ArchivedLogs:Separation Anxiety

Separation Anxiety
Dramatis Personae Rasa, Sebastian
In Absentia	2013-09-06 New Roommate Arrangements
Location <XS> Rasa and Sebastian's Dorm - FL2
A standard, if comfortable, dorm room. Two beds, two closets, two desks. It's generally kept clean /enough/, though there's odds and ends that tend to make an appearance -- a violin frequently lives by one bed, a guitar by another. One of the desks carries a large assortment of books (tidily stacked) at any given time, as well as a large assortment of clean white bones, often in the process of being rearranged into some sculpture or other. The other usually just has a laptop. The closets are starkly different, one neat and tidy with a carefully sorted arrangement of vests, trousers, button-downs, neat-polished shoes; the other spills over with a bright-coloured confection of attire that ranges from glam to punk and has a healthy sprinkling of skirts and dresses mixed in. There's artwork on the walls, a handful of paintings in the same whimsically surreal style. Rasa received notice that ze was granted hir new room in the boys dorm around lunchtime. Guilt at possibly contributing to Shane's in class crankiness keeps hir quiet on the topic. When class is out, ze goes back to hir room and packs up, leaving everything in the hallway instead of bringing it directly over. Finally, there is no avoiding it. Rasa picks up one large box and makes hir way into the new territory, sidling up to a familiar door and checking out the actual room number to make certain it is correct. Then there is a timid knock on the door. Knock. Knock. Knock. Outside, Rasa stands fidgety, one box under one arm. Ze is wearing black gloves on hir hands, orange flipflops on hir feet. hir torso is covered in a navy tee, a warm sun printed over almost frosted looking waves across hir chest, the beach name long worn off. Hir legs are covered in baggy jeans, a special hold cut in the back for hir tail. Fingers try to trap violet curls behind hir ear and an apprehensive slate blue covers the rest of hir, the whites of hir eyes and teeth breaking up the flat color. It takes a bit before the door is opened. Sebastian has largely just been quiet, today, muted through the one class that he takes with Rasa and scarce outside of classtime. He is quiet, too, when he answers the door, both in demeanor and in attire -- a plain grey pleated skirt, a pale pink v-neck t-shirt. For a moment he just stands at the door, looking at Rasa blankly. "-- Oh." His eyes drop to hir box, brows slowly creasing. "Do you -- need help." "For what it's worth it, I really thought that they were going to pair me with someone new," Rasa begins in a hurried fashion. "But at the same time, it makes sense that if I were having problems with the other dorm, they'd put me with someone I know would be okay with... me." Ze takes a deep breath and moves hir box in front of hir. Hir skin is utter uncertain what color to stay, darkening and lightening in large splotches, in rhythm with hir breathing. "But I never dreamed that they would... I thought - hoped - you guys just moved down or something." Help? Rasa does not register this word and fails to interpret the question as requiring an answer. "They told us last night." Sebastian pulls the door open wider, stepping back to allow Rasa room to enter. "When we got back from --" He frowns, gaze dropping to where his bare toes wiggle against the floor. "I'm okay with you. I just." His shrug is small and stiff. "What happened. In the other dorm? I mean were people -- not -- cool." His voice is too flat to manage the right inflection on things that properly /should/ be questions. Rasa moves inside and settles hir box into some free space, turning to look over hir new roommate. "Oh, it wasn't as bad as bashing. I just got more and more uncomfortable being lumped in as one of the girls. Someone was nice enough to ask my gender, but then turned to hir friend and started talking about me like I wasn't there... and calling me 'she' and 'her' the entire time." Ze swallows and shrugs. "It just... stood out a lot more after that." Unsure, ze steps forward and lifts a hand to settle on his forearm. "You okay? Want a hug?" "Wow. That's really -- obnoxious." Sebastian's frown deepens. "People can be really -- um. I'm sorry. Really not good at -- each other." He blinks when Rasa's hand settles on his arm, first one pair of eyelids and then the second. It takes a moment before he responds further, stepping in and curling his arms around hir, cheek pressing to the fabric of hir t-shirt. "Sure. I'm okay." His tone is still flat, but the shakiness of his posture gives lie to this assertion. "I mean he's just down the hall why wouldn't I. Be. OK." "Probably because the last time you two were separated wasn't... the best of situations." Rasa wraps hir arms around Sebastian, careful to keep their arms from overlapping and to avoid skin to skin contact. "But yeah. He's just down the hall. He'll be over here every day and you over there, too." Ze draws in a deep breath and gives him a squeeze. "If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know." "The last time they took him --" Sebastian quiets, pressing his face in against Rasa's chest. "Sorry. I should -- help. You. Move in. It just was -- was kind of a. Surprise." His fingers tighten in hir shirt, claws lightly prickly against the fabric. "Yesterday was a weird day. Even by," he says wryly, "our standards for weird." Rasa doesn't mind how Sebastian is hugging hir, but does shift hir skin into the more durable sharkflesh to prevent accidental damage. The color remains the same though. "Nah, it's okay, Bastian. Take your time with this. My stuff is... out of the way for right now. We can get it later." Bastian's eyes close, gills fluttering in silence for a while. It takes a long stretch before he straightens, cheeks flushed darker and his eyes lowered bashfully. A moment later, though, his frown returns; he glances up at Rasa to ask uncertainly: "-- Do you think I have /enemies/?" "I..." Rasa pauses, drawing in another deep breath, hir coloration darkening. "It would not surprise me. Not necessarily because of who you are as a person, but because you're a mutant." Ze swallows hard and presses hir lips into a hard little knot. "I've seen the mind of Peter's enemy," ze offers quietly with a small shudder. "I... think anyone can attract enemies." There's another moment of tense thought before ze asks, "what happened last night?" "Yeah, but Peter's -- kind of /crazy/, you know?" Sebastian offers this with a small crooked smile. "He's a superhero, they're /supposed/ to have enemies. All I do is -- nerd." His arms cross over his chest, pulling back to look away towards the window. Then back to Rasa. "Do you remember when my pa -- when there was that attack. And he was in the medbay a while. I -- met the guy last night. Who tried to kill him." "I... have seen Peter's mind too," Rasa replies quietly, smiling briefly with amusement. That smile quickly fades when conversation continues. The blue leaves Rasa's skin and hair, leaving hir more the color of concrete, concern etched on hir features. "Yes. I remember the times when people try to kill my friends," hir words are gruff with emotion, quietly escaping from a tight throat. Confusion begins to loosen that up though. "Did he attack you, or did you just meet?" "-- What's /that/ like, I always kind of figured being in Peter's mind would be like being on amphetamines." Sebastian manages a small smile, too, though it's quick to fade. His arms tighten against his chest. "Just -- met him. I mean, I guess he attacked me --" This, though, comes with a small smile, /too/, oddly enough. "We were at -- a fencing club. Trying to find a good place to get Dr. Saavedro a membership. They wouldn't let us in, though, when they /saw/ us. He -- stopped them from kicking us out." His teeth dig into his lip, brow furrowing slightly. "Said he'd give us the tour instead. He -- knew. Who we were. From the -- fighting -- videos -- I guess from Pa, too." His next shrug is jerkier. "He asked if we knew the Spider. And -- challenged me to a -- fencing match." Now his tone has mostly edged into puzzled. "... and told me he was going to kill Pa." This part is softer. Rasa chews on hir lip a little as ze watches Sebastian's demeanor. "I don't know. I guess? I haven't really been on amphetamines," ze mutters as Bastian's good mood starts to fade into the retelling of his tale. Ze listens quietly, considering fully the words he expresses. "You're... I'm so sorry," ze replies, brows knitting together deeply. When ze moves to sit down on hir box, hir stature shrinks. "That's a fucked up night." "He could do it, too." Sebastian moves over to sit on the floor beside Rasa's box, poky head resting against Rasa's knee. "I mean, Pa's -- the strongest person I know. But this guy is -- he commands /armies/. We can't -- stand against the whole entire /government/. If /they/ want to kill Pa --" A shudder passes through him. "He told us to -- convince Pa to run. Away. Stop standing up against them and go -- home. Farm. Grow peaches. /Hide/. And then he'd leave him alone. Not chase him. Not -- kill him." "Like that's going to work," Rasa scoffs quietly, shaking hir head slightly. Ze moves hir hand to start running thought his hair lightly, as if it were as soft as regular hair, fingers rubbing lightly against his scalp and threading between groups of the thick stalks. "Don't let him get to you and don't let him use you to undermine your pa. He sounds like he's trying to manipulate you because you're young so you must be easily frightened." Ze keeps petting the older teen, hir other hand moving to rub his back gently. "This world is a messed up place. If you are scared and you do want to move to Georgia, live with your grandparents, and be safe, that's fine if it's your decision. But if it is some asshole telling you how you should behave - that's wrong." Ze pauses and draws in a breath. "I'm sorry. Getting... ranty about it." "I am frightened," Sebastian admits softly. His eyes close as Rasa's fingers curl through his hair, his shoulders slumping. "But I don't -- want to listen to him. I don't --" He exhales slowly, his weight sinking in against hir legs. "He must be scared, too. If he's trying to get us to stop Pa /for/ him." For a moment, his lips twitch upwards. "-- I beat him." Rasa can't help but laugh, the giggle removing some of the stiffness in hir torso and spine and allowing hir to curve forward a little in mirth. "Good." Ze continues rubbing his back, hir expression drifting back to blank again. "I'm only saying things you already know. I'm scared, too, a lot of the time. But... admitting it keeps us honest and not ignoring it helps us recognize danger. So... it's useful in its own way." "The world is just kind of terrifying, sometimes." Sebastian squeezes at Rasa's legs, his posture easing, too, with hir laughter. His eyes turn across towards Shane's recently-emptied half of the room, the violin case in the corner the only thing remaining of his brother's. His breath catches, gills fluttering quickly, for a moment. His cheek presses down against Rasa's knee, eyes squeezing shut. "Let's -- get your things." "Do you want his mattress? It... might help if something smells like him, right?" Ze still doesn't get up. Sebastian's gills quiver faster; with their rapid fluttering, it takes a while before they calm enough to speak. "I --" He swallows. "... that's weird, isn't it? Would that be weird. Of me. To want that." "It can't be that weird, Bastian. I offered it to you," Rasa notes, a small smile on hir lips. "Even for people without super smelling capabilities, things smelling like home are still welcome when home seems far away. Maybe Shane'll want yours and we can tell everyone else that he's keeping his own mattress - which isn't weird at all - and I'll use whatever one Shane brings in." "Are you saying," Sebastian's smile grows -- shakily, admittedly, but there's amusement in his tone, "-- that you never do anything weird?" His arm squeezes around Rasa's legs, briefly. "... he does," he adds, more softly. "Smell like home. I don't really know where home /is/ without --" His eye closes. "Sorry. I should. We should -- get your -- there's /already/ so much homework to do." Though he sounds almost pleased by this fact. "What? Me? I'm the patron saint of normality. Look upon me in all my mundaneness a weep, for none are as sane, as average, and as typical as me, and no one will be able to achieve this level of ordinary ever again. Without being asleep." Rasa smiles and shifts hir weight, leaning over him to hug his shoulders as he squeezes hir legs. "Stop apologizing, Bastian. You've found a home. People as home is an amazing thing. Hope to have that too someday." Ze straightens up. "Oh, well, if you've got homework, I guess we should get started." "You could start a club. Here. For normalcy. You'd be the president." Sebastian holds his squeeze a moment longer, then stands. "-- 'course, around here you'd also be the only member." His hand squeezes at Rasa's for a moment. Just a moment, and then he moves away to the door to get started with the moving.