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 Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2016 2:55 am
 Little feet swung back and forth under her seat as Eriu leaned on one of the tables of the Enoch dorm's common room. It was quieter than usual, and the few kids that were there had their own stuff going on, so she didn't feel like intruding on their activities. In front of her was a deck of cards, as well as a bag of candy that she kept reaching into, staring off into space. Afternoons like this were so boring. She really needed to start making friends she could actually hang out with, instead of asking random dorm-mates to play cards with her. Half the time it seemed they only really agreed because they wanted a share of her candy, too. Not that she wasn't willing to share, but it was a little disappointing when they didn't seem interested in actually talking with her.
Tiny, flightless wings flapped idly as she pondered whether to go knocking on random room doors asking for someone to play with her, or to bug the caretakers. Then again, she knew the adults were usually busy and nobody could dedicate their time for her alone. That was the downside of being at boarding school - there were so many other kids, nobody could get special treatment. The orphanage had been pretty similar in that sense, though this was definitely a big step up from that.
Still, she really wanted a playmate, or even just somebody to chat with and kill time. She didn't want to go back to her room just yet!
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Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2016 12:12 pm
 Jaden looked around the room with uncertainty, feeling very out of place. He'd been encouraged to socialize more, to help with his shyness and insecurities. That was why he'd been given a roommate, but his caretakers still seemed to worry over him and his social anxieties. In an attempt to reassure them (he hadn't the thought that he was making others upset!) he had ventured into his house's common rooms. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. There weren't a lot of people, and most of them were already in little groups. The thought of approaching any of them left him short of breath. Standing around doing nothing didn't seem like a viable option either. He should have brought a book to read... Jaden was just about to give up and retreat back to the safety of his dorm when he spotted the room's only lone freshling. He wasn't sure how he hadn't noticed them before, as they were quite a bright shade of pink. He examined them a bit more closely. The Litch in them was quite apparent, though whenever they shifted Jaden noticed a pair of tiny wings idly flapping. He didn't recognize the style of those wings at all, and wondered where the Litch could have gotten them. His curiosity and their expression of boredom decided him. Jaden made his way across the room to where the Litch sat, focusing on walking so that he didn't panic and abort the attempt to socialize. He only looked up once he saw the legs of the table, signaling he had completed his journey. He peered up shyly through his bangs at the Litch. "H-Hello," he stammered softly, unable to force any more words through a throat gone dry with anxiety. He rarely made the first move in a conversation, and wasn't sure if he should have added anything else or if he'd done a sufficient job already. Jaden couldn't think of anything to add though, so he focused his attention on keeping his gaze from dropping back to the floor.
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Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 2:36 am
Having already started considering calling it quits and just returning to her room, Eriu nearly jumped up from joy when a pale green hybrid boy suddenly came up to her. Company! He seemed extremely shy and skittish though..
The girl slid down from her chair, smiling brightly at the new kid. "Hi! Are you new? I don't think I've seen you in the common rooms before. I'm Eriu", she immediately introduced herself, doing a little curtsy like Amber had taught her. It was polite.
"Would you like to play with me? I've got some cards, but we can come up with something else too, if you'd like. Oh, I've also got these if you like sweets!" the child continued to babble, grabbing the bag of candy she'd had sitting on the table and holding it out for the boy.
"What's your name? I was super bored so it's really nice you showed up. Nobody else seemed to wanna play anything with me."
When she smiled, a set of sharp teeth came into sight - another one of her mutations, which sometimes freaked out other kids.
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Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 3:05 am
Jaden wasn't put off at all by the sharp teeth. If anything he was so stunned at Eriu's enthusiastic and friendly treatment that he had to mentally shake himself to remember his own name! This girl seemed to him to be the very opposite of the people he was used to dealing with, though once his mind had time to catch up with itself he would realize that wasn't quite true. "A-Ah, yes, I'm new. My name's Jaden," he said, struggling to keep his voice from dipping into a whisper. He was working hard to speak properly, but he was still so quiet most of the time. "I do like sweets." He faltered a little, not sure if he should list his entire flavor preference. No, that was probably too odd. "U-Um, playing a game sounds nice. I don't know how to play card games though," he added sheepishly, too shy to ask if Eriu might teach him.
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 1:50 am
Poor boy seemed to have a hard time even speaking up - he probably wasn't very used to socializing, or was just plain shy. No matter, Eriu was equally friendly towards everyone who didn't treat others badly.
Looking around, she spotted one corner of the room - one meant for card and board games specifically - was currently vacant, so she gently nudged Jaden in that direction. There was a low table surrounded by floor cushions, perfect for smaller kids to use for their activities.
"I can show you how this game works - it's a little different from normal card games, but not super hard", she explained as she set her deck on the table, letting the cards spread out a little, face up. They held colorful, distinctly stylized illustrations of different plants, with some also featuring animals. She had recently learned that this game originated from Above, but didn't know much else of the history of it. She just really liked the pictures, and it was much less complicated than many other card games. Well, in her opinion, anyway.
"But before we start, I'd really like to get to know you a bit more! If you don't mind, that is", the girl continued, her voice enthusiastic, yet not very loud. She was in the end pretty polite, and didn't want to disturb any of the other kids in the room. Or to make Jaden uncomfortable.
"Also, I like all the flavors in the bag, so if there's anything you don't like, feel free to just take stuff you want. I have a stash in my room." She gestured towards the candy bag beside them, accompanied with a small laugh. Indeed, with a sweet tooth like hers, it was a small miracle she wasn't any rounder.
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 2:27 am
Jaden quietly went along with Eriu, still a bit bewildered at how instantly open and friendly she was. He hadn't yet met anyone he'd really consider mean, but most people were still a bit reserved around newcomers. Eriu treated Jaden like this wasn't their first time meeting. Or that was how it seemed to him. Maybe he really needed to put more effort into attempting to be social. He pulled a few pillows around to make a comfortable seat and settled down while Eriu laid out cards, his wings relaxing into a slightly-spread position, with the tips resting to either side of him on the pillow upon which he sat. He very shyly took a piece of candy and nibbled on it, savoring the taste. Sweet and spicy were his two favorite flavors, but he didn't get candy too very often. He was reluctant to take more (he hadn't come over just to take her candy!), so he turned his attention to the cards. They were very pretty, quite unlike any other deck he'd seen. Eriu's question pulled him from contemplation on a particular pretty flower card and caused his wings to tighten on his back again. "I don't mind," he said falteringly, a little surprised. Was this part of the card game?
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 4:52 am
"Just tell me if I'm being too nosy and I'll stop asking stuff", she said lightly. The girl simply happened to be the type to want to know as much about everything and everyone as she could. She had a whole lot of questions popping into her head, but she figured she shouldn't ask every single one - at least not right off the bat.
"You're in Enoch too, right? What's your favorite subject? Do you have any family? I'm actually an orphan, but I have a mom now. She adopted me, even though I'm a little mutated. You see, I was born in October, so I look a bit.. weird compared to a normal Litch - you probably noticed that already, right?" She giggled a bit in embarrassment as she realized she was probably stating the obvious.
At least Jaden didn't give her any weird looks like some of the other kids did. She knew she was lucky her mutations were fairly mundane - some other kids had extra eyes, or only one eye, or multiple pupils.. Mutations often resulted in disabilities too, so she was indeed one of the lucky ones, merely being a little sensitive to light. She kinda even liked her wings, even if she couldn't use them to fly, and sleeping on her back was difficult. They were fun to flap and Amber told her they were cute.
Still, wings like Jaden's were really cool in her eyes - they were big and strong enough to actually fly with. Chimeras, Fallen and Fey sure had it good. In winter instead of wading through snow you could just fly to where you wanted to go!
"So these cards are divided into smaller sets by months of the year - different months have a different flower. We're supposed to make matches with cards laid on the table, and ones dealt to us. Some matches are worth a lot more points than others", she begun to briefly explain the nature of the game.jinxgirl5 The cards Eriu has are basically Hanafuda ones, just imagine the illustrations being more fitting to this world setting.
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 7:56 pm
Though he was a tiny bit fazed when questions suddenly morphed into game instructions, Jaden did his best to pay attention. He was quite good at concentrating, actually, and had an equally good memory. "I really like the language arts and science classes," he said softly as he watched Eriu arrange cards. They were so pretty, he honestly would never have guessed they were for a game. "My familiars are my family, so it's just the four of us. I don't know many people." He tilted his head curiously as he considered her remark; it hadn't really been a question, but there was enough of an explanation behind it that he felt he should probably comment. He had only met one other person born in October, so the concept of mutations was still new to him. "I don't think you look weird," he said honestly, and he truly didn't. Eriu was different, but so was he in his own way. He might not be entirely comfortable as a hybrid from a cultural stand point, but it had certainly taught him that outward appearance didn't signify what a person was like on the inside. Too shy to ask anything personal back, he turned his attention to the cards. "So what happens if you don't have something that matches?"
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