, with darkish hair, and a narrowish face. One of the advantages (or disadvantages, depending on your point of view) of Stella's poor eyesight was that she was never one to judge on appearance, and unlike a boy she had had a long conversation with, did not start conversation just because she found someone attractive. It was hard for her to see someone's face clearly at all unless she was very close, after all.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani smiled awkwardly trying to keep from looking like a jerk. He was so stressed his expression came off oddly a mix between pain and humor and he felt suddenly like laughing to let off some steam. He shook his head, "I should have been paying attention." He cocked his head actually realizing belatedly what she had said. She hadn't seen him. So she wasn't blind? Or was she because she didn't see him? His mind reeled, not a good thing. He sat back down and chuckled lightly at her question. He needed to stop thinking that people understood his crazy word choice. Lani's vocabulary wasn't amazing but he had random obscure words that just sounded awesome that he liked to shove into everyday speech, "Basically it means I'm more out of my mind than usual. Like nothing makes sense." He explained briefly. His mind remembered obscure things like words like that. Too bad he didn't remember facts or rules...

He was taken a bit aback by her forwardness. Some people here seemed to be either recluse or overly friendly, he was still getting used to dealing with so many different people. Everyone back home had been basically cut from the same stone. Little or no variation from the same type of people. Of course there were those misfits like himself. But unlike him most of them isolated themselves by their inability to become normal. He took her hand and shook it gently but firmly and smiled at her. "Pleasure." He nodded at her next statement. "Yeah we must be. Hopefully we can find a way to become un-distracted in the near future." He actually hoped so very much. The pain and distraction was making him do crazy things with his powers. He had nearly blasted apart the courtyard when he had gotten mad one day and had hardly noticed that he was pulling on his power until it was too late. He gently touched his power and it flared. Red flashed in front of his eyes as it roared painfully inflamed.

He tipped over something glass across the room and pulled it back before it could wreck any more havoc. He shrugged, "I'm not sure I kind just did this on impulse." He admitted. It had taken a lot of mental preparation to ask for help from the staff but he figured at this point he needed it. "How about you?" He asked then added for good-natured joking's sake, "What're you in for?" He sat back shrinking into his comfortable shadows. He wasn't sure how good or how bad her eyes were but he knew if he had no eye sight he would probably die. His whole existed on being able to see what he was doing. If he didn't he could easily hit someone or pick up something he shouldn't. Not that that had ever stopped him from picking up stuff he shouldn't before but in this case that more ruled into trying to pick up buildings and/or sharp objects with his shaky mental 'hands'.

[Stella Pinyin]

That would be her word of the day.... Discombobulated. To not be able to make sense of things. It sounded a lot like a word Stella would be able to utilise. It seemed to describe how she felt at some stage every day in this strange place. If she were a mind reader, she would have voiced her agreement about the strangeness of constantly experiencing so many different sorts of people. It was like eating plain rice your whole life, and then being introduced to every other sort of food in the world. Overwhelming to say the least. But, now Stella could understand the requirement to shake hands, when only weeks ago that had thrown her. She was proud of herself, and how she could shake Lani's hand properly, rather then just drop it as she'd done with Stephan. Still... had she missed his name?

Unable to see the subtle wince, or see any moving glass Stella had no idea what the boy next to her was going through, Stella laughed softly at the implication of what she assumed was a joke. A slight raise in pitch, general lack of concern in question... a joke. "Ah," Stella began slowly, feeling more then a little embarrassed. "My uncle insists on weekly reports about me, that need to be signed by a member of staff. So I'm waiting for the receptionist to let me know when it's been sent." It was over the top, and not in the least controlling... but that was Mark Liu. The back of Stella's neck bent, her head lowering slightly so her hair swung forward and curtained her slightly pink face.

It had seemed harmless at first, but as Stella began to discover the rest of the world, and the students within, it was starting to become obvious Mr Liu was making demands that placed a lot of doubt in his trust of her ability to make the simplest of decisions herself. How could she show him she was thankful if he acted as if he was waiting for her to disappoint or make a mistake? More then anxious to steer the topic and her train of thought away from such things, she returned the enquiry. "What about you?"

[Lani Hunter]

He nodded with sympathy when she stated the reason for her being here. "Well I guess the good news is that neither of us is in trouble." He smiled and gave a nervous shrug. At least for now he wasn't in trouble. But without fail every security personnel who passed by gave him a little smile. He silently wondered how many times he would have to be called to that particular office before he finally learned his lesson. Probably a lot, considering Lani didn't learn through discipline very well. "That good, it means someone cares about you." He nodded absently he was sure his mother was sick of getting, 'your child is in trouble for (insert random thing here' letters. He had actually gotten a call a little while ago where his mother all but begged him not to do stupid things.

He cocked his head at her surprised but then happy, she couldn't see his weakness very well and she hadn't seen his power in action, which means he didn't have to explain himself to her. He nodded to himself entertaining his own thoughts hoping to get something figured out today to where he wasn't just sitting around wasting time here. That would only make things worse for the more annoyed he got the worse his control and the worse his headaches became. He looked out across the room letting his eyes unfocus as his mind turned inward. There was always that pressure of his power and he wondered if Stella was really alright here on her own when she couldn't see very well. But at the same time it was good that her uncle cared enough to check up on her.

He blinked and shook his head coming back to the present when she asked about him again. He shrugged, "I need help and I've been too stubborn to admit it." He said after a few moments of thought. "So I waited until now to get help." He shrugged, "Its probably not a big deal but I don't know what to do, you know?" Lani was the kind of person who was stubborn and insisted on doing things himself even when he knew he couldn't. Like he wanted to try his hand at this whole power thing on his own. And to admit that he needed help was like admitting defeat to Lani.