A Welcome Meal

[Aurora Snyder]

Aurora had arrived at Hammel just that day. She had already dropped her things off in her room earlier, and been extremely thankful that her roommates were elsewhere. She did not feel like socializing. Her sister and father were the only two people she was attached to and she had been force to say goodbye to them both. They needed her and she could not be there for them because of this blasted power of hers... She loathed that. She had agreed to come to the Institute only because she needed to master this power. If not it would just keep flaring whenever her emotions got out of hand and that was something she simply could not allow to happen. So she had come, even if she wanted to be anywhere but here.

She sighed heavily as she walked down the halls. She hadn't eaten all morning and now it was past lunchtime as well. They have to have food around here somewhere... she thought as she roamed the halls. At last she came to the cafeteria. She selected a simple turkey sandwich and fruit, unsure she could stomach anything more. With that she glanced around the room, searching for a secluded spot where she could eat unnoticed.

[Eric Bower]

Eric liked food. He just did. He liked everything about it. The smell, the taste, the sight, even. He could just eat all day. Which would explain his roundish exterior--that is until he started working out and training with Zac several times a week. Now his muscles were starting to grow and tighten his skin so he wasn't so jiggly. He still like to eat though.

Which is why he could be found in the cafeteria, at every meal, enjoying himself. His appetite wasn't disgustingly huge, but his plates sometimes did get overfull. He just loved food. Sometimes, his eyes were bigger than his stomach, though, and he picked up more than he could eat--but now that he was exercising a hell of a lot more, he had a bigger appetite so now his eyes and stomach were on the same level. Metaphorically speaking.

He was sitting now, his food in front of him. He cracked open his bottle of water (Zac's orders. He couldn't stop be boy from eating what he wanted, so they compromised on water--for now.) He noticed at the top of his vision this girl--older by the look of it--was glancing around. She looked 'wet behind the ears' as in a new kid. Eric felt bad for her, because he, too, was in her place not too long ago. He lifted his hand to get her attention and waved. "Open seat, right here!" He gestured to across from him with a friendly smile. "C'mon!"

[Aurora Snyder]

Aurora jumped slightly in surprise at the sudden voice calling out. She glanced around, hoping there was someone else they could be talking to. Unfortunately it seemed a tad too obvious that he was talking to her. She studied the boy who had called out to her. She only wanted to be alone, but something stopped her from snubbing him outright. He seemed young, only a boy. For some reason she found herself thinking of her younger sister and how mad she would be if someone were rude to her. With an inward sigh she made a choice she would probably come to regret. She walked over to the table and took the seat he had offered her. "Thanks," she mumbled, already beginning to regret her choice. He seemed like one of those perpetually cheerful sorts. Exactly the sort of person who could annoy her to no end.

"I'm Aurora," she said after a moment, feeling she owed it to him to introduce herself at least. She hated feeling as though she needed to be nice to him, but she couldn't stop herself. With her baby sister in mind she managed to offer him a slight smile. A rather weak attempt truly, but for Aurora it was nearly a miracle. She seldom melted her ice even a little for anyone outside of her family. Please just don't let this be too terrible, she prayed silently.

[Eric Bower]

Something about her expression told him that she didn't normally accept seats from strangers. He was OK with that, and could respect that she was knew here. It either meant she was a late bloomer, or she just transferred from one of the sister schools around the world. He smiled when she walked over and sat across from him. He tried to keep his joy under wraps. She didn't really seem like the type that was generally upbeat, like Eric. He hoped he didn't annoy her too bad, but Eric believed that all she needed to do was relax, and then she would feel right at home and be happy and smile easier. "You're welcome," he replied to her thanks, even though she mumbled it. He took a pull from his water and sat it back down before he turned his eyes back to his plate for a moment. Eric wasn't one to sit in silence, but he figured if he rambled like he usually did, it would just annoy the piss out of her, so he occupied himself with planning how he was going to go about devouring his lunch.

He looked up when she introduced herself. "Nice ta meetcha, Aurora. I'm Eric," he smiled like they were already old friends. "So where did you get here from?" He asked because he just couldn't sit in silence. He also figured, that maybe, a stupid conversation would help her relax to her surroundings. She kinda look frozen stiff to Eric.

[Aurora Snyder]

She couldn't help but smile at his instant attitude of familiarity. Thats what made young kids so sweet, if you're nice to them, they practically love you on sight. He almost reminded her of a puppy, so eager to make friends. It was nearly an endearing quality. Stop it Aurora, you didn't come here to make friends! she scolded herself as she realized the kid was already starting to get to her. She thought for a moment before replying, "Well, I used to live in Connecticut. But then my powers manifested and the Hammel recruits brought me here. I only just arrived today." Her inner voice was scolding her harshly for being so kind to him, but she could only focus on what she would want someone to do for her little sister. Because she did not like this boy. (That's her story and she's sticking to it.)

She looked him over for a moment before asking, "So what about you? What's your story?" Already she was beating herself up for asking, why did she care to get to know him anyway? But there was something about this kid that just wouldn't let her be cold to him. Somehow, it just seemed wrong. She didn't have the slightest idea why though. It was not because she wanted him to keep smiling. That would be a silly reason. Well, it seems that her choice was already made, so she would just have to see what happened.

[Eric Bower]

Eric pretty much was a puppy. If you feed him, he'll keep coming back, and if you scratch him behind the ears, he'll lick your hand--OK so maybe he wasn't exactly like a puppy, but out of all the animals in the Kingdom, a puppy best describes him. "Ouch. I mean not just arriving here, but Connecticut, am I right?" He lifted both eyebrows as he asked because he was completely kidding. He'd never been to that state before and hadn't heard news indicating it was good or bad. He hoped he didn't offend her, if she was like a die-hard Connecticut fan or something.

"Nothing interesting, really," he responded to her question. "I mean power manifested just before I fell--or was falling I suppose--to my death and a week later here I was. I've been here....uhm...four months now." He smiled as he remembered. His stay here at Hammel had been pleasant. He had made some good friends (and Zac, who was in his own category), and the only bump he'd come across was when he was attacked for being meta by some human high schoolers. His scar was pretty much just a part of his face now...though it was still a bit purple and showed out against the darker skin of his forehead. "It's been real fun, and some of the older kids, who'd been here a while, told me about this snowball fight that's going to go down after it snows here really good. I'm excited, since it didn't really snow where I grew up." Eric smiled at her before he took a bite of his sandwich.