Logs:What Is This Feeling?

What Is This Feeling?
Dramatis Personae Kelawini, Nessie
In Absentia	2020-05-07 "Why are you here?"
Location <XS> Kelawini and Nessie's Room - Girl's Hall
This is a double-occupancy room, quite generously sized by dorm hall standards. Two sets of furniture, sturdy and pleasant if basic, take up one half of the room each. There's no real decorating to speak of, and while the room does look distinctly lived in most of the items visible are school-supplied, from the textbooks and computer on one desk to the plain linens on the beds. Most. There is a black duffel bag and a purple backpack covered in red hibiscus print sitting beside the empty desk, though. It's almost dinnertime, and the students are growing restless--more than usual, perhaps, for the brief taste of proper spring replaced all this week by cold, cheerless drizzle. The dorm halls are filled with the lively sounds of overlapping conversations, music, games, and other media. All of this is abruptly eclipsed by a loud, piercing, resonant scream that goes on for several long seconds, bespeaking the impressive lung capacity of the young woman it's coming from. By the time Kelawini runs out of breath, several other doors have opened up and down the hall, curious faces peering out--though none of them look particularly concerned. Breathing hard, she seems to collect herself, but still can't quiet bring herself to step through the door she just opened. Hovering in the doorway, she stares fixedly at the room's sole occupant, her pupils dilated so far they seem to swallow her dark, dark irises. She's wearing a cropped jacket of deep red with black braid gold braidwork at the cuffs and collar, and skin-tight black jeans tucked into black lace-up boots, her hair loose and dotted still with fine raindrops from a recent foray outside. "Wha--what?" is all she manages to say. The scream startles Nessie out of the low crouch she'd settled in by her desk -- it brings her up to a considerably taller height, her barbed tail flicking reflexive and sharp towards Kelawini (though she's not actually nearly within striking range.) Her own brief yip is rather drowned out by Kelawini's louder scream, though the widening of her black eyes outlasts the other girl's noise. Over and above her head her tail still swishes, rapid and restless, and her arms have folded over her chest, rumpling the already very wrinkled green button-down she wears. The slow steps she takes back towards the window click against the wood floor, quiet and hard. "... I guess you're Kelawini?" Her chin has tipped down, her voice stiff. Kelawini's eyes follows the barbed tip of Nessie's tail as it sways. Despite her obvious terror she stands up straighter, little though she can hope match Nessie's stature. "How do you know my name?!" she retorts almost immediately at the question. Then frowns, her next question less sharp, less certain in her indignity now, "Why are you here?" "Everyone knows your name." Nessie shoots this back a little sharply, tail flicking harder in time with her words. "I live here. Why are you here -- oh yeah right you broke half the school's stuff." Her feet clickclickclick against the floor as she turns back towards her desk. "I don't suppose you're going to finish my history essay for me." "Oh." Kelawini deflates a little. She snaps a glare over her shoulder at those still rubbernecking from other doorways. When she finally, gingerly steps inside, she hovers near the door as if anticipating the need to escape at any second. "Sorry," she adds, kind of flatly, as she stares at Nessie's many feet with something like horrified fascination. "About the entrance, not--" Her teeth grind, and she reaches for the door handle, but ultimately doesn't touch it, her arm dropping resignedly to her side. "Anyway, you don't want me writing your history essay, trust me." She hauls her stuffed backback effortlessly up onto her empty desk and hops up to sit beside it, still watching Nessie warily. "What do I call you?" Nessie settles down lower onto her many legs, arms folding atop her desk. "I'm sure it comes as a big surprise, but actually, I'm used to it." She glances over her shoulder at Kelawini, lips pressing together. Hesitates before looking back to the stack of papers on her desk, reaching to pick up her pen again. "I'm Nessie. I guess we're roommates. I haven't been here long, either." Kelawini huffs a short breath, starts digging through her backpack. "I guess." Distracted, unenthusiastic. Then she stops and looks up from the red toiletries bag she's in the process of wiggling loose from amongst the jumble of hastily packed belongings. "Nessie." Not a question, though she echoes the name rather contemplatively. Her mouth tugs to one side as she studies her new roommate, eyes slowly narrowing with skepticism. "So...you are a girl, right?" Nessie's tail swishes sharply again, her head turning quick to fix several pairs of dark eyes on Kelawini. She pushes out a sharp hard breath, tightens her shoulders, and coils her tail inward as she turns, bowing her head over her work. "I'm a monster." Kelawini tenses under the gaze of Nessie's--far too numerous--eyes, her teeth grinding quietly together. "Okay, but..." She frowns, chewing on her lower lip. "Are you a girl monster or boy monster?" "I'm a monster whose parents taught me manners." Nessie gathers up her books, shuffling her papers together to tuck her half-finished essay between the pages of her history book. "I'm sorry that's not the custom wherever you come from. Guess I'm finishing this essay in the library. Bad enough I lose all my work and have to do it by hand without getting harassed while I try to get it done." The report of her feet against the floor is sharper than before as she heads for the door.