A Stormy Arrival (Heidi)

[Jordan Pierce]

The plane ride was hell. Aunt Lisa had assured Jordan before he left that the storm wouldn’t come to the island, but the hurricane had apparently changed its mind on what direction it wanted to go. The plane had been one of the last to land before they closed the airport and he had just barely managed to catch the last boat heading to the school. It probably would have been smarter to have stayed at the airport and wait for the storm to pass. However, after being stuck in that plane for hours, he didn’t think he could handle being locked in a basement bunker somewhere for who knows how long with a bunch of strangers without having a panic attack and transforming. At least, if he flipped out at the school, it wouldn’t be some kind of security breech.

The water was crazy choppy. That, combined with his dislike of deep water, had him fighting to keep down the little food he’d had on the flight. They really shouldn’t be out in conditions like this, especially since he seemed to be the only student aboard. Jordan was just lucky the Captain had wanted to get back to the school anyway. The boat lurched and he had to cling to his luggage to prevent it from rolling away. He wanted to take out his mother’s diary and use it as a distraction, but he was worried that something would happen and it would be destroyed. Instead, he wrapped his fingers around the bird necklace that had once belonged to the woman. It was the only jewelry he’d decided to wear; not wanting to bother taking off his usual amount at the security check point in the airport. It was a small comfort but at least he didn’t have to worry about it falling off.

The boat finally reached the school’s dock and he rushed off the vessel as quickly as his shaky legs and luggage would allow. Being outside did little to calm him. The wind was blowing so fiercely that he’d never be able to fly in it. Despite his avoidance of shifting and his dislike of anyone knowing his animal form, it was always there as a security blanket. If he needed to, he could transform and fly away. When conditions made it obvious that shifting would do him no good, it made him feel uncomfortable and trapped. He had had enough of feeling that way in the last twenty-four hours.

Jordan didn’t get a chance to admire the school as he dragged his bags through the wind. He was more concerned about getting inside than anything else, since he seemed to be the only genius outside during the start of a hurricane. A blast of wind managed to knock his least secure bag from his grip and he cursed as he attempted to retrieve it. Hell, he didn’t even know where he was going!

Could anything else possibly go wrong today? He shook his head. Plenty could still go wrong. Last thing he needed was to jinx it.

[Heidi Valentine]

For once, Heidi made a sensible decision for the day -- and that was to stay indoors. It wasn't often that the girl could be known to make a responsible decision for herself, but when she did make one, her inner animal thanked her religiously. As it was this day. She'd had high hopes on heading out to the forest today to retrieve the clothes that she'd left out there earlier in the week. Heidi had participated with a friend of hers in a race back to the school after they'd hiked out in the wilderness, shifting into their animal forms and running like mad to be the first ones back. Figuring it would be a while before she would have been able to go back and get her stuff, Heidi had hidden the clothes she couldn't carry back in her mouth in a log by the pond the duo had discovered. By the looks of things, though, today nor tomorrow would be the day she'd get her stuff back.

Bummer.

Wind howled and wailed around the island, giving the building of the school little shakes here and there. Nothing too threatening, but it was still scary none the less. Or, at least to Heidi. Who wasn't a fan of storms to begin with. Back home, the weather was nothing like this. She came from a generally naturally chilly climate, so these 'summer torrents' here on the island were completely foreign to her, thus making it all the more less appealing. She kept herself mildly busy though while cooped up indoors, running small errands for the few friends she'd managed to make in the week that she'd been here and checking out various music books from the library that she was meaning to take a crack at sometime later that day. Her body was now leaning against one of the walls of the front lobby of the school, probably not the smartest or wisest idea she'd ever come up with.

She wanted to see the effects of the storm take place though, and the windows of her dorm room weren't as secure as the wooden doors of the school. I mean, they have to be strong, right? she offered up to the inner collie, who had for the most part been pretty worked up what with the storm coming in and all. There was a glass window in each of the heavy, wooden double doors that would give more than enough of an eye-fill to watch the wind do it's damage, which was all she really needed to stay entertained. The skies were darkening outside, but only due to the thick rolling clouds that were coming in, plump with a load of rain that was bound to set free any second. Heidi blinked, then, as she spotted something out the left window of the wide room, her back pressed against the most opposite wall from the doors.

Rather, someone.

Stunned, and disbelieving what she thought she saw through the glass, the girl peeled herself off of the wall and half ran to the door, a hand rubbing her eyes furiously to make sure she'd seen what she thought she had. Leaning against the wood without opening them, she peered her face around the see-through square trying to locate the person she thought she saw. And there, stumbling around in the wind, was a figure of a person with.. were those suitcases?! Just then, the unmerciful skies pried open and let loose the cold, chilly rain as the vicious wind snatched it up and blew it to the side. Soon after, part of the luggage that was with the person seemed to also blow away with the wind, forcing Heidi's eyes to widen in shock.

Acting quickly, she pressed her weight into the door and wormed her way outside without hesitating, the stale electric taste of the air smacking her tongue the minute she made it outside. Her brownish, red hair flared all around her while she raced out towards the stranger, his appearance getting clearer and more detailed with each step she took. Rain splashed roughly against what skin wasn't covered and dotted her clothes in dark splotches quickly as she was gradually becoming soaked. Spotting the bag that had turned loose into the wind not too far off, Heidi caught up with the other and pulled ahead as the collie-girl used her natural speed to struggle against the wind and chase after the bag. Collies were one of the fastest domestic breeds out there, but even in this weather it made running difficult.

Still, miraculously, her forearm extended as she tightly wrapped her fingers around the handle snatching it out of the wind, stumbling forward. Her wet face spread into a satisfied grin, then, as the accomplishment was made before her body twisted around and started heading back to the stranger. Her hand holding onto the slightly heavy bag securely, the other reached out to lightly, but firmly grasp the other's wrist as she passed by, staggering slightly with the wind shifting her balance. "C'mon!" she yelled over the screaming wind towards the boy, more or less dragging him with her as she neared the academy. "Don't think we should stay out here for too long!" Yup. It was official. Her clothes were completely soaked.

TAGG? Jordan
WORDS? 886
NOTES? Nonee
CREDIT? hey it's SHMEY ! @ caution 2.0

[Jordan Pierce]

One wouldn't think a bag judged to be too heavy for a carry on could fly away so easily. He should have stayed at the airport, or at the very least hung back with the boat captain and gone to whatever shelter he had gone to. The skies had decided to open up and spew gallons of water down on Jordan. His black silk, short sleeve shirt did nothing to protect him and he was instantly soaked and freezing and the bag just kept getting further away. He would have been half tempted to leave it, except that one of his mother's diaries was in there. But did he leave the rest of his things to run after it? If he didn't get inside soon he was likely to drown in the horizontal rain.

Blue eyes widened as something blurred past him in the rain. Was that a … person? Of course it was a person, what else could it be? Well, considering where he was it could have been a person in animal form but – Lord, he needed to get out of this rain! The girl - he assumed it was a girl based on the hair length – had grabbed his bag and was running back toward him. Had she come out just for him? You knew it was a bad idea to be outside when a complete stranger had to nearly risk their life to come rescue you. Feeling both thankful and mortified, he was jerked out of his daze when the girl grabbed his wrist.

“Come on! Don’t think we should stay out here too long!” He could barely hear her over the noise of the wind and the rain in his ears. Tightening his grip on his luggage, Jordan let her lead the way to what he hoped would be warm shelter. His fingers were already growing numb and he was shivering. If he wouldn’t get blown away to who knows where, he would have gladly transformed. At least his feathers would have given him some insulation and protection from the rain.

Jordan helped the girl yank open the heavy wooden doors and kicked his luggage inside after her before finally entering himself. He fell back against the door and slid to floor as he wiped rain from his eyes. “Thanks.” He panted; checking to make sure his necklace was still around his neck. “Trying to walk through that was most defiantly not one of my more intelligent decisions.”

[Heidi Valentine]

Not only the clothes were soaked, but her hair and skin were completely drenched as well. The chilly wind had managed to penetrate through her skin and instantly made her body shiver with the cold, the rain not adding any help as far as a heat source went. Rain splashed against her cheeks and freckled face as she lugged them both on, those doors growing nearer and nearer with every difficult step they took. Before long, the doors had been reached, and luckily with the help of the other boy -- finally, a gender decided -- they managed to wedge the doors open and wriggle on inside. Out of the rain, out of the cold, and out of the danger. Warm air greeted her shaking body as they plunged into the front lobby and lounge area, her clothes dripping water onto the already shiny floors.

Heidi's heart rate was through the roof with all the excitement and the intense adrenaline rush she'd just gone through, courtesy of her canine counterpart that had been freaking out and barking inside of her all the while. Breathing heavily, and just realizing that she was still holding onto the heavy bag, fingers unlaced themselves around the handle and let it fall gently to the ground, careful in case there was something valuable or breakable inside. Hands cupped around her knees as she bent over, back arching as she tried to catch her breath. Lungs desperately clung to what oxygen they were fed, and made the cycle to pump element through the rest of her body in attempts to bring her back to a resting heart beat, rather than the speed it was traveling just then. It felt like a race horse on speed was running a marathon or something inside of her, using both the fear of what just happened and the adrenaline to fuel it's self.

Once she was able to gulp down enough air to properly make a sentence, Heidi sighed deeply as a light chuckle picked up. "Man that's some storm, huh?" she mused, standing back up and turning around to face the boy who was currently sitting on the floor, back pinned against the doors. Her eyes fell on him, then, noticing that he too had gotten his share of the rain on his clothes. "Thanks. Trying to walk through that was most defiantly not one of my more intelligent decisions.” A nod, then, was made as she flashed him a smile, looking over her shoulder momentarily to get a look at the bags he had brought with him. Hrmm... New student, perhaps? That was the only explanation she could come up with, anyways. There weren't many other excuses she could think of for someone to go running out in a hurricane like this just to get some bags.

Unless they were expecting a delivery from home, she guessed.

But still, she figured her first assumption was probably a more logical one than the latter, though Heidi didn't have the answers for everything; try as she might. "No problem! Couldn't just.. you know, leave you out there like that. That'd just be cruel." She grinned jokingly then as she half leaned forward, extending her arm out to help him to his feet while water from her body dribbled down to the floors, making a nice little puddle. She was still shaking slightly from the cold, but figured there was a towel somewhere near by that could be borrowed. If not, well... there was always the hike back up to her dorm room to grab one. With her wild hair clinging to her freckled face, she tilted her chin downwards just a tad. "I'm Heidi, Heidi Valentine." A short pause as her teeth snagged her lower lip, biting it curiously as a brow arched. Her usual 'thinking' face. "Mind if I ask what you were doing out there anyways?"

TAGG? Jordan
WORDS? 648
NOTES? None
CREDIT? hey it's SHMEY ! @ caution 2.0

[Jordan Pierce]

Jordan pushed his dripping hair back. It wasn’t much longer than an inch but it was still enough to cause a bunch of mini waterfalls to run down his face. The girl flashed him a smile and he managed a weak one in return before he grabbed the bag she had put down. Fingers slipping a bit on the wet fabric, he finally got the luggage open and began digging around inside as his companion seemed to be studying the rest of his belongings. He didn’t really care how much she looked; it wasn’t like she could see more than a set of waterlogged suitcases. His hand closed around what he was searching for at last – a leather bound notebook with a latch. The cover was a bit damp, as were the edges of the pages. He opened it and flipped through, breathing a sigh of relief to see that none of the ink appeared to be smeared. The other volumes of his mother’s memories should be safe in the expensive, water-proof luggage.

"No problem! Couldn't just.. you know, leave you out there like that. That'd just be cruel."

He looked back up at her and blinked at her grin then down at her extended arm. Not only did she have to save him from a bit of wind, but she had to help him up, too? Nevertheless, he closed the journal and accepted her hand, pulling himself to his feet. ”Still, not everyone would venture out in that.” he said, managing a more grateful smile before turning to his luggage, trying to remember which one had his toiletries in it. He was fairly sure it was the larger one and unzipped it, digging out the only two towels he’d bothered to bring. Lucky there was only to soaked people then. He dried off the diary before setting it inside the luggage and turning around to offer the girl the other towel.

"I'm Heidi, Heidi Valentine."

“Jordan Pierce. Sorry, you had to get wet because of me.” He said, running the towel through his hair before wrapping it around his shoulders. He raised an eyebrow as he watched her bite her lip.

"Mind if I ask what you were doing out there anyways?"

Jordan shrugged. Was that what she was being so tentative about? Since she was the one who went running out to save him, she had every right to wonder what had possessed him to be out in the storm. Unfortunately even his excuse was somewhat cowardice. “I just got here. It would have been smarter to stay at the airport but I didn’t think I could handle it.” He said, shivering and pulling the towel tighter around him. “The boat captain was wanting to get back here anyway, so…”

[Heidi Valentine]

Finally in better lighting, she caught a better view of what soaked attire he had on.A bit more on the darker side of the color wheel, it seemed. What with the black shirt and all. Not that it really mattered to her what colors people decided to wear or anything; it just satisfied a naturally curious side of her to see what people preferred to dress in. Interesting. Finished with her scope of checking out the soaked suitcases, her attention was snagged momentarily by the rustling of something nearby. Blinking, she looked back towards the boy only to find him digging away furiously into the pit of one of the bags. Looking for something? Making sure his stuff wasn't totally drowning in the hurricane water from outside? Heidi's best guess was that they were probably more or less at least a little damp -- whatever he had in there anyways.

And then, out came a book. Or a journal or something similar. Not particularly the nosy sort for the most part, she decided not to ask or pry onto what he was feverishly flipping through. Maybe he wrote poetry or something, or logged his memories in the little journal. If that was the case, Heidi could see how he didn't want to lose such precious little notes and widgets. Whatever it was, it was precious to him. That much was certain. His words snapped her from her brief thoughts while she gripped his hand as he clasped it in hers and helped him onto his feet. "Still, not everyone would venture out in that." Okay, sure, he had a good point. Some people around, she'd noticed, could be jerks sometimes in certain situations. But hey, they were found at almost any highschool, so it didn't surprise her much to find them here either.

She gratefully accepted the towel as she first dotted along her bare arms, goosebumped from the cold. A light shrug was given as she toyed his voice over in her head some, repeating what he'd said as a response of her own was formulated. "Thanks! And sure, maybe not." A pause, then. "But I guess I'm not like everyone else, huh?" An amused smirk for more herself than anything spread slightly on her face, but was soon diminished of. Hands worked the towel through the ends of her hair, wriggling it thoroughly to just try and get rid of the constant flow it was spewing onto the ground while she listened to his brief explanation.

"Jordan Pierce. Sorry, you had to get wet because of me. I just got here. It would have been smarter to stay at the airport but I didn’t think I could handle it."

Ah, so now there was a name to apply to this new face. She committed the name to memory, making it stick in case the two ever bumped heads in the halls or something after this... interesting night of events. One hand wormed it's self free from the towel as she waved it nonchalantly in the air, "Nahh, don't worry about it man. A little water never hurt anyone. ...Or, a lot. I won't melt." Another grin was made before her head nodded to what he had said about the boat and plane ride. She remembered her own long, grueling adventure to the island herself only just the week or so before. Luckily enough for her, the only trouble she'd run into was the fact that it was unbearably hot. An alternative, she figured, anyone would have rathered than this.

Rather than passing back a soggy towel, Heidi, too, wrapped it around her shoulders as she hooked her thumb over her shoulder, jabbing back down the halls. "I know you've already kind of been through a lot already today but, if you want, I could show you were the guy's dorms are..? Just so, y'know," chin jerked in the direction of the pile of suitcases, "You can get your stuff out of the wet bags. If not, hey, it's cool." Her hands rose up, open palmed as a chuckle escaped her lips, "I'd totally understand." And with that, she turned heel and started back towards the the hallways, the lights giving a short flicker as the wind whined outside. Her soaked shoes gave a wet thud against the ground, leaving wet foot prints on the ground.

Heidi knew, kinda, that guys had this whole 'ego' thing they had to care for, so she wouldn't be offended if he decided to get settled in without her. Regardless, she had to head down this hall anyways seeing as how the dorms were all down the same corridor. If he decided to follow suit, then she'd veer off towards the boy's, and if not, then she'd mosey on over to the girl's. And eventually return the towel at some other time. Turning her head over her shoulder, she half smiled and called back, "S'up to you!"

TAGG? Jordan
WORDS? 824
NOTES? Sorry it took so long. D: I got distracted.
CREDIT? hey it's SHMEY ! @ caution 2.0

[Jordan Pierce]

The wind suddenly hit the door like a battering ram and made Jordan jump in surprise. Just how much of the hurricane were they going to get? Was the school really capable of withstanding it? There were still a few weeks before classes started, why on earth had he decided to come early? Because his newly discovered Aunt needed to return to her home and job; leaving her nephew with an even bigger secret then the one he had been keeping. His father had just left again for another meeting and wouldn’t be back for two weeks. Not that he was much company when he was home. The housekeepers were nice, but they essentially came, did their job, and went home. Mr. Pierce had deemed him too old for a nanny long ago. Truth was, Jordan was lonely and sick of sitting around the large, empty house doing his best to ignore the emotions that made him want to transform and fly away for good. He had often wondered what held him there so long, kept him from taking off and never returning; much like his mother seemed to have done. Receiving his mother’s dairies released any sentimental value he had been clinging to by staying in the home she had briefly inhabited and it wasn’t like anyone else would miss him. So he left the first chance he got, hoping against hope to find a place where he could find people that would eventual miss him should he leave.

"I know you've already kind of been through a lot already today,”

Jordan jerked back to reality to find he was staring at the puddle around the girls feet. Heidi, had she said? ‘Been through a lot’ felt like quiet an understatement at the moment, but he nodded his agreement anyway. He had put her through a lot of trouble as well, though she still had a cheerful attitude, despite all the brooding he seemed to be doing. Perhaps he’d caught a fever and that’s why his mind was wandering so? Or it could be the fact that he hadn’t been around other people, really, since he started doing home school.

“But, if you want, I could show you were the guy's dorms are..? Just so, y'know," She had been pointing down the hall, but now she nodded at his luggage, causing him to look at the wretched things again. Did he really feel up to lugging them around again? Not that there was any other real option. What was he going to do? Ask Heidi to carry them? What a gentleman."You can get your stuff out of the wet bags. If not, hey, it's cool. I'd totally understand." Now she looked like she was cautiously surrendering, with hands in the air. Was he drifting off so much that he seemed deranged? That was just the first impression he wanted to make. Even more so then ‘the idiot in the rain.’

Jordan raised his eyebrows as she abruptly turned and started walking away. “Great, I’ve scared her away already.” he muttered to himself, sending a glare at the soggy bags. He really didn’t want to wander aimlessly through the school trying to find the dorms, but did he feel like he had the courage at the moment to possibly meet his roommates? It would have to happen eventually, but he’d really rather give a better first impression then he had given to Heidi. The lights flickered again, doing nothing to ease his nerves about the storm.

“S’up to you!” Heidi called back. He looked up toward the sound of her retreating footsteps and saw her send him a slight smile. Maybe he hadn’t completely scared her off. After all, she was soaking wet and probably wanted to get changed as soon as possible.

“Well, hold on a minute!” He replied, smiling a bit in spite of himself as he hurried to gather his luggage. He did his best to hurry after her and not slip. All he need was to be ‘the idiot in the rain who fell on his ass.’ “Actually,” he said as he caught up. He still didn’t feel up to meeting his roommates. “You probably want to get changed, but. . . Is there anywhere I could get something to warm to drink?”



ReNote: Don't worry about it! My own posting will kinda be random timed. I'm sorry my posts have kinda been clinging to minimum. This one is longer, but I'm not sure it gives you much more to work with.

[Heidi Valentine]

Heidi had started to get the feeling that he had decided to stay behind instead after all as her footsteps were the only ones she'd heard in the tiled halls. Her shoes had smacked the floor with a sharp, water-logged sound as with each footfall, she became just a little further from where she'd started off back in the main lobby area. A bit disappointed, her head turned back to focus on where she was walking and concentrate on not falling flat on her face. Fingers reached up on either side of her shoulders as she gripped the comforting towel, tugging it down slightly to help conserve what heat she could muster up. Man. Well, it wasn't a nice warm jacuzzi to jump into, but it certainly beat being out there in that wind and freezing to death.

"Well, hold on a minute!"

Wha..? She froze, and turned her head back over her shoulder, eyes wide with curiosity as she peered back down the hall. And there, at the lobby, was Jordan gathering his things -- so he was coming! Restraining from jumping in excitement, she resorted to turning the rest of her body around while she watched him bumble around and collect his things. Maybe I ought to have grabbed one of his bags, at least? she thought to herself then while she waited for him to catch up, noticing their size and recalling how heavy the one she'd grabbed outside had been. Feeling a little ball of guilt sit in the pit of her stomach, she tried to brush the thoughts away as he got ever closer. It looked like he had a hold on his stuff pretty well, though, and so she just made up her mind to grab a bag or two if any fell. Or, better yet, if he asked.

As he neared, Heidi noticed a smile on his face and couldn't help but grin back. From what she could tell of that night, he didn't seem to be one who smiled all too much (unlike herself) but then again, they had just gotten out of the middle of a hurricane outside, they were cold, wet, and it sounded like he'd had a rough day all around. Not much excuse to smile in the first place, she realized, which only made the one he had then all the more exciting. The minute he reached her, she was about to say something about the dorms until he brought up a different idea instead. “You probably want to get changed, but. . . Is there anywhere I could get something to warm to drink?”

Heidi bit her lip once again as she thought, eyes shifting around the floor while she racked her brain. She knew of a restaurant on the island, but it would be just idiotic to mention that now, of all times. There was, however, a cafeteria in the school with a wet bar that they kept open for the students, she knew. Looking back towards Jordan as she turned to keep walking down the hall, Heidi voiced her suggestion while guiding them down the long corridor. "Mhm! There's a cafeteria in here, and they keep the wet bar open at night. Complete with a coffee maker, hot chocolate packets, and tea. C'mon, I'll show you." Changing their course, the collie girl veered them off in a different hall, the wet footprints following suit.

The halls were oddly vacant for the night, leaving her to guess that everyone else was in their rooms passing time until the storm passed. Passing into the door-less cafeteria room, tables both long and round decorated the floors with some of them having chairs attached to them, and others having the seat free-flowing. The room was mostly dark, save for the few wall lights illuminating certain areas along the walls and casting long shadows. The food windows were closed for the night, but along the far wall was the wet bar, and to this she walked eagerly up to, getting the urge for a cup of hot cocoa herself. Both glass, plastic, and mug-like cups sat in their respective spots next to containers that held various forms of packets of drinks to select from. A sink was placed next to the juice machine and beside the coffee maker, used no doubt for pulling water from.

One single heater sat on the counter used for heating water, and on top of it was a small but usable tea kettle. She reached for this and flicked on the sink, scooping it under the faucet and letting it fill up in case the other student wanted something other than coffee. Heidi set it on the illuminated stove-like heater after turning it on, then retreated into a chair by a nearby table. Looking back over to Jordan, head tilted once again as another question blurted out, "So what brings you to the academy, anyways? I mean, of course from the obvious." She chuckled lightly, almost surprised that her canine half wasn't desperately sniffing the other trying to figure out his animal shift like it did with most others. Must've been worn out from the brief run outside, she figured. "I mean, everyone's got a story here. Family tradition? Forced against your will? Stow away?" a smirk.

How cool would that be?

TAGG? Jordan
WORDS? 880
NOTES? Oh no, your post was fine! I'm pretty flexible when it comes to responding to posts. So don't worry about your length. Quality, not quantity lol!
CREDIT? hey it's SHMEY ! @ caution 2.0

[Jordan Pierce]

Jordan looked around as they walked, trying to start a mental map. He had lived in the same house all his life and his old school’s layout was fairly simple so there wasn’t much chance of getting lost. But this place was entirely new and he would be both living here and attending classes. So it was probably a good idea to try and start memorizing things now. Might be better for his room to be his starting reference point, but that’s neither here nor there.

There was no one else around and their wet footsteps seemed to echo down the hall. He would have been self-conscious if he had even the slightest fathom that Heidi – or anyone, for that matter – could be interested in him, even as just a friend. But he wasn’t accustomed to anyone thinking of him that was and more or less believed that the girl thought of him as a good deed for the day. She seemed generally friendly, so he assumed she’d do the same type of thing for anyone. After all, hadn’t she said something similar to that notion, only referring to saving him? He really shouldn’t be troubling Heidi for anything after being saved by her, yet here he was trekking along behind her. “Is it always this empty? Or is it because classes haven’t started yet?” he wondered out loud.

At the entrance to the cafeteria, he paused for a moment to look around. Plenty of table usually meant plenty of students. He never did get an estimate on the number of people attending this school from his Aunt. He had no idea what the class count was. Lighting flashed outside the windows and thunder followed soon after and shook him from yet another set of musings. Depositing his luggage at a nearby table, he saw that Heidi had already started preparing a kettle. He sloshed over to inspect the coffeemaker and got it going. Coffee would taste really good after a day like today. Hot chocolate was too sweet and he was rarely in the mood for tea, despite the housekeeper constantly reminding him that it was healthier then coffee. By this time, Heidi had sat down at a table and he turned back to her when she asked, "So what brings you to the academy, anyways? I mean, of course from the obvious. I mean, everyone's got a story here. Family tradition? Forced against your will? Stow away?”

Jordan shook his head. She was a curious one, wasn’t she? Was she going to want to know his animal form? His stomach did a small belly flop but he answered anyway, doing his best to push that thought away. Hide from that obstacle when it came. “No stow away. I wouldn’t put myself threw all that,” he gestured back the way they had come, “Just for the hell of it. I didn’t know this place existed until my Aunt showed up a couple months ago. I was living with my normal dad.” he said, leaning back against the wet bar. It was a wet bar and he was wet. That made it complete appropriate, right?

[Heidi Valentine]

Being a tad impatient on the hot chocolate to come, Heidi turned her attention back over to the little stove burner and stretched across the short gap to twist the knob up just a tad higher, increasing the heat. More heat, meant a faster kettle. A fast kettle meant she'd get her hot chocolate sooner than later, which was always an appealing idea. An intense nagging picked up in the back of her mouth, and this she recognized to be her sweet tooth getting the better of her. As a canine, chocolate was one of the few foods she couldn't have -- else risk getting terribly sick. Or worse. But so long as her shift was in human form, Heidi could have all the chocolate she could eat (which wasn't a lot to begin with) and she abused this privilege whole heartedly. Sitting back into the chair that was starting to get slightly damp from her pants, head looked up towards the new boy while she curiously watched him set up the coffee maker.

Her nose wrinkled some at this, but she shrugged it off. Coffee was never a favorite of hers, but hey, to each their own. Right? Right. “Is it always this empty? Or is it because classes haven’t started yet?” A valid question enough. Normally, students were lined up and down the halls at all hours of the day, but, it seemed like the hurricane forced most of them back into their dorms to hide out for the night. Most of them, anyways. Save for the few who didn't care. Or liked storms. Heidi didn't fit into either of these categories, oddly enough. "Nahh, not really. Well, not from what I've seen. I only just arrived here a week ago myself. Some students don't come until when it's closer to starting school again. Or so I'm told." Another shrug of the shoulders was made as the kettle started to build up a whistle, steam climbing from it's spout.

Standing to her feet once again, Heidi stood somewhat beside Jordan while her hands worked to take the kettle off. One reached over to grab a mug, while the other snatched a packet of hot chocolate - complete with marsh-mellows! - and combined the dry matter with the hot liquid. “No stow away. I wouldn’t put myself threw all that,” Bummer. She couldn't help but feel a little tinge of disappointment at this news, but didn't show it while it was covered up with a nod. Fair enough, no stow away would want to go through all that trouble anyways just to end up sopping wet, would they? Heidi hoped not. Though, still, perhaps one day she'd run into someone who was a stow away. For nothing more than the ability to say she met one. Simple goal.

“Just for the hell of it. I didn’t know this place existed until my Aunt showed up a couple months ago. I was living with my normal dad.” This caught her attention as a brow arched, her head turning ever so slightly in his direction. Had she heard him correctly? "You mean to say you've never even heard of the Academy?" Back home, it was almost like a ritual to send their children off to the school from generations way back. It was intriguing to find out that there were some who hadn't even known about such a place to be real. Or possible. "How interesting.." for it was and tone drifted off some while hand clasped around the ceramic mug with a picture of a little hippo on the front. ..Cute.

This boy was quite the interesting one indeed, she decided. He carried a reserved-like attitude around him, almost.. limited, was it? Not that it was a bad thing; she'd just never been around someone with that sort of personality before. Almost like finding a new puzzle without the picture on the front to show how it was supposed to look like at the end. Steam from the water curled from her mug, but Heidi disregarded it as she drew the cup to her lips and took a little sip, the rich chocolate splashing her tongue deliciously. Sure, it was hot, which drew her to pull the mug away shortly. But the taste was so worth it. Figuring she'd asked more questions than answer some herself, Heidi retreated back into her seat while the cup came with her. One more sip was snuck in before she held it in her lap, letting it warm her thighs some. "At my house, my parents.. their parents.. and so on go stark crazy over this place when it comes time to ship their kids off." A short snort was made as she thought back to how reluctant she'd been to come here in the first place. She'd managed to stall for four years, but eventually her parents won.

"So I guess after a lot of fussing and pleading... here I am."

TAGG? Jordan
WORDS? 830
NOTES? None
CREDIT? hey it's SHMEY ! @ caution 2.0

[Jordan Pierce]

The kettle whistled right in his ear and Jordan winced. At least it wasn’t calling some other inanimate object black. Glancing over at the coffee maker made him sigh. He still had a decent wait on his hands. Maybe he should just make some tea to drink while he waited? His finger tapped against the wet bar while he debated.

"You mean to say you've never even heard of the Academy?" Heidi said from beside him, already mixing her hot chocolate. He shook his head in reply. “How interesting..”

“I didn’t even know other shifters even existed; or that they were- we are- called shifters.” His mind drifted off again to the first time he had transformed and shivered before looking around for something to distract him. A brightly colored tea packet was enough to capture his attention and his head tilted a bit to one side as he picked it up, turning it over in his fingers as he examined it in the faint light. Even though the rain was still pounding on the windows and he was still cold and wet, his nerves were beginning to finally settle. They had been stretched fairly thin between the plane, the boat, and the storm, but as he focused on the different colors the simple tea packet offered, he began to actually relax a little. He was hit with the urge to dig out his jewelry and put on his usual amount of accessories but labeled in impractical and pushed it away.

Heidi had retreated back to the table and he looked back up at her when she spoke. "At my house, my parents.. their parents.. and so on go stark crazy over this place when it comes time to ship their kids off." She snorted lightly, eyes seeming to be lost in thought. "So I guess after a lot of fussing and pleading... here I am."

“You didn’t want to come?” He asked a bit surprised. His only reluctance about coming stemmed from having to meet new people and risk being out casted all over again. But even that was minor compared to his desire to get out of the house and be with others who were like him. Coming to the school also meant making some small connection to his mother, of which he had very little. But if you weren’t so lonely to begin with and were being shoved out the door by an otherwise loving family, he could see how someone would dislike the idea. He tapped the tea packet against the bar before deciding there was enough coffee in the pot to sufficiently fill a mug. Grabbing a yellow mug, he poured himself a cup and joined her at the table. He took a long sip, despite the temperature, and enjoyed the feeling of both the warmth and the caffeine waking his numbed senses.

[Heidi Valentine]

Although the mug was small, it was certainly doing it's job there resting on her lap. Or what small job it could provide anyhow. Fingers were soon melting away the chilly water that had stung them previously and the same could be said for a small perimeter on her jeans. Minuscule, but better than how she was before. Attention drifted to the pit of the cup, hazel eyes watching the mini marsh-mellows melt away in the dim light. She'd always found it hard to actually -taste- the marsh-mellows when they came in a packet like this and usually just provided her own. Or Fluff. But.. considering the fact that there wasn't any fluff around from what she could tell to speak of, Heidi just tried to imagine the taste to satisfy her taste buds.

Unfortunately, no such luck..

Looking back up to the wet bar, she noticed that Jordan had taken a particular interest in a tea packet. Was he changing his mind? He didn't strike her as the impatient sort, but she'd only known him for less than an hour. No way she'd be able to tear a person apart and know everything there was to know about them in that short a time. Perhaps someone who had the natural talent to do so, sure. She, however, did not. “I didn’t even know other shifters even existed; or that they were- we are- called shifters." Shocked, her expression showed this as both brows lifted this time, her eyes widening just a smidge. "Seriously?" came the breathless almost half-whisper, the news hard on her ears.

Then, after a brief moment, she thought about it a little more. Earlier he had said he lived with his human father, until his Aunt had come and swept him away. Which left her to believe that the shifting gene must have come from his mother, for how else would it have been done? He'd yet to bring her into the conversation, so Heidi only touched base on it lightly. "I guess that makes sense, since the Norms aren't supposed to know about this place. Or... Us." A light shiver tinged down her spine as she vocalized her thoughts, still not accustomed with being considered 'one of them'. She wasn't totally in tune with her animal half as some of the other students of the island were, and had only just started shifting comfortably the day before or so. The idea of her not being normal back on the mainland was something she'd been struggling with ever since her first shift.

"So you must've picked up the gene from your mom, huh?" Not really expecting a response, her hands pulled the mug back up as she took another, longer drag this time at the brown liquid. "You didn't want to come?" Smirking around the ceramic mug with the smiling hippo just under her palm, Heidi turned in her chair to face Jordan while she set the mug down, shaking her head. "Not even a little bit. My parents begged me to come here and nagged me about it for years after my first shift." Inner collie grumbled some, just within her chest as it recalled the years that Heidi had been stubborn and reluctant to shift hardly at all. Sending waves of annoyance towards her body, she ignored this and explained a bit further. "I never liked the idea of being surrounded by other people who were... different, like me. It was more appalling to know that they had a whole school based around it than appealing."

A finger delicately started to swirl around the top of the mug, slowly while she traced the outline. Then it stopped abruptly as she looked up, a sheepish grin on her face. She hadn't wanted to discourage the other in any way on what to expect about the campus, and certainly didn't want to damper any hopes he might've had. "Oh but don't get me wrong," Heidi cut in quickly, trying to salvage what she could. "It's not so bad now that I'm here."

TAGG? Jordan
WORDS? 676
NOTES? None
CREDIT? hey it's SHMEY ! @ caution 2.0

[Jordan Pierce]

"So you must've picked up the gene from your mom, huh?" He tried to hide his tensing at the statement, but for a split second all movement in his body stopped before he moved into a shrug. Talking about his mother was still very new to him. He had listened eagerly enough to what little his Aunt Lisa could tell him, but for him to talk about her seemed strange. His father had trouble conversing with Jordan on the weather, let alone on such delicate matters as his mother. The only time she had come up between them was when Jordan had asked his father for permission to take the bird necklace from her jewelry box, and even that was brief and distanced. To talk about her to a total stranger, he truly didn’t know what to say. He fingered the necklace as he responded [color=000000“Yeah, I guess.”[/color]

He listened quietly as she explained the views she had held about the school and nodded, taking another pull from the yellow mug. “I had always refused to go to a boarding school before this. I’m pretty sure my father wanted to reduce our seeing each other to the bare minimum of holidays. After I shifted I started doing homeschooling, so he was stuck with me even more.” He said, tilting his head as he noticed the light reflecting off of the dark surface of the coffee.

"Oh but don't get me wrong," Heidi said, obviously worried she might have dampened his spirits about the school. "It's not so bad now that I'm here."

Jordan gave the slightest of chuckles and looked back up at her. “I’ve never been that great with school. Academically I’m fine, of course,” he said with a dismissive wave of his hand, “But the social interactions required have never been my strong suit. I don’t really have high expectations for this place either.” He said, taking another sip of coffee. Of course, this was, in a way, a lie. His expectations may not be high, but his hopes still were. Was there really a difference? Only a minor one.

More lightning and thunder crashed outside, making the lights flicker again. “I wonder how long the power will last.” He said, looking up at the few lights that were on. If the school took significant damage, would he have to return home already? He really didn’t want to have to get back on an airplane already. “Do they have back of generators or anything here?”

[Heidi Valentine]

She'd noticed something faint and delicate on the boy across from her as she'd brought up his mother. It was quick, though, and hard to see given the lighting of the room. Heidi would have probably missed it had she blinked at that speedy second; but her collie senses detected a trace of something none the less. Had she been more in tune with this inner beast, she might've had an idea on what the message was it was trying to convey to her. Still, for a moment, Jordan looked mildly uncomfortable at the mention of his mother, and she instantly regretted saying anything at all. But, the words had been spoken and there wasn't much she could do about taking them back. Only to go forward and make a mental note that somehow, bringing up that woman was probably not the best thing. Unless he'd initiated it himself.

Which, judging by the reaction, Heidi doubted would happen. She was hardly fit to be considered an acquaintance to him in his eyes, she figured, and perhaps information such things as those would be limited. Unlike herself, Heidi was open with pretty much everyone, passing her trust around on a silver platter like free cookies in a mall. It was the animal shift that did this, no doubt, since dogs generally were friendly and obediant to all without question. Almost naive, the girl never truly had any reason the believe that at any point someone was lying to her, using her, cheating, and etc. Forced to see the 'good side' of people and give the benefit of the doubt, this part of her character was almost.. sickening. Even to her.

Once that band of ceaseless trust was snapped and broken, though, there was no getting it back.

Stirring from her thoughts, Heidi jumped as another crack of the thunder boomed outside, sounding like the rain and wind were taking continuous turns at punching the building as it quivered just a tad. A bit alarmed, she tuned into Jordan's words to distract the elements outside, clutching her mug tightly for some false sense of security. Storms gave her the willies.“I’ve never been that great with school. Academically I’m fine, of course," a light grin poked at the corner of her mouth at his confidence; she liked seeing that in others. “But the social interactions required have never been my strong suit. I don’t really have high expectations for this place either.” Her face fell a little at this, not one of pity or anything of the sort, but actual brief sadness. Being around others was what she lived for, other than music. Heidi was not one to handle solitude very well at all, and so the mere thought of the boy's live previous to the school's being a bit lacking in that area struck a sensitive chord.

But, then, an idea flicked across her face while the windows quickly illuminated from the lightning outside. Her cheeks rose as the smile spread like wild flower, eye lighting up as the plan took form in her head. "Well we'll just have to change that, huh?" Heidi wasn't even sure if he wanted more people to hang out around, but so long as the idea was buzzing in the front of her brain, she'd voice out the suggestion. "How's about I introduce you to some of my friends sometime? Y'know, introduce you all and whatnot. I promise they aren't as overwhelming as I am." She laughed lightly then, recalling on the times that her friends had told her she needed to 'tone down the happy' sometimes. Heidi wouldn't be surprised if Jordan was thinking the same. "C'mon, whadda say?" A moment of thought, then, "Well, obviously not tonight though.."

Above, the small lights that were working to make the cafeteria glow dangerously flickered again, this time letting the two sit in the dark for a couple of seconds. Might not have been a big deal to everyone else, but pure darkness or, really, anywhere dark frightened Heidi to the core. A sharp intake of breath was taken the moment the lights failed, and her nails dug into the mug tightly while eyes widened in fear. She felt as if her heart had completely stopped cold; goosebumps instantly prickling up and down her arms. When the lights returned after what felt like hours, that panicked, but reassuring thump thump, thump thump of her heart returned as it beat against her ribcage. Worst than storms, she hated the dark. Detested it. And was utterly afraid of it at all times.

Allowing herself to catch her breath slowly, and hopefully quietly, pondered over his next words. ...Did they have one? "I really hope it lasts for at least the rest of the night," came the half mumble, the hairs on the back of her neck slowly receding. "As far as generators go.. I'm not really sure to be honest. I would think so, if these kind of storms are normal here in the summer." tone was cautious, almost.. timid as she sat and anticipated the next flickering of the lights, hoping they wouldn't end up going out for good.

TAGG? Jordan
WORDS? 861
NOTES? Stormyy
CREDIT? hey it's SHMEY ! @ caution 2.0

[Jordan Pierce]

"Well we'll just have to change that, huh?" Jordan raised an eyebrow at her. What was this seemingly perpetually happy girl thinking now? He’d never met someone with so much energy and such a constant grin. Jordan found himself wondering what Heidi’s animal shift was; being unable to imagine her being something that wasn’t known for being happy and energetic. Her hair was close to dry now, and looked to be a reddish brown. What animals were reddish brown and energetic? A squirrel of some kind, possibly, but he pitched a squirrel being much more… twitchy. Then again, hair color didn’t necessarily affect a person’s shift. His Aunt was a perfect example with her light brown hair and polar bear shift. So that meant Heidi could be almost anything. A dolphin maybe?

Jordan bit his tongue to stop his musings. Not only were they causing him to stare, but he was getting far too interested. Trying to guess her shift was turning into a puzzle he felt compelled to solve. That wasn’t a habit he needed to get into, especially since it’d be hypocritical to want to find out everyone’s shift yet keep his own a secret. After a quiet sigh he took the last sip of his coffee.

"How's about I introduce you to some of my friends sometime? Y'know, introduce you all and whatnot. I promise they aren't as overwhelming as I am."

He nearly choked on his last bit of coffee. Now wouldn’t that have just been perfect? Survive the plane ride, boat ride, and beginnings of a hurricane only to have a death by coffee. Managing to swallow, he didn’t make any noise, though he might have jerked a bit. He wasn’t sure what he had been expecting her to say, but offering to help him make friends had not been on the list. And if she was willing to introduce him to her friends, did that make them friends? That would make her his first one. Ever. He really wasn’t sure what the qualifications were for becoming friends, but being outside together in god-only-knows mile per hour winds and a torrential down pour could possibly count as a shared near-death experience."C'mon, whadda say?" Blue eyes looked the other, smiling shifter over in a new light. It was possible she had some sort of ‘savior’ complex. She’d rescued him from the storm and was now trying to save him from his nonexistent social life. But all other interaction with the girl lead him to believe that she really was just that nice.

Yet another clap of thunder made the windows rattle a bit. "Well, obviously not tonight though.." She said right before the lights flickered out and the room went dark. It couldn’t have lasted more than a few seconds, but it was still enough to make his body tense. Not being able to see the exit made it almost as bad as there not being one. He let out a sigh of relief when they came back on and glanced back at Heidi, ready to give a sheepish smile at being jumpy about a flickering light. Instead he frowned seeing that her smile had vanished and she suddenly looked. . .afraid? Or something even worse. “Are you alright?”

"I really hope it lasts for at least the rest of the night,"

He didn’t like the change in her voice. Jordan was even more inept at taking care of people then his father and Ray’s idea of caretaking was to buy the person the latest tech toy and hope for the best. He cleared his throat and got up to get another cup of coffee, trying to think of a way to make her happy again. He barely knew her, let alone how to cheer her up. “Um, do you want some more hot chocolate? The kettle’s probably gotten cold by now, but I could put it back on for you.” He said, doing it anyway before pouring himself another up. “So. . . You think your friends could put up with me?” He asked, turning back to her and hoping a topic change would help take her mind off of a possible blackout.



Note: I'm totally up for a black out if you are!