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 Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 1:47 pm
Having a voice in his head was new, but it wasn't odd.
Instead of feeling like his mind was being invaded by something unwelcome, it felt strangely nice, actually; there was a gentle coolness that now pervaded his thoughts, and it was curious and interesting all at once. Asher's voice sounded like cold frost on a winter's day, and yet it wasn't unpleasant, but rather the contrary.
Chance was sitting in the hallway outside of his new dorm room, a book in his lap (ironically the same book that he had only just earlier recommended to that guy that had been there when he'd woken up), but he wasn't reading it. Instead he was staring off down the dormitory hall as though waiting for something, a vague look on his pale face.
{ - what are you looking for - }
Nothing, really, thought Chance idly, and his cool fingers smoothed up and down the side of his book without looking at it.
Nothing at all.
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Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 2:59 pm
There was something invigorating about time spent in the library. Oliver could spend so much time sitting there and reading research reports, texts on the structure of FEAR and book after book of reported FEAR-based creature types and subtypes. It was really fascinating, but then again, he was also skirting around the terrifying realization that these were creatures he could actually meet one day. Regardless of the material, when he came out he felt almost energized. On his way back to his room, there was a lack of tension in his shoulders that was only possible when he was alone. His mind was full of thoughts and ideas, and questions about science and history, at least until he entered the common room at the end of the very long hallway ahead of him. There was a guy sitting on the floor with a book. Staring. Not at the book, but down the hallway Oliver would have to walk to get to his room. Immediately the relaxation was gone. The thought of walking all the way down the hall while the stranger stared at his back was unnerving, and Oliver began fidgeting nervously with the cuffs of his jacket sleeves. For a second he contemplated leaving before the guy saw him, and going all the way around the building to the doors at the other end, but that would be not only a hassle but a clear and unforgivable avoidance tactic. The Life trainee took a deep breath and started towards the hallway. What was he going to do as he walked by? Would he say hello? Should he just ignore the guy? Oliver fretted terribly as he passed the first couple dorm rooms, but tried to at least LOOK less anxious.
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Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 6:03 pm
To be fair, Chance didn't even notice the frightened looking young man for the first few minutes, still staring vacantly off into space as though contemplating something out of his line of vision. It was only when he felt, rather than heard, the gentle thump of footsteps coming nearer that he turned his head and saw the figure approaching.
For several seconds Chance said nothing at all, and a faint smile tugged at his lips.
"Hey," he said lightly. "Nice shirt."
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Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 7:18 pm
Oliver tripped over his own foot and nearly fell over the moment the other hunter turned his head. He shouldn't have been so surprised, but it was like the jump scare in a horror movie you knew was coming, but it still made you jump anyway. "Ah... um, th-thank you," he stammered once he had recovered his balance, glancing down at the particularly clever dinosaur shirt he had selected for the day. Yes. Terrordactyls. But now that the other had spoken to him, pretending they lived on two separate planes of the universe was out of the question. Oliver fidgeted. What would a more confident person do? In fact, what would Arorangi do? Oliver smiled shyly. "Ah... I h-haven't seen you here before, d-did you wake up just recently?" Yeah. Arorangi would be friendly like that. Except... louder.
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Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 7:54 pm
Chance seemed relatively undisturbed by the less than graceful stumble, and merely waited patiently for the kid to right himself, arms resting loosely on the top of his knees, legs drawn up halfway to his chest. He leaned his head back against the door of his room and smiled slightly.
"Do I have that look?" he asked lightly. "That whole new trainee sort of vibe? I just woke up yesterday; I'm Chance."
The polite thing to do would to have probably gotten up and shake hands, but Chance remained where he was, sitting on the floor in front of his room, on the first floor of the Deus Ex Machina dormitory building.
(Inside of his head, Asher said something mildly exasperated, but they sounded amused too.)
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Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 8:42 pm
"Um, it's not that!" Oliver insisted truthfully. Being particularly nervous and high strung meant that he paid a great deal of attention to his surroundings. Many times that included people, who was friendly, who to avoid, who would simply pick a fight with him on sight. "I just haven't seen you around before..." He was beginning to feel a little better about the situation, and while he told himself it was because he was acting like a more confident person, a great deal of it was simply due to Chance remaining seated. It was harder to cower when the person you wanted to cower from was at a lower height. "Oliver," he replied, following the other's lead by sticking to the verbal introduction. A moment passed in which the nerves began to return, and he briefly entertained the thought of beating a hasty retreat. Nope, that was not what his big Maori friend would have done. "Ah, yesterday?" The kid blurted out, "A-are you finding everything alright? I-I have a map on my phone, I c-could text it to you... uh, if you'd like..."
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Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 10:26 pm
He almost wanted to ask (out of sheer curiosity, and nothing more) whether this kid - Oliver, he said his name was - had actually seen everyone else on the island, but he refrained (barely). Instead he idly picked at a page of his book and blinked slowly up at the other, eyebrows raising as the silence stretched for a beat between them.
Either they're incredibly antisocial, or confusedly social, Chance thought, with some amusement. His eyebrows rose and for a few more minutes he said nothing at all, giving Oliver the sort of vague, detached look that might have indicated he was off in his own world, thinking about something entirely unrelated.
This wasn't actually true, because a second later, the corners of Chance's lips quirked upwards in a slight smile.
"Sure," he said, "That would be great. You been here long?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 11:42 am
The blank face on the other hunter made the awkwardness of the silence weigh heavily on Oliver's shoulders, but it was a huge relief once the smile appeared. Chance was very quiet, but not in a hostile way Oliver had grown used to from Jack, or Finn in a bad mood, nor did he appear shy exactly. The best way Oliver could describe it was somewhat distant. "Um, o-okay! I-it's just a rough map, b-but it was really helpful when I had trouble..." He smiled bashfully, looking away and scratching the back of his neck. "Ah, n-not too long, a few months, I think." Truth be told, he was surprised he had survived that long. Oliver pulled out his phone, somewhat uncomfortable and not sure how to carry on a conversation with a stranger. "Um... Here it is, ah... Chance Bones?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 1:16 pm
Oliver looked somewhat like a startled deer in headlights; Chance was struck by a sudden desire to laugh, but refrained, idly lifting a casual hand to cover the lower half of his face, hiding the smile behind his fingers. Asher made a soft hum of pleasure.
"Anything will help out," Chance said easily. "I'm the new guy, so I assume that I'll need all the help I can get."
He lowered his hand again, reached into his pocket and pulled out the phone that had been given to him the day prior, along with his coat. Chance smoothed his thumb across the screen, which lit up almost immediately, and pushed the home button to get to the contacts list.
"That's me," he said lightly. "Chance Bones, Sun Division."
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 5:21 pm
"Oh, oh good," Oliver replied, finally finding a more relaxed smile. Chance wasn't quite as scary as he thought. It also seemed the longer they carried on this idle talk, the more real the other trainee seemed. Like talking pulled him away from whatever distant thing he had seemed more interested in a minute ago. The Life trainee pulled up the file, and sent it in a quick text. "Um, I'm Oliver Keeley, if you have any questions and stuff... Although I don't think there are any others on the island, Olivers that is, so I guess my last name doesn't really matter..." He fidgeted slightly, still looking at his phone. What else did one say, or was it time to finish talking? Oliver was not used to this sort of conversations with new people... Then something occurred to him, and he looked up with a smile. "By the way, welcome to Deus!"
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 8:53 pm
His phone dinged, and Chance pressed his thumb to the screen again. A small envelope popped up and then expanded to form the message itself, a little paperclip to the side indicating an attachment. He swiped sideways and then turned the phone, trying to see the map more clearly on the smaller scale screen.
"Oliver's a nice name," said Chance, once he had skimmed over the map enough. He lifted his head and smiled. "I knew a kid named Oliver once, little bit younger than you. He had blonde hair, though, and was a lot less polite when talking to people."
Stretching out his long legs in front of him, Chance got to his feet and ran a hand through his hair.
"Feel up to showing me where the cafeteria is? I'm pretty hungry."
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Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2014 2:21 pm
Oliver wasn't complimented very often, certainly not on his name of all things, but it was nice to see Chance smile. It reminded him that the island was not all death and despair. Yet he was unprepared for the other man's height. It was not exactly towering, but it was certainly intimidating. Why could Oliver not grow faster, so he wouldn't have to keep looking up all the time? "Y-yeah, I can show you," He replied, not realizing his voice had gotten a little quieter, and a little more nervous. "I-it's this way, we can go out the other doors... Um, do you mind i-if I stopped at my room on the way?"
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Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2014 3:52 pm
Oliver wasn't exactly short, but he wasn't exactly tall either; which meant that Chance, at nearly six feet (maybe even a little over six foot), was several inches taller than the other. Still, he seemed mostly unfazed by this and offered Oliver a faint smile, sliding his hands into the pockets of his worn jeans.
"No, that's fine, go ahead," he said easily. "Lead the way."
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Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2014 4:03 pm
That distant smile was back, giving Oliver the impression that Chance was there and yet... not there. The kid nodded. "O-okay, um... My room is farther down the hall." He headed in that direction, every now and again glancing backwards and up to make sure Chance was still following, or still smiling, or something. He wasn't sure what exactly. But then they reached his room, and he quickly tossed some things from his pockets out onto his bed. A notepad, some sharpies, a pen, a handful of paper clips, a granola bar from the kitchen, many items he didn't need at the moment that were weighing him down. Around him the room was fairly clean, and aside from the previous day's clothes lying on the floor, it looked like it had hardly been lived in. "There, the cafeteria is this way!" He said, closing the door behind him.
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Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2014 5:43 pm
Chance followed along behind Oliver with an amiable, casual expression on his face, hands in his pockets, his scuffed Converse All-Stars padding along the floor. When the other young man stepped into his room, Chance stayed outside, but peered inside with a mildly curious expression, commenting on nothing but looking at everything.
"Sounds good to me," he said, once Oliver had returned, and then asked, "So. What sort of thing do you do for fun around here, anyway?"
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