you'll see this won't make you happy

[Nikolai Campbell]

Niko loved to see things in a natural restful state and things in constant, predictable motion. The watery surface of the pond was no different, and since he seemed to be the only one interested in the pond at that precise moment, he found himself transfixed by it's unchanged surface. It seemed to relieve him, to relax him. That certainly would not do for long! So Niko grinned, the moment lost.

Now it was time for a new game. Niko decided that he was going to build a makeshift toy boat, and after looking around for things to use, he raced off only to return to the pond a few minutes later with a twig, a rather large leaf, and a handful of grass. He began by tying the grass together, but that was soon abandoned when the grass kept breaking. Niko's enthusiasm disappeared in an instant at the realization. Plan B was next implemented as Niko ended up setting the leaf in the water, then placing the grass on top of it, just so it could float. Sometimes improvisations were okay. In order to get closer and to be able to reach the now drifting leaf/boat of his, he laid down at the water's edge, oblivious to the moisture that clung to his skin and was absorbed by his clothes.

It was as Niko was laying there that he first noticed the movement. Something. . .He leaned closer to the water, forgetting about the leaf. There was another movement, and then a fish appeared at the surface. Niko screamed in fright, quickly attempting to push himself up and away, only to have his hands slip on the wet surface. He ended up with his head in the water for a few seconds before he managed to sit up, sputtering as if he'd got too much of the water in his mouth. The water itself did not bother him, not at all. The fish? He was eying the pond pretty suspiciously now, so it was fair to say he wasn't a fan. As the water began to fall from his hair down to his eyes, Niko shook his head as an animal might, ruffling up his hair, but also shaking away excess water.

Niko wasn't dressed in anything he wasn't ready to pull off and never wear again, given he couldn't get the pond smell out. He was just wearing a navy and yellow striped polo shirt with a pair of jeans- the jeans were light in color, and it was evident that they drug on the ground by the way the material was torn up at his heels. His hair had been brushed and he had put gel his foster mother had packed, but it wasn't a stretch to say that he couldn't apply the gel nearly as masterfully as Miss. Bri could. He tried, anyway. And had he come to the realization in that moment that the effort he'd put into gelling his hair was for nothing, he may have been upset. As it was, he was blissfully unaware. Not that it would have changed much- he had bigger fish to fry, as it were.

"Dumb fish,"Niko scolded in much the same way that he'd been scolded all too many times before."I didn't want to get wet, and you scared me!" The way he was speaking wasn't really proof he was crazy. In fact, he was trying to justify his annoyance."And when you want to be friends, I'll say no way. And when you're sad, I won't care." Niko continued to watch the water, but he seemed done speaking- at least for now.

[November Adams]

Class was out, it was cold, November was wandering - all around a pretty usual day. The teen had a habit of walking around outside the school after classes were done, usually by herself. Not that she was an introvert... well yeah, she was. But beside the point, she just felt a lot better when she took long walks alone, and just got to think about things. A ghost of a smile was visible on her lips, her hair messy from the wind, the bottom of her cargo pants getting wet from the dampness of the ground she walked on. It had rained at some point, giving the air a bit of a bite to it, but all around a rather enjoyable atmosphere. Her hands were hidden inside the pockets of her olive green sweatshirt, her feet trudging along easily on the mulch around the school.

... And of course, something had to happen. It was a school for the "gifted" - it was rare when something didn't happen.

Hearing the scream, followed by the undeniable sound of splashing, November stopped in mid-step. Her mind processed this for a moment, before her feet picked up and she was weaving toward the pond only a few yards away. Her Converses made deafening thunks against the cold dirt as she rushed, hoping desperately no one was drowning in the pond. Which was unlikely, it wasn't really a deep pond. But honestly, what else could she think from that sort of evidence?

Skidding to a stop, she exhaled as she saw a... rather young looking blonde boy sitting on the ground beside the pond, talking into the water. Was he talking to the... fish...? Quirking an eyebrow, she stood silently by, listening to him scold the koi fish inhabiting the pond. Apparently they had wronged him in some way - go figure. Ember let out a short chuckle, giving the boy an incredulous look. "Hey... You alright?" She asked, noting the dampness of his clothes and residual moisture on his face and hair. When he looked at her, she noticed how young he really was - probably her sisters age, what was he doing at the school? Usually powers didn't come to age until you hit puberty... So unless this kid had some developmental problem, his reason for being at the Institute was a mystery. "Erm, hi. I'm November," She introduced awkwardly, "And those fish are jerks, don't even try being friends with them. I swear, the snootiest fish I've ever met." She said, her voice wasn't smooth or even, shaking as she spoke like the hands she kept in her sweatshirt pockets.

---

Threads; What she's modeling.

[Nikolai Campbell]

Immediately Niko raised his gaze up at the stranger that approached him. Oddly enough, he hadn't seemed to anticipate anyone coming to talk to him, least of all a girl who asked if he was alright. In fact, it hadn't occurred to him that someone might think his scream was one that indicated trouble. He wasn't really used to being at school longer than the necessary six hours, and he wasn't used to so many people in one school. Nothing at all was familiar about Hammel Institute, nothing he had experienced in the short amount of time that he'd spent in the institute so far. But no matter. He was fine, so he intended on telling her just that. He'd leave out saying that he could be better.

"I'm o-okay,"Niko suddenly began stammering again, feeling quite nervous now that he wasn't all by himself. And hearing her voice shake, it seemed to remind Niko that it was cold outside, as if he hadn't felt it earlier. It didn't help that he was wet- leave it to a child to pretend everything was fine. Until someone told him to go inside, he had no intention of doing it. If he had known how, he would have made it warmer, gladly. As it was he took the weather as it came, just as any other person.

"H-hello, November. M-My name is N-Niko. I'm n-new here."Niko responded, but to her next statement, he wasn't sure what to say. He agreed, they were jerks, but he wouldn't have called them a jerk because, though he talked to the fish, he did not think they were like people. He wasn't upset by the fact that she was humoring him. He saw it more as her really not liking the fish either. Why would she? Niko would have liked to see ducks, not fish. Oh well. The part of her statement that he didn't know how to respond to was when she said snootiest. Almost unintentionally, he mimicked her.

"Snootiest," his tone was thoughtful, his gaze drifting to the ground for a moment before he looked up to her, curiously."That's a b-bad thing, r-right?" He hadn't meant to prove to her just how young he was, yet he wanted to know so it was worth asking in his mind. He guessed that it was a bad thing, but he refrained because assuming got even Niko into trouble.

[November Adams]

November felt a smile cross her lips as the young blonde boy spoke to her, a small catch in his voice - whether from the cold or anxiety, she couldn't tell. He was short, which prompted her to assume he was the same age as her sister, who was around his height by this point. Or at least she was the last time November had seen her a few months ago. The boy was tentative, she noted, probably caught off guard by her sudden presence. But he was polite enough, which drew another smile from her lips.

"Niko, it's very nice to meet you. When did you arrive, I can't say I've seen you around before." She said honestly in a quiet tone. Ember may not have been the most social person, but she did know just about every face on campus. Which was a lot of faces, none that she usually forgot. She paused, glancing at him head-to-toe for a moment, making an odd face - "How old are you?" She asked, the curiosity evident in her voice.

After a moment, the teen caught onto something. With the degrees in the mid-fifties and the wind still kicking up dried leaves, the boy must be feeling the chill of the mountain air by this point. Dropping her bag from her shoulder, she unzipped the olive green sweatshirt and approached him slowly, tilting her head as if to make sure he wouldn't shy away from her. Kneeling down to his level, she slid the jacket off her shoulders, exposing the orange and white tank top she wore underneath it, and without waiting for his permission, wrapped the oversized coat around his shoulders. "Snootiest... Hmm, that's bad I suppose. Like stuck-up or... mean," November explained simply, zipping the jacket up on him. It engulfed him, which brought a chuckle from her throat. "Better?" She questioned his temperature.

[Nikolai Campbell]

"Umm, I g-got here W-Wensday."Niko answered her question, not seeming to know what to say to her saying it was nice to meet him. When she looked at him- it seemed to him that she couldn't get over something, like she thought he was some alien or something, he looked away, at least for a moment. Suddenly something at his side seemed fascinating. What? He couldn't see anything remarkable, and before he could decide on what he was going to focus on, she spoke so he looked back to her.

"How old,"Niko echoed again. He didn't typically repeat things, but sometimes it helped him to think. At the moment, he needed all the tricks he had to think clearly. Now for the answer, he suddenly appeared uncertain, as if the answer were one he didn't want to admit to. It bothered him that the first thing everyone noticed was his age."I am n-nine. How o-old are y-you?" Niko did not seem to think that asking about her age was rude. Everyone asked what his age was, he would do the same.

As November unzipped her sweater, Niko wasn't bothered. He didn't care. What he did care about was her movement- Niko did not feel comfortable with her approaching. He did not trust easily, and she was no different. If it wasn't for her slow movement then Niko would have reacted. He would have objected to it if he hadn't been curious, if she hadn't seemed nice to begin with. Then she knelt down in front of him, and he didn't take his eyes away from her, even for an instant. Then her hands got closer still, which only served to alarm Niko more. He grew tense, closing his eyes as if anticipating something unpleasant. Instead he felt warm. . .Niko opened his eyes once more, gazing at November. The look in his eyes was warmer and he was finally smiling at her. Though he was happy to know what 'snootiest' was, he didn't say anything about it.

"Thank you,"Niko stated, before he answered the question he'd been asked."M-much better. But you'll be c-cold. That's not fair." Considering her kind gesture, he was feeling much more comfortable, and his voice revealed that. Even if he had wanted to get the sweater off and hand it back, he wasn't sure he could. In fact, he couldn't even find his hands. It would have been worse if November was a boy, of course. But she was most certainly many years older than him, the sweater proved it.

[November Adams]

The teen hummed in recognition to his mentioned when he had arrived - so she wasn't completely stupid and hadn't noticed a child there since the beginning of the year. It had only been a few days. She offhandedly wondered if he was a genius child and took high school classes with him, but she felt as though she might already be bombarding him with questions. "I am seventeen," She said with the hint of a smile on her lips, "I'm sorry for prying, it's just so unusual to see someone so young at the Institute." She paused awkwardly - November really wasn't so great at talking sometimes. "Erm, oh, my sister is the same age as you." Well that was brilliant, she inwardly sighed in defeat at her social retardation.

She could sense his nervousness at her approach, but had still wrapped the jacket, warm from her body head, around him. She couldn't just let him freeze like that, though she did feel bad for startling him. She scooched back a bit on her knees, putting a bit of distance in between them in case she was still making him uncomfortable. "Oh it's fine!" She laughed, "I have a naturally high body temperature, I'll be fine as long as I don't try to take a nap out here." She grinned. "Besides, I'm not the wet one." November pointed out, raising her eyebrows expectantly. Truthfully, she could already feel the chill of the air against her skin, goosebumps threatening to blister through the warm flesh, but for the most part she was doing just fine. Mostly numb to the cold.

Running a shaky hand through her messy hair, she glanced to the pond, then back at him. She studied him momentarily, "Do you mind if I ask you something?" November said, still trying desperately not to freak him out. She stuck her hand in her pocket, thumbing over the gold pocket watch while her brown eyes watched him, "Uhh... How do I put this..." She scrunched her face in thought, "What is... your... ability? I mean, judging you do have one! I just assumed, since you..." She spoke hurriedly, but soon her voice just trailed off. Laughing quietly, she apologised.

[Nikolai Campbell]

Niko was not a genius, but he held his own. He was among the top students in his class- he never seemed to ace tests, never seemed to be the best. Not even close. While the other 'smart' kids were off in their corner, reading their books or anything like that, he would be with the other students, explaining the concepts. He didn't really get everything at first, he just really got it when it clicked. So he made it understandable to others, he was the best person to cheat off of, the easiest, if you were willing to listen to his reasoning. He was not prepared to take high school courses, not even close. He wasn't even out of elementary school yet, and unless he had one-on-one help, there was no chance of him keeping up. He didn't have the years leading up to high school, he didn't have the basics for high school to build from. But he didn't know what she was thinking, so he didn't voice this explanation nor did he think of it at that moment.

"Yeahh, there aren't any k-kids."Niko agreed, unhappily. Hearing that her sister was the same age seemed to give him a sense of hope,"Your sister, is she c-coming to the institute, t-too? It gets boring b-being the only kid." He didn't really think her sister was coming, even if he was asking. In the same way that he didn't think she would come, he didn't think he should be here, either, despite what the recruiter had told him. When she laughed, his smile brightened. If it was fine, then he was happy. He didn't know why she'd have a high temperature, and he was not going to ask. Finally, she pointed out that she wasn't the wet one. Her voice made him think she wanted him to explain himself.

"I didn't m-mean to get w-wet."Niko stated,"I just got s-scared by the f-fish and slipped,". He didn't seem to find that much more explanation was necessary on the matter. She wasn't a teacher who he needed to explain himself to."You c-can ask,"Niko agreed, not sure why she was asking him his permission to ask another question.

"I don't think I h-have one,"Niko responded, his voice noticeably softer, but still comfortable compared to earlier,"They say I can control the weather, but. . . That's not p-possible. I'm just Niko. They made a mistake b-bringing me here. But they say I can't leave because it'd be d-dangerous. I wasn't dangerous before. I didn't hurt anyone, either." Niko inhaled, trying not to get upset about the situation all over again,"Do they say you have an ability, too? Is that w-why you're here?"

[November Adams]

A soft smile was present on November's young features as she listened to the nine year old speak - he seemed hopeful that another child would join him, but the brunette let a short sigh escape her lips. A contemplative look crossed her features as she glanced over to the pond where she could see the koi fish flicking water from below the surface, before moving her eyes back over to look at Niko. "I'm not sure," She admitted, "Galen... ah, my sister, she's only nine. Usually you can't tell if they're... special, until a couple years after that. Which means you an exception." She smiled at him, her tone tunning lighter toward the end of the sentence as to not bring down the conversation. Discussing such fretted over ideas with someone as young as him wasn't something November quite felt like doing. Besides, he had just gotten here, and was most likely pretty freaked out by the whole matter. She would be if she had been his age.

A light chuckle escaped her as he hurriedly tried to justify his reason for being wet. "Ah, don't worry about it mate. I'm not going to punish you," She winked at him, explaining that he should be afraid of the fish - they were trapped in the water and couldn't get out.

Ember's eyebrows rose when the boy claimed he didn't have a power - well that was unexpected. She figured the only real reason for him to being here would to have gained his power at an early age. As she listened to him speak, she got the sinking suspicion that he did have an ability, he just didn't want to admit to it. "Weather manipulator, eh? It matches," She said, referring to his appearance and attitude. Letting out a breathy sigh, the smile remained on her face, "I believe you when you say you didn't hurt anyone... But, well... Everyone's really afraid here, ya know? There are a lot of things that can go wrong with our 'powers' and I think we're here... because they want to keep us, and everyone around us safe." Her voice still jumped a bit as she spoke, uneven in tone. "It's not a punishment," November assured.

When he stuttered out his question of her power, Ember grinned a little. "Yeah, I've got one. They call me a Time Manipulator." She said in a simplistic tone. An idea sparking, her smile twisting into an almost mischievous sort, "Would you like to see something cool?"

[Nikolai Campbell]

Niko had a harder time with the fact that he was the youngest kid of everyone, not that he had powers. He didn't believe that he had powers, of course, and that conviction that he was a normal person, that he didn't have powers, that was no different than he had been before. Denial was a powerful thing, it solved everything. Only when he allowed himself to trust what they said could he really understand just how terrifying an ability would really be. An exception indeed. Maybe somewhere along the way, someone made a mistake. He clung to that hope, he clung to the idea that maybe, just maybe he was normal after all since he was only nine. The smile made him smile, even if it was a small one. It wasn't her fault he was nine years old, it wasn't her that made him come to the institute, and it wasn't her that made people think he had powers. There was no reason to be upset with her, specifically over it.

Niko genuinely smiled when she stated that it was alright, that she wasn't going to punish him. That was reassuring, though he thought only teachers would be punishing him, anyway. Her saying she wasn't going to punish him also seemed to tell him that she wasn't going to tell anyone else, either, who might have some issue with it.

"It d-does?"Niko questioned, his tone cheery. For some reason that he couldn't seem to understand, knowing that he acted like he was apparently supposed to made him feel better. Of course, in his mind he still wasn't a weather manipulator, anyway, so the compliment didn't go quite far enough with him. When she mentioned that she believed he didn't hurt anyone, he wasn't sure if she was lying or not quite honestly. And when she said that everyone was really afraid, it didn't help him to feel any better, either. Scared of him? That wouldn't do, he wasn't a scary person, powers or not. He was unwilling to respond to it because he didn't want to argue with her about it. He didn't understand what she was saying, anyway.

"I haven't g-gotten in trouble y-yet,"Niko stated, sounding triumphant. He hadn't upset anyone with the authority to punish him or done anything too severe, apparently. Then again, he'd only been there a few days, most of which were spent being told me was little, something he was acutely aware of as he walked among the teenagers and teachers of Hammel institute.

Time manipulation? By now he'd figured out what 'manipulation' was, though he wasn't likely to use it in a context beyond powers, so he did not understand it as well as most other words. Time, though? Like a clock? To say the least, he was confused by the combination- it was one thing to be told you could change the weather, an observable occurrence and another entirely to control time, unless she did just change the clock. Niko nodded in reply to her question. Something cool sounded like a very good thing compared to their current conversation.

[November Adams]

The teen raised her eyebrows a bit as the boy spoke - he seemed to hold an air of doubt whenever she mentioned abilities. He was only a child, after all, and at the age where you had just gotten over the "fairy tale" stage. Idly, she wondered what would happen if he met her other roommate Moe, who did have fairy wings. The thought was laughable, but passed soon as the feeling arose again. This boy... he didn't think this was real, did he? Well certainly there must have been times that his powers had erupted - hurricanes, thunder storms... Oh, well... Those were natural occurrences. "Hmph," She noted thoughtfully, wondering how long it would take Niko to grasp the concept of why he was at the school.

"Haven't gotten in trouble yet, eh? You're doing better than me already," November said with a smile. She had been caught sleeping in before, and even sneaking off campus after hours. It wasn't anything too major, but her teachers were less than pleased that one of the top students was trying to misbehave. Some even believed it was the influence of her best friend/roommate Sammy, who was a notorious trouble maker. But she made them dismiss that, not able to stand the thought of not having her friend in the same room with her again. Ahem.

When the nine year old approved her request, the mischievous grin spread a bit on her face. November stood, brushing the dampness off the knees of her cargo pants and approached the pond. The koi fish scattered as her shadow loomed over the nearly still water, and she turned toward Niko again, holding out her hand for him to take. "Don't worry, you won't get hurt." She assured. It was true - she would only do a small demonstration of her ability, it was quite harmless. Her hand twitched a bit, shaking as she held it out to the blonde boy. When she felt his smaller hand on hers, Ember gently wrapped her fingers around his with a smile. She squatted down again, by the pond, she cupped her left hand and ran it under the surface of the water. With a sudden toss of her arm, she threw the water above them, above the pond. A small jerk, and instead of the water falling back to the ground, it stayed suspended in the air. Fat drops of water moved only a fraction of a centimeter as the seconds passed - the air around them was eerily still, leaves had come to an almost-halt, a bird flying over head seemed caught in wax as it's wings only moved in small motions. Time had slowed, and Ember smiled up at the stillness of the sky, the strange surreal feeling that passed over the two as the world almost stopped moving. "Cool, huh? It's my ability." She breathed, "I bet yours is cool too," She offered offhandedly.

[Nikolai Campbell]

Trouble was something Niko had a lot of experience with when he was home. He was the type of child who didn't feel a need to follow the rules and who didn't need to be nice to others to be liked. He would get into fights with other kids, and he'd do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. Now that he was at the Hammel Institute, there was nothing to encourage his behavior so he didn't misbehave. Not so far. She, on the other hand, made it sound like she got in trouble. He wasn't sure if that made him feel any better or not. He smiled anyway.

Niko was not reassured by her saying he would not be hurt. He wanted nothing to do with the fish, not at all. So he approached the pond with caution, wasting no time in grabbing November's hand so that she could, at least in a small way, protect him. He had no idea what to expect, really, no idea why they were by the water.

When she squatted down by the water, Niko followed suit automatically. Her next actions he followed very closely with his eyes; her hand in the water, her tossing up the liquid- here Niko winced, anticipating the fall of the water onto his head, and perhaps into his eyes. It was not a pleasant possibility. But, of all things, the water stayed still. Niko opened his eyes again, watching the water above him in awe. Now that was remarkable.

"Wow,"Niko voiced. He wanted to reach up and touch the still objects, but he decided not to in favor of keeping hold of November. He was a bit scared to let go. He didn't know what would happen if he did, and he wasn't ready to find out. Maybe nothing would happen, or, maybe he'd get frozen forever. Whatever the outcome, Niko was content to just gaze up at the frozen surroundings, taking in each of the frozen objects- from the water, to the leaves, to the bird. Only then did he realize that they were moving slowly after all. It didn't take away from the magic of what she'd done in the least. Maybe, just maybe there was something to this powers business. How else could the suspended water be explained? Niko's gaze dropped to her as November spoke. To her saying it was cool, he nodded. She confirmed his thought that it was the ability, too. And the thing that really got him was when she said that his was cool, too. It got him seriously considering his so called ability. Maybe, if she could do that, maybe everyone else wasn't crazy. It was scarier to believe that maybe everyone else was right, than to believe that everything was still normal.

"I d-don't know how t-to change the w-weather,"Niko admitted. If he did know, he probably would have shown her, to make it fair. But he didn't, and he wasn't quite ready to accept that he could have a power like her, not yet."Is it h-hard?" His second question would have been 'does it hurt', but she didn't seem pained so he was content with his first question.

[November Adams]

November's eyes sneaked over to watch the boy's face contort in awe as he grasped the situation. A grin grew on her face at that - it was nice to see his childlike wonder with the situation. Her sister had much of the same reaction the first time she demonstrated her ability with her. It consisted of a lazy afternoon, when they were making cupcakes with their mum. A bowl dropped from the top cabinet, at which moment her sister had been clinging to the back of her leg. Hearing her mother's gasp, the movement caught from the corner of her eye, the immediate reaction was a sudden jerk in time, slowing everything to a snail's pace. Ember had kind of forgotten her sister was hanging onto her, who them prompted to scream as to why mommy wasn't moving. Ohhh, good times.

When the boy's eyes came to look back at her, she shifted her weight a bit and listened to him stutter out his piece. Ember felt a certain force against her, as the world picked up again. The water splashed back into the pond, leaves rustled, birds sang, wind rushed. It was strange to know how silent the world is without these small things. She made a noise of contemplation at his question, thinking momentarily on her answer. "Well... It varies," November admitted truthfully, "Some people don't know how to work their powers, and some people know how to do it perfectly. Everyone comes here so they can... learn to use their ability, control it." She said slowly, trying to help him get the gist of it. "Like, for me, I can slow time pretty easily now. But I used to not be able to do it for more than a few seconds at a time." Explaining what she was like when she first got to the school - untrained and clumsy with her ability, but luckily she wasn't the only one.

The brunette scratched the back of her head, "It might not be easy," She started, "But it's worth it, ya know?" The wind blew again, goosebumps finally rising to the surface of her skin.

[Courtney Ross]

It was official. Courtney was lost. She had been at the school for a day, not even a full day yet, and she was already looking around with no idea where she was. There were trees and such, but that was terribly unhelpful, and the cricket whispers were not helpful.

Crickets were strange and awkward creatures, chirping about the dirt and darkness and the fact that they had jumped. At first, it was interesting, but after the thousandth whisper in the back of her mind that a cricket had done just what crickets do, crickets ceased to be amusing. However, maybe she could find enough crickets that one would have an idea of what was nearby.

Where am I? Courtney whispered, trying to think about flying, fluttering wings, having a thorax. She was terrible at her bug voice, and most colonized insects ignored her, but normally if she said something enough, something would answer. What is near? Tell me what is near... She looked around, and tried to block out the hopping crickets to focus on more useful information.

-Water- A soft whisper drifted through her ears and Courtney almost missed it, listening for the sound to come again. -Water is near- She stepped forward and tried to get closer to the sound.

Show me the way. Courtney asked, and a very quick image popped into her head, a quick, jolting multi-surfaced path that zoomed from where she was standing to a small pond with sloping sides. It looked like the kind of place where couples and dragonflies would hang out, but mainly the kind of place where she could find anyone else and perhaps explain her current situation. Thank you.

Concentrating on the shaky vision, Courtney followed the recommended path, dodging small bushes that would have been no problem on an ariel route and managed to spot the pond without much noise. Just her luck, two people were already there, what looked like a little boy and a girl looking reasonably older than her. They were talking and as she watched, the girl splashed up some water, somehow fascinating the little boy. Maybe he was easily wowed.

Courtney was then stuck. She wasn't sure how to walk up and talk to them, even just to ask how to get back to wherever she was supposed to be - where was she supposed to be? - or who they were or why they were here. She just stood there, looking and hearing soft voices for a moment, before seeing there were cattails around the edges of the pond. Cattails meant flies, and flies meant very very quiet voices. Maybe if the insects were quiet, the humans wouldn't notice how strange she seemed.

Taking a deep breath, Courtney stepped forward and opened her mouth, fully intending to ask who the girl was and if she knew where they were supposed to be at the moment. What came out was a low, tinny buzz and Courtney shut her eyes, focusing on hands and opposable thumbs and skin and having a voice box, hoping they hadn't noticed. She tried again, her voice a little louder but still buzzing anf frustrated, Courtney tried just to say that hello she was lost where was the school could anyone understand her she was

lost and I hate this! Courtney managed to shout, almost hitting the girl as she swung her arm with the exclamation.

The first fellow student she had met, and she had managed to buzz at them. This was officially her worst introduction ever. And she was still lost... This was not her day.

[Nikolai Campbell]

Niko wasn't happy when the water fell, but he didn't complain. He liked the fact that it wasn't silent anymore- that had occurred to him, too, that it'd gotten quiet. Unnaturally so. He'd been a little too distracted to mention it at the time. But he did glance back as he heard the splash of the water. It didn't last long before he was focused on November again.

"W-worth it. . .If you say s-so."Niko agreed passively, not sure he believed her. He did know that he was fascinated by her power, at least, even if he didn't want to improve his own. And in a way he did want to improve his own. At least he knew it was possible to control his power rather than letting them control him. Her ability did make him question things- could she always do that, for example? Did it not freeze people since November and himself hadn't froze? And, could she stop it from moving completely or just slow it down? Niko considered verbalizing these questions among others, but he opted out of it, instead referring to his power.

"If I c-could make it sunny, I would,"Niko added helpfully. If she'd had the same power, he would have asked her how to do it, but as it was, he didn't think she'd know. He didn't seem to think that the powers were similar at all, or that they could possibly approach it the same way. No, he figured he was pretty much on his own.

Niko jumped when he heard the girl screaming. He hadn't even realized she was around, but he was acutely aware now. He watched her silently, moving slightly closer to November for protection. Nikolai didn't like strangers, and November was more familiar than the other girl. It really had nothing to do with the noises she made, or the fact that she was yelling, he just had yet to meet her, where as November seemed kind and not likely to harm him anytime soon. Besides, it looked like the girl had tried to hit November from where Niko was sitting. That was far from nice, and likely the worse way to make an impression on Niko even if the stranger had not done anything to him specifically.

[November Adams]

She could only nod at what the boy said - It would probably still take him a while to grasp the concept of these abilities, and maybe even longer to get a good hold on his own. But she figured that he could do it. If Niko had made it to Hammel at only nine years old, he could definitely master his ability. A playful grin on her face, "Well, you've got plenty of time to learn. So don't feel too pressured," the teen assured. That was a common problem among the student body; people got frustrated when they couldn't control their ability, causing an overwhelming feeling of suffocation and exasperation. It was something widely seen during group practices - people screaming and getting fed up, unable to hold control over the things that had shaped their lives so drastically. It was hard to see a lot, and even more challenging when one experienced it. Which everyone had, there was no avoiding it - no one had full grasp of their ability, especially first coming to the Institute. "You'll do just fine," She said with a nod, reassuring him.

When the presence of another person suddenly invaded the serenity of the pond, November couldn't help but jump. "Whoa, shit dude," She startled, looking back at the unfamiliar girl. She glanced back at Niko, blinking, "Don't say that word, it's a bad word." Advising, with a motherly sort of tone. He was clinging to her a little, making the girl smile just barely. Turning back to the teen that had joined them, she stood, having to tilt her head up a bit to look the girl in the eye. November tilted her head to the side - this place was just full of new faces.

"Hey, you're... lost?" She offered tentatively, quirking an eyebrow at the younger teen. Studying her appearance, she noted several character traits - the girl slouched, she didn't quite look her in the eye, her clothes suggested a casual attitude. "Oh, wait!" Triumphantly November remembered something her dorm advisor had mentioned to the three roommates of room 202 that morning - they were finally getting another roommate. So now there would be three girls and Sam... Well, two girls and... Moe. "You're my roomy, right? Erm... Caitlin? Clara? ... It begins with a C, I know that." She said, her voice shook regularly, jumping in tone as she tried to ring her brain for her name.

Looking back down to the child who was still clinging behind her, she smiled softly, "Hey Niko, it's alright. She's just another student," November glanced from him back to the new girl. Well this was sort of awkward.