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Post by KANE on Jan 16, 2012 0:26:05 GMT -5
Strong kid. Less than a week and she’d already managed to dull out the pain of the blisters from days of straight out walking. Carm absently picked at her own food while watching and listening to Aella. The food and company was good and she didn’t have any place else to be right now. The tangy dipping sauce that had come with the onion rings in particular tasted just right. As Aella initially declined the offer out of politeness and convenience Carmilla dismissed it with a quick wave of her hand, “Like I said, we’re headed to the same place. Wouldn’t be out of my way at all.” She couldn’t force Aella to come with her but her heart had warmed to the girl and she didn’t want her to be out on her own for that long. Even if she did manage to cross that huge span of distance, even if the small amount of money that Carm had given her sustained her that long, there were dozens of other dangers. She shrugged as if it was nothing, “You don’t have to decide now if you don’t want. Just putting that out on the table.” |
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Post by KANE on Jan 16, 2012 0:26:54 GMT -5
Aella shifted slightly, scuffing her feet against the floor as she quickly at the soup, although quietly. She was feeling re-generated already, probably because the first real food in some time was always bound to produce a ravenous reaction. Some controlled it very poorly, though Aella was thankful that she was able to mask it efficiently with great ease. She remained quiet and listened to Carmilla, breathing silent thanks that it wouldnt put the young woman before her too much trouble...if she took her up on the offer, that was.
I still don't know if I should...I don't want to sound rude, but.... she would have shrugged if she were talking aloud to herself rather than simply in her mind. ...I suppose I can weigh pros and cons as I talk to her more...like she said, I don't have to decide now. I'll think about it a little.
She had eaten about half of her soup when she sat back and simply stirred it, her golden eyes following the spoon as it created a series of ripples in the broth in a manner that she found strangely artistic. "Where exactly are you headed in New York?" she asked, curious. "I'm trying to get to Westchester County." she shrugged a bit. "If you're headed there as well I'm going to go out on a limb and say 'small world'" she said with a bit of a smile.
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Post by KANE on Jan 16, 2012 0:28:13 GMT -5
Carmilla quirked an eyebrow when Aella mentioned Westchester. There didn’t seem to be many people who headed to that area specifically except for a certain reason that she was well aware of. She became instantly suspicious of Aella’s biology. She did have strange eyes but minor mutations like that, while uncommon, were not unheard of. It didn’t NECESSARILY indicate an x-gene mutation. But it could. “Small world indeed.” Carm smiled good-naturedly, not betraying her thoughts. “Actually I was going back to my apartment downtown but I work as a tutor at a school in Westchester. If you wanted a ride into the county I could make a detour. I left a pile of papers on my desk there that I should be bringing home anyways. Up to you.”She looked over Aella for any other signs that she might be hiding something. It was a reason kids took to the street afterall. |
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Post by KANE on Jan 16, 2012 0:28:42 GMT -5
"...at a school in Westchester."
A flash of hope raced through Aella's eyes, which were turned towards the soup. Her expression changed with the slight raise of her eyebrows before she got control of her facial reactions again. She had halted in stirring the soup, too. Controlling my expressions could use some work.. she scolded herself silently as she resumed stirring the soup before picking some up to sip. She remained quiet for the moment, pondering how to respond to Carmilla. After a moment, she extended a hand forward towards the plate in the center, which held the onion rings. Pausing, she pulled her hand back and took off her glove, bending her fingers a bit with the new freedom granted from lack of leather restraining her appendages.
She reached a hand forward, the sun making the contrast of her fair skin to her nails almost blinding. The color of polished ebony, they looked as though they'd been painted the color on a religious basis, much like the girls at Aella's middle school had taken to doing a couple of years ago because it was 'cool'. Picking up one of the smaller onion rings, the golden-eyed girl pulled it back and dipped it in her soup for a moment before biting down on it, chewing quietly.
"Really? A tutor at a school? That's cool." she smiled a bit, trying not to sound too eager. "At my old school I volunteered to help tutor students in grades below me if they didn't quite understand something."
Is..is it true? she couldnt help but ask herself. Those hushed rumors I'd been hearing...is there really a school in Westchester for...people like me? For mutants? The possibility thrilled and scared her at the same time. At the very least, she'd be able to fit in there better than she had with her parents as soon as she'd started changing.
"I...that would be very nice of you..." she told Carmilla. It wasn't anything like a handshake on the proposition, but it showed that she was leaning towards the possibility and giving it heavy consideration.
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Post by KANE on Jan 16, 2012 0:28:55 GMT -5
Carmilla was too perceptive not to see Aella’s eyes light up at the mention of the school and then the immediate downturn of them towards the soup. Her suspicions were picking up more but she also had more evidence to back them up. Sometimes a look said a thousand things. Aella had taken her offer and was eating some one the onion rings, meaning that she was at least beginning to trust Carmilla a little more. “I like your nails.” She smiled softly at Aella, respecting her well-kept nail polish. She’d been one of those girls herself once upon her time but since the activation of her powers, her nails had naturally grown in green just as her hair did. It was far too difficult to fight the colour so she always just covered it with a layer of clear polish to give it a sheen so that it didn’t look matte and out of place. Well she did that for her right hand at least, the left one was a holographic projection of a normal-looking hand emitted by her protective gauntlet. “It’s alright. It’s pretty much the same as the volunteering thing you did but they pay me for it and I have a few more duties. Somewhere between teacher and tutor I guess.” She finished her drink and waved for the waitress to bring her a refill. ”It’s not really a problem. Like I said, it’s on my way anyways. You ever ridden on the back of a motorcycle before?” |
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Post by KANE on Jan 16, 2012 0:29:23 GMT -5
"Thank you..."
Aella glanced at her nails when they were mentioned. The golden-eyed girl flexed her hand once or twice after eating the rest of the onion ring. The light flashed white against the black of her nails. She didn't exactly mind the color black, but she knew after a while it would get old. So long as they don't...grow or whatever they do she thought, suppressing the grimace as she thought of the strange mutation that took place on occasions outside of her control. At first it had started happening when she was excited, scared, or angry, but it was starting to happen more frequently, and she still couldn't ever tell when until it was too late. Just don't happen here.. she told herself.
She took another two onion rings and ate them quietly, listening to Carmilla as she spoke. Only a quarter of her soup remained now, and she began finishing that as well. Between bites, she spoke again. "I can't say I have before." she laughed lightly. "Closest thing to a motorcycle that I've ridden is a bike, to be honest." she said, finishing her soup off with a small, satisfied, smile. "My parents never approved of anything that they considered potentially dangerous, but in the hands of a careful owner that risk is minimized." Aella told Carmilla, though she was sure the older woman knew that full well already.
"The school you're talking about must be great...at my old school you helped students only as a volunteer. Students were expected to understand what they were doing so there was no extra compensation for people helping within the school. You had to work elsewhere to be paid for a good deed."
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Post by KANE on Jan 16, 2012 11:46:23 GMT -5
Carmilla finished the sliders and slid the plate over to Aella, indicating that she could have the rest of the onion rings if she wanted them. "Honestly, it looks a lot scarier than it is. If you can keep your balance on a bike you can at least ride passenger on a motorcycle. My father used to take me out riding when I was younger. Its a settling feeling to feel the open air around you." She had a helmet packed in the compartment on the back of her bike that she could give to Aella. She wasn't one for helmets herself which is why she currently had steampunk-esque goggles sitting on the top of her head, waiting to be pulled down onto her eyes. "My old school was much the same thing. Kids either got it or they didn't. If they didn't then they might get some help from peers or they might just go on not getting it. I guess that's the benefit of a private school, they can afford to hired someone to tutor students and make sure that they get it. I'm tutoring English. Both as a second language and in the generic sense of essays and literature and what have you. When I was younger I wanted to be a fantasy author." She was actually honestly surprised that she was sharing so much with this young girl and even more surprised that she was telling the truth. First as a street-kid and then as an agent she'd fabricated so much of herself that sometimes it was hard to keep straight what was genuine. Her current assignments allowed her to be a little more of what she used to be and that was something altogether new to her. |
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Post by KANE on Jan 16, 2012 12:13:07 GMT -5
Aella listened to Carmilla as she spoke, having finished her soup, her attention was relatively unbroken now. It was similar to keeping ones balance on a bike, huh? That much she could do...hopefully. All she'd need to do isA sit correctly in accommodation for her wings. She didn't fancy the idea of sitting on them at all, much less for a long period of time. I'll just have to make fast work of sitting down and adjusting my position. That would be easy enough, right?
She took the last onion ring in her hand and nibbled it while she listened intently. It seemed as though Carmilla had attended a school that had a regime similar to that of Aellas. I guess it's a typical thing for private schools... she figured, shrugging mentally though her shoulders stayed relatively still aside from rolling back slightly to stretch her back. She didn't realize she'd been sitting so rigidly.
"I always enjoyed English..." the golden-eyed girl said with a small smile. "I liked reading and writing in school...but I wish I'd been allowed to take Foreign Language in my grade." she said. "But we had to wait another year...I would have taken French." Aella glanced out the window. "I actually already know some French, but I want to get better at it...that way it would be on-par with my Japanese and English."
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Post by KANE on Jan 17, 2012 23:23:37 GMT -5
Carm was mildly amused that she was sitting here discussing her life when she'd been in high school. It was a time of her life that had been happy at the time but the disastrous end to it all had caused her very much to put all of that behind her. She'd recovered a lot of her possessions from her old room from before she'd taken to the streets but almost every last piece of it was in boxes in a storage locker. It was safe and sound but she wondered if she'd ever want to look at any of it ever again. Until she made up her mind one way or the other it would sit there. Carm checked her watch and peered outside the grubby window tot he sky, checking the amount of daylight. It was getting later than she'd expected. If they headed out they ought to do it soon before it got too dark and cold. People often underestimated how hard the cold set in when it was already cold out. Carmilla nodded gently as Aella spoke of her own interests. "I always did fairly enough with math and sciences but I just never had the passion for it. Guidance counselor once told me that I had a penchant for dissociative escapism and that's why the interest in the fantasy novels. I never did figure out whether they meant that as a good thing or a bad." She continued speaking but changed languages, speaking Japanese since Aella had mentioned that she knew it. "I didn't pay too much attention to foreign languages in school. Picked up on it more afterwards."She made a sign tot he waitress, calling for the bill so that she could pay and they could leave when ready if Aella was coming with her. |
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Post by KANE on Jan 17, 2012 23:24:11 GMT -5
Aella chuckled a little as she listened to Carmilla. Her sense of time had faded a couple of days ago, seeing as sticking mostly to her own mind while she walked dulled out most things that happened around her. For the past couple of days, she'd only noticed it was night time after it was already dark outside, not while the sun was setting. That in itself was strange considering Aella had always enjoyed that particular time of day...that and its counterpart, sunrise. Having looked out the window to find the tell-tale signs of sunset starting to appear in the sky, she'd been greeted with a feeling of surprise. However, that was nothing compared to the surprise that rocketed through her when Carmilla began speaking Japanese as well.
Her face lit up with surprise, soon followed by excitement that came from her golden eyes. Her small body had shifted as well, as though the second language had shocked her with energy. Aella responded eagerly, instinctively slipping into Japanese as well, seeing as she'd learned to respond in whatever language she had been addressed in, otherwise the conversation would cease to exist. "I never had foreign language classes, either, my tutor wouldn't hear of it until I was 'ready' he called it. My parents had me learn Japanese and French so I could talk to them and their sides of the family..." Aella paused before continuing with a jolt, realizing it sounded (so far) like she didn't hear Carmilla's earlier statement at all.
"My parents tolerated nothing less than an A, and sometimes I think even that wasn't good enough for them. My Guidance Counselor said that I seemed to be well-rounded, but that might change in high school. I never started it...my parents pulled me out of school not too long ago and hired a tutor but we only finished the middle-school curriculum."
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Post by KANE on Jan 20, 2012 13:18:52 GMT -5
Carmilla smiled when she saw Aella's face light up simply by switching languages. Thank you Hydra, psi-division. She'd never had much of a mind for learning other languages when she was younger. Other kids in her classes had picked up a little French but only insomuch as they needed to drive up to the border to do Beer runs in Canada. A good half of them ended up getting detained at the border but it didn't really do much to deter the flow of idiots willing to keep trying. Since she was picked up by Hydra, however, and it was deemed how useful she could be as an agent in the Eastern world she had a wide gamut of languages imprinted on her brain. Being half-Japanese herself, the language was actually something that she occasionally practiced with on her own time, apart from the psi-imprint. "An A not good enough? Sounds awfully stereotypically Asian." Carmilla gave a warm playful smile. She never had the Asian-Parents experience but she knew that Aella had a fairly typical experience as far as schooling went in that respect. "Why'd your parents pull you from the school system? Did they deem public education as not sufficient enough?" Carmilla was looking for information but she knew that looking like she was prying would come off poorly so she asked her question but at the same time gave Aella a plausible 'out' answer if she didn't want to answer truthfully. Either way she would get something out of the answer. The bill came and Carmilla paid it in cash, leaving a decent sized tip for the waitress. |
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Post by KANE on Jan 20, 2012 13:19:33 GMT -5
Aella couldn't help but laugh at the 'stereotypically Asian' comment that came from Carmilla's mouth. She supposed it was, in truth, and it was something that the golden-eyed girl had a feeling would have been the case for all her years of schooling, had nothing drastic happened like it did. They seemed to ease up a bit when they got her a private tutor, quite possibly because they stopped caring because of her abnormality. Aella doubted it was because they had faith in her ability to maintain good grades. When that thought first entered her mind, she'd spitefully thought that they would still care for a 'normal' daughter. Now, though, she wondered exactly what 'normal' was supposed to mean anyway. She didn't let that break the flow of her eager conversation, she unintentionally continued in Japanese without realizing it.
"Yeah, they were determined to keep me straight-laced with no room or tolerance for anything short of perfect."
[/i] she shrugged a bit before laughing some. "Like you said, stereotypically Asian."[/i] She hesitated though, before answering Carmilla. She hadn't had an answer prepared and had to use what could be considered precious time to think of one. "Uh, yeah. That's basically it.."[/i] she said with a small smile. "That and they thought I could learn more on my own. It would be easier for them if..."[/i] she thought quickly "...they didn't have to deal with something like Principals and Guidance Counselors."[/i].[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote] |
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Post by KANE on Jan 21, 2012 18:53:58 GMT -5
Carmilla laughed along with Aella, the two girls were getting a few looks after having spontaneously switched languages but they were heading out soon one way or the other. “I was spared such an existence by virtue of my parents being as white as they come, hence the last name of Black.” For a girl who grew up as white as could be she did speak perfect Japanese. Thus the wonders of psi-learning, though she could pass it off as having picked up the language post-high-school. “I had a little leeway and was shoved into extracurriculars instead.” She enjoyed them, mind you, but there was still a fair degree of coercion her parents had used to get her to take the chance and put herself out there. She knew they were doing it for her best and in order to socialize her, but she’d been stubborn. Aella had given a safe answer but Carm could sense the nervousness that was inherent in her answer. “Makes sense. They would also get to control the curriculum that way to match what they deemed as essential.” She stood up and stretched. “Alright, Aella. I’m going to be heading out now. Coming with?” It was still a very casual invitation as she offered her hand to Aella to help her up. |
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Post by KANE on Jan 21, 2012 18:54:28 GMT -5
Aella smirked a little as she listened to Carmilla. How much Aella had envied her Caucasian classmates and friends, the ones that didn't have parents pressing her to be perfect. The only others that she found could level with her were the students that also shared some sort of Asian heritage as her. Even then she still felt as though her father pressured her more than her mother...perhaps because he was the Japanese one of the marriage. If it wasn't being perfect at everything, it was doing everything, as Carmilla's words suggested.
Movement caught the younger girl's eyes as Carmilla stood and stretched. So, Carmilla was leaving, and she really was serious about her offer of transport. Aella's heart pumped a bit more rapidly, and she swallowed. Her golden eyes lifted to meet Carmilla's gaze and she hesitated, stretching the leather back over her hands as she clenched and unclenched a fist, fitting the gloves back to normal. I...have to trust her.. Aella thought. For the most part she did, though there was still the conscience within her mind shouting it was still too soon, that she'd known Carmilla with far too short of a time to trust her.
Aella forced it aside and extender her hand, showing the decision she'd made. She would come with Carmilla, and hopefully get to the rumored school she'd heard hushed words about. Using Carmilla's hand as leverage, Aella pulled herself up slowly, more backing off of the backwards chair than standing straight up and moving. Once she stood normally, she rolled her shoulders some and felt her wings shift uncomfortably beneath the straps Aella had tied them down tight with. Spinning the chair around back to normal, Aella turned and nodded. "I'm coming..."
Now how the hell am I going to sit on a motorcycle?!
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Post by KANE on Jan 23, 2012 15:43:04 GMT -5
Carmilla smiled at her as she extended her hand and took it within her own hand, helping her to her feet and leading her out of the diner. So Aella had decided to trust her. This was good. She didn’t want the girl to be out on the road like this. New York was a long ways away and although Carmilla was convinced of the girl’s innate toughness, she still didn’t want her to end up running into trouble. She led her by hand out to her motorcycle. When they got there she opened up a compartment under the seat and retrieved a helmet, handing it to Aella. “You’re about the same size as I am so this should fit fine.” She pulled her goggles off of her forehead and centred them over her eyes. “Alright so the fundamentals are easy. Just keep your balance. You can feel free to hold onto me. If you get scared or nervous just give me a tap on the shoulder and I’ll back off.”She swung herself up onto the bike and waited for Aella. |
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