Finding my Place (Dorm 201)

[Anja Boujinsky]

Mom,

I'm sorry that this letter might be a little on the down side, but I'm going to speak the truth to you as I always have. I'm scared. I have yet to really meet anyone, and I can feel my nerves diving me right back inside a shell that I broke so long ago. Next weeks letters will be better, I assure you. Everything is going to be okay, because life goes on, right? To make things happen, I need to do. I'll get over this fear. I suspect it's first day jitters. I do hope you're doing well. Give daddy my love when you go to see him this weekend.

Love,
Your Annie

Her fingers were shaking just a little bit as she finished those last few words. She didn't think the homesickness would hit so soon, but when she got down to it, she'd never been away from her mother more than a few days at a time, and that had been during work excursions for mother, or when she was out on one of her own little “adventures”, or more simply a visit with the family. This was different. She was going to live in a school that might teach her how to deal with her “little issue.” She was going to be away from her for a fair bit unless she was allowed to go during breaks. She hoped so. Just writing that first letter, as short as it had turned out, was causing her some aching.

She was homesick. She missed her front yard where she could sit on the swing under the shade at this time of year with one of her cats at her side with a glass of iced water at her side. There was a subtle coolness that kept the intense heat away, and everything seemed to be okay while she wrote. As if somehow there was nothing haunting her every time she tried to sleep. She could even find herself napping there with the sun shining through the fragmented shade of the tree above just at the nape of her neck. And it would be a good nap that could get her along for a little while so she wouldn't have to sleep long enough to dream. She could have home-cooked meals and she'd get all the fresh fruit and vegetables she could really want.

It was so uncomfortable in new places such as this. The bed wasn't just right, even with the blankets from home lain over the bed. It was cool instead, not warmed by her furry little pets. There was a stale loneliness lingering, and she could only choke it back and hope that whomever she was sharing a room with wasn't all that bad. In her entire life she'd never shared a room with anyone. It had been creative freedom since the day she was born. From the bright pink paint and the Ninja Turtles on the walls, it gave for a purple mixed with the faces of celebrities. Eventually it became musicians and a light green over some primer. Her bed matched her walls, and her pillows were stacked just right so that she could plop on and feel just right, and relaxed after a hard day out on a hike or on a biking trail, or even just at school.

It was so unfamiliar—So alien. As if she didn't belong there. As if she was the alien to a different world. She swallowed hard again, placing her hands on her lap. She took a quick look around. Her Beatles posters stacked against the side of her bed, and her clothes still packed. Her mother had sent boxes to store under her bed to organize. She'd have to get started, and thus she did. Opening each box she designated each with a particular item and began to sort and fold.

[Summer Frost]

Earlier this day, Summer had changed into a tank top and some shorts. She need to go jogging in the forest for a bit. She hadn't ran for a long time, and her bones were starting to ache. As she left the dorm, she started jogging down the cement paths until she hit the forest. Looking around for a quick second, she noticed a couple people starting to come in the forest. Taking off at a faster speed and soon hitting close to 70, she hit the middle of the forest. It was a secluded area where no one else was. She let the king cheetah start inching its way to taking complete control of her body. Of course she would be in the back of the mind, telling it right from wrong.

She had been in better control of it ever since she saw her brother lying there dead. Well, at least that's what she thought. Summer winced in pain for a couple seconds as her bones shrunk and grew. After awhile, she was the low lying cheetah. Her claws stretched into the dirt and her tail flicked back and forth. Her ears swiveled back and forth hearing everything that was within miles of her. Her paws carried her at speeds almost hitching greater than 70. As she got near the other side of the island, far away from the school, her mind wandered to the fact that she would be having a new roommate soon. The thought of someone else in her territory made a snarl escape her throat.

The cheetah's colors blended in with the forest as she turned around and headed straight back for school. Summer started trying to slow the cheetah down. As she got within the boundaries of the forest, her paws skidded into the ground as she made the cheetah stop. She didn't want people seeing a crazed cheetah running through school grounds, blood lust on her mind. She quickly changed back to human and threw on her clothes. She combed her hands through her hair to get the tangles out. As she finished, she started walking back to the dorms.

Summer started thinking back to the dorm assignments. Next to the names, it had read what animal they were getting paired with. In her room, it was her cheetah self, along with a cougar. The new girl was a blowfly, which Summer didn't see as much of a threat. Compared to the cougar at least. She stopped the cheetah inside her from growling when she thought about another feline being in her room. As she neared the building where the dorms were, she fished her keys out of her pocket. When she stood outside her door, she knocked before walking in a couple seconds later. She wanted to make sure that no one was changing when she opened the door.

As she walked in, she threw her iPod on her bed and then turned to the new girl. The tattoos on her body showing only slightly. She walked over to her and held out her hand. "The names Summer Frost. But, you can call me Sums or Summer, which ever you prefer." As she withdrew her hand, she noticed that the girl was just finishing unpacking, she deiced to just have a little conversation with her. She tried to hold back her usual snarky comments that she made when she met someone new. She didn't want someone in her room to go through that. "So, when did you first shift?" Summer asked as she sat down on her bed which was across the room.

[magnus]

New grade. New course schedule. New dorm. New....roomates. Oh, Christ.

No one told her she had to get along with absolutely everybody. Screw that. If she got bad vibes from a person, chances are that'll she wont like 'em and that feeling would never change. If anyone knew Magnus that well, then they will also know that she won't take no crap from no-one. Open honesty, in her eyes, was bliss. Among others, it was her downfall. Not that she gave a damn what anyone else thought. She lived her life by her standards, not everyone else's. Those that don't like it, can go stick it.

Aria lifted her heavy black and white sports bag filled with her clothes, which was very minimal, over her shoulder as she made her way to dorm 201. She was definately not the type of person to load her bag with fifty pairs of shoes, clothes and jewellery. She was simple in what she wore. It just wasn't her style. Maybe the odd bling on occasion, but she was as hardcore and tomboyish as she can be, and she was proud of it. She walked along the path to the dorm in a very bored, snarky mood. She wore her favourite green army cargo pants, and a black tank top complete with her favourite fingerless black leather gloves. Toped off with her worn-out green converse sneakers. Her long wavy dark hair, was roughly tied up behind her. It was good enough. Nothing worse fussing about.

Now to see whom she is stuck with for the entire grade...

She walked up to the door, and seeing that it was already open, she pushed it heavily open and walked inside. Her dark brown eyes scanned the room. Yup, they were already here. Walking down the hall, Aria peered in each room. Bathroom. Good, not loaded with kilos of make-up yet. Toilet. Kitchen. Man, she was hungry. Loungeroom. Those chairs look comfy. Bedroom...She already had two of her roomates in there. She stood in the doorway and looked at each of them with her trademark cougar frown. She had the hiliarious urge to hiss at the both of them, but she'd leave that until later. One was a pale-skinned petite looking redhead, who looked like she should be in a bookstore. The other was tall, and dark-haired who sported a few tattoos which caused Aria to raise her eyebrow. She looked like a glamour puss, but she could tell she had attitude. Oh goody. A playmate.

She walked right in, dumped her sports bag roughly onto the only vacant bed in the room, kicked off her converse in the corner, and shoved her hands in her pockets as she turned to look at them. "The name's Aria Magnus. Call me Arianna, and i'll bite your face, " Oh, she wasn't even kidding. She loathed her full first name. It sounded like some English rose from the 18th century. The kind of person she wasn't. "I'm not much into socialising, so mind my bluntness. I'm not happy about sharing a dorm, but I put up with it." She still didn't smile. She just wanted her own space. She turned to her sports bag, and began to empty some of it's contents. Red and white boxing gloves, black straps, boxer shorts, track pants, casual t-shirts and the like. As she did so, she shoved them roughly in the wardrobe across from her bed. She may as well get comfortable. She would be here for a long while.

"Right, lets start with the obvious - shifter form and major, " She shot a glance at each of the women, hoping in interest what the answer was. Oh well. It was only fair that they start with the obvious. Besides, the silence was killing her.



tagged , Anja && Summer
mood , Bored and snarky
words , 641
lyrics , run this town - jay-z
credit , rora @ hos

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[Anja Boujinsky]

And there it was, that inevitable knock on the door that she was sure would have to come eventually. Her back stiffened a bit, but she continued with her sorting, only muttering a “all clear here”. At least she was polite. She could know that small fact at least. Her eyes didn't move when the door opened, and instead she concentrated on the white dress shirt in front of her, folding it on her lap, her fingers working extra hard at that very moment to get every wrinkle that she saw straightened. She moved her eyes up ever so slowly, catching the sight of ink on skin. That could mean many things, really. Maybe it was her own story, a story that she couldn't know. Maybe it had to do with her form. Maybe she was some kind of snake. Snakes had patterns, didn't they? She offered the girl a smile as she spoke, watching as the cords of the iPod flew behind in that quick motion, falling limply onto the bed.

Her eyes traveled back towards the girl from the quick distraction. Summer. She wondered if that meant anything. Summer was vibrant, and full of heat. It meant—stamina, maybe? Was she some kind of an—Well, maybe she was thinking too hard into it. Summer was long, and one might—Well, it didn't matter anyway, she was being rude making her own assumptions whether they were mental assumptions or not. She took the offered hand, giving her a steady shake before letting her hands fall back on her lap, pulling out a pair of socks from her suitcase at her side. It was near empty and she'd have to go to the next suitcase next. She fixed her gaze back on the pretty brunette.

“It's good to meet you.” She said quietly, her eyes running over the girl. She was pretty, the kind of pretty that the boys would jump all over. The kind of pretty that you saw on the movie screen. A cute face, oval in shape but still prominent. Pretty lips, and intense eyes. She had that confidence going for her, she could feel it as the girl walked around. She had those boys turning. The type of girl that would be the staring role in a movie. She'd get the boy at the end.

“I'm Anja Boujinsky--” She stopped her introduction at the question, and she felt the bulk of dread catch in her throat. She'd never really been the one to talk about her shifting, especially given her shift. That thing was nothing to be proud of. In fact, it was terrifying. It was mind-numbing and vision changing. She wondered if they too had the compatibility issue. The change in attitude. The change in thought. In fact, when she was in her form, she had quite the opposite of thoughts. It was pure impulse. There was no brain that she knew of, as if it was compelled by instinct. Food. Mating. Egg laying. It was all they were made out of. There was no compassion. They didn't care for their young. They didn't love. They... didn't even hate. They had fear. She knew that much, but their fear was different, because they had their size on their side. Bigger moved slower when you were as small as a fly.

“Um....”

She started to speak, biting her lip, realizing that there had been a silent pause. She moved her attention quite quickly at the noise of an opening door. The movements of this girl were less careful, as if she knew... as i—Well, it was a confidence that definitely radiated off this girl. A very tomboyish outfit, and a messy hairstyle. She didn't have to care about how she looked, but she knew she was beautiful. She knew that she was a strong person. Hmm, dominant in personality, most definitely, she could tell by the way she had just thrown her bag. Her eyes watched carefully. Catching every small movement that she could attempt to understand the girls without having to really ask. Another flinch. A question of a sort, though, it was quite forced, wasn't it? As if it was more of a demand than anything. She nodded her head lightly.

This, right here would be the most alien for her. She didn't ever recall speaking of her “thing”. Her ability. Or rather, a curse in her mind. She took a deep breath, trying to coax away that lump in her throat.

“I—Um, Hello. It's good to meet you Aria.”

She managed a half-smile, and her heart seemed to be beating a mile a minute. She moved her hands nervously on her lap. New things meant new words, right? Just because she didn't talk about it didn't mean it wasn't okay here. In fact, it was normal, right? She could talk to anyone about her form. Even if her form was an autocity. She swallowed hard.

“Blowfly.”

Her hands moved as if to show a flying object, weaving for a few seconds in the air before falling back nervously to her lap.

“Entomology.”

Another deep breath, she attempted to keep her eyes forward on the girls. Forcing a smile on her face, she could feel that same panicking that had come when she had found the school. She wrapped her fingers together, closing her eyes a quick moment. Another deep breath, and she let her eyes open slowly. Her mind cleared, if only for the moment, and she realized she hadn't spoken her name to Aria.

“I-I'm—I apologize. I'm Anja Boujinsky.”

[Summer Frost]

Summer saw the girl stutter a little bit as she talked. She was quite unsure about herself. Summer smiled an encouraging smile. She could be better friends when someone wasn't as grouchy as she was most of the time. She once had a friend like that, and they had fought ever so constantly. When she said her name, though she had said it pretty fast, her ears picked up on it as if she had it super fast. Bad thing about being a cheetah, everything came so loud and quick, but she could still understand it all.

When another girl walked in, Summer's upper lip twitched. This year would be fun. This other girl had a huge ego. One that Summer would not be able to handle. She restrained herself from letting the king cheetah inside her out, and just let her upper lip twitch. A real fast movement, that they probably wouldn't see. Seeing as she knew both Anja and Aria's name, she was about to ask what they were in here for, when Aria beat her to it. On the inside, the cheetah was growling so loud at this girl that Summer figured that this girl might be another cat.

After Anja had said what she was, what major, and her name, Summer spoke up. "king Cheetah for me. Dance major, and the name is Summer Frost." She said letting her hands go on the bed behind her so that she was leaning on them. She watched as Anja fidgeted with her hands, as if she was extremely nervous. Summer felt bad for this girl. Wondering if she had been forced her, or if she had wanted to go here, Summer decided to ask other question another time. When Aria wasn't here. It seemed as if Anja hadn't wanted to talk when Aria had spoken as her voice had come out not as strongly as before.

Summer's phone beeped once saying dead battery then turned off. "Shit." She muttered under her breath. She got off her bed and looked around in her bag until she found her charger. She hastily plugged it into the wall and turned her phone back on. Her dad was supposed to be calling soon asking how everything was. She couldn't let it go to voice mail Out of her family, her dad was the main person she had connected with. Once it was back on, she made sure that no one had called while it had been off, before starting to put the clothes away that were inside her bag. She opened up a couple drawers and started to put things in.

Summer hadn't really brought any make-up with her. yes, she wore it, but she didn't need it. She wanted to make a new image here. One that didn't have her disapproving mother looking over her shoulder to make sure she was wearing the right stuff or doing the right things. That was mainly why she had gotten her tattoos. It was basically a little fuck-you to her mom, when her mom told her not to do it. She highly disliked her mom. But, her dad and her sister she loved. Even her brother, her she thinks is dead.

Once she was done unpacking, everyone had been done explaining who they were and all that, she sat back down on her bed. "So, did you two come here willingly or were you forced?" She asked as she looked between the two girls that she was sharing a room with.

[magnus]

As each of the women stated their animal shift and major, she looked at each peron individually as if to study their relations to this animal. Another feline? Well, she certainly looks the part. Definatly an eye-candy for the guys. Typical stereotype. Although this cheetah had that kind of attitude that Aria found sobering. She could not stand those that were too quiet, and uncomfortable....Her eyes darted at Anja again. Oh, for the love of God...She stutters? And she's a blowfly? Aria just couldn't wait to get out of there, sit in a tree, and laugh to herself. I mean, come on? Who's brilliant idea was it to sort her in this dorm? She certainly didn't have the patience to put up with either of them. Especially now, fresh into her grade.

"Cougar. Law enforcement, " Her voice was husky, yet stern. Kind of one of those voices whom you can recognise easily in a group of people. Not tha wanted that kind of lame spotlight. She leaned against the wall, knowing very well she was prepared to sit through a boring conversation. She was desperate to let out some steam in the gym, but, she'd thought she'd try and be at least half decent here. Tomorrow, she ain't changing for no-one. She could practically feel the tension radiating in the air, and definately from Summer. She could tell. She wasn't an empathic type of girl, but it didn't take a genious to figure out that this was not a warm welcome with Aria in the room. Most people tended to misjudge her upon first meeting. Sure, she was tough. Both inside and out. No, she didn't think she was better than everyone. She strives to be good, but sometimes she thinks she isn't good enough. Hence why she trains herself several times a day. If one was lucky enough to get to know Aria even more, they would realise that she is actually quite a good person. She remains truthful and blunt, because she knows there is no point in lying someone to make them feel good. In fact, criticism helps. If a friend wore something stupid, she'll say it. If a classmate was acting like a retard, she'd tell them. No point lying to make someone happy.

The Anja girl looked unsure of herself. Nervous, maybe? The girl had absolutely no confidence. No wonder she was a blowfly, of all creatures. Summer was one to keep an eye out for. It definatly wasn't her looks. Aria couldn't care less if she got on with all the guys in the school. That's less guys for Aria to care about. Maybe because she seemed to show signs of a bit of attitude. If she didn't seem so testy towards her, and her feline senses were telling her, then they could actually be pretty good friends. But, Aria did have a bit of a socialising problem. She always had a tendancy to point out the cons of a person. She knew deep down everyone wasn't perfect, and she sure as hell had many problems. But, for some insane reason, she was trying to find a person whom she can fully understand. And more importantly, one who could understand her. A lifelong trusting friend with the same ballsy attitude was hard to come across.

Aria shrugged carelessly, "Naaah. I came here willingly. Actually, my mum encouraged me. My monster of a father is the reason im here." What? Did they want a sappy depressive story? Well tough. They weren't gonna get it. She was sure everyone's story was basically the same. It was always one of the parents altering your life one way or another.



tagged , Anja && Summer
mood , Bored and snarky
words , 594
lyrics , run this town - jay-z
credit , rora @ hos

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[Anja Boujinsky]

There was a part of her that wanted to yell at herself for reacting like this. It was just a simple conversation, and though shifting had somehow nudged its way into the conversation, it was going to be like that a lot. In Missouri, it'd been “What High School did you go to?” In Michigan, it had been “Where were you born?” The general question here would most likely revolve around shifts, and it had already been that obvious before she had even arrived. They were all there for a reason: their little specialty. So, why wouldn't they ask about it? Why wouldn't they be open about their powers when they had no one to judge them there? She took another deep breath, her eyes lingering mostly on Aria. She felt a presence that might cause issue in the future. She felt her own self-doubt egging her on, telling her that she couldn't live in a dorm with someone like that. Not that there seemed anything wrong with her. In fact, maybe in another life, when she wasn't so... unfamiliar, she might have been able to better handle the situation.

Instead she watched the two carefully, recollecting herself and wishing that she had better prepared herself for such questions. She didn't need to let the small things bother her, right? A shift was a shift, and whether she figured she was cursed or not didn't matter, because they didn't care. After all, they were regal cats while she was simply a fly. Two different worlds, untouched by the other, really. It was as if she was looking through anothers eyes at someone, well, two people that she couldn't possibly understand all too well.

She nodded as a question was asked, feeling her nerves lessen a bit as she went back to her sorting. She kept her eyes on the girls as much as possible as Aria replied, she paused, know she should say something as well. To lie would have been fatal, of course. Well, in her terms it would have been fatal. Lying was only the first step to worse things, if you asked her and if the truth couldn't set you free, what could?

“My mother thinks I'm here purely for acedemics.” She said, her eyes falling on a pair of socks in front of her as she folded one inside the other. She quickly tossed it in with her underwear.

“Your mother accepted it when she found out?”

She looked up at Aria, feeling bad for even delving into something so personal, but she was curious if only for her own benefit.

“My—I'm afraid to tell my mother. That's stupid, I know. Ignorance really isn't bliss, but then you have to worry about reactions, and reactions only occur upon actions and silence is the best key to that problem. I—Well, what's it like being so powerful?”

In a quick attempt, she changed the subject near the end of her little rant, as if she had been suggesting that she wasn't wrong for lying to her mother. As if she wasn't stupid for keeping such a thing from her only parent. As if she had any good excuse, as well, there wasn't really any good excuses were there? No. Excuses were tools of incompetence used to build monuments of nothingness. And there it was. A flat truth that she always tried to get around. Excuses built up everything lying around her fears of her shift. Blaming. Excuses. Regrets, maybe? Well. That was all her own fault, wasn't it?

[Summer Frost]

Summer watched the other two carefully. The cheetah seemed to be calming down now that it knew who the other two were. She was quite glad for this because a couple seconds earlier, it had felt as if she were going to turn then and there. And Summer knew that would NOT be good, especially with the given circumstances. She looked up at Aria and could see that she would be good at law enforcement, even better since she was a cougar and they were usually all power.

As she looked at Anja she could see that she would be good at entomology, especially with being a fly and all. As her phone vibrated she looked to see that her dad had sent her a text. Feeling a smile tugging at the corners of her lips, she replied back quickly. Everything is fine. By eh end of the day I might have a couple friends. The cheetah gave a purr at finding out that their father was worried about how his daughter was.

Remembering that she had asked them a question, she thought it best to answer it also. "My mom kicked me out because of my shift, and she found me this school. But my dad totally accepted it. My mom and I never got along though. Soo.." she ended there. She didn't want to get to into her story right now. Even more so when she hardly knew these girls.

As Summer listened to Anja, she couldn't help but slip away for awhile. Her mind automatically wandering back to the first day she had been in her dad's garage and had helped him fix up a car. Her brother had been there too. Her dad had smeared grease on both of their faces. After they had finished the car and had all cleaned up, their dad had taken them to get ice cream. She had only been 8 and her bro 9. That memory had forever stayed in her mind.

Summer was brought back to the present when Anja started talking about power. Her smile only grew at this. She didn't have much as a cheetah, but what she did have she loved. "The power for me is all running and climbing. But, I love it nonetheless. Plus, I do have some from hunting and such." Summer looked at Aria. "What about you? Your cougar must be really strong." She said trying to keep her voice light. The cheetah was thinking that she didn't like her. Summer partially blamed it on the fact that they were both cats. But that didn't mean she couldn't act nice for the time being.