We may only have tonight {Seren}

With the night settling over Foresta now, Iris had established herself upon a couch in the lounge, holding a crisply folded letter in her hands. It was from Minnie back at the foster home, reading as follows in shaky, faint writing:

Iris,

I tried to tell some applicants about you today! But, we still haven't got any luck.. Powers don't seem to be very pleasing in everyone's minds I suppose, but I love them! I'll try to convince some wealthier, potential parents about you to help afford college and such, so that you could try living on your own! How exciting would that be? Anyways, hope you're doing well, and study hard! Once we prove that you've completed your training at Foresta, there won't be any more issues!

With love,

Minnie

Her eyes scanned over the words over and over again, disappointment washing over her face in successive waves. Was Iris truly that monstrous that the mentioning of abilities frightened away potential parents? How she yearned for the opportunity to prove herself, to finally settle in with those that accepted every aspect of her. She trembled slightly as she continued to reread the statements, before placing it upon her lap with a sigh. As if her studies and socializing wasn't stressful enough, now she had to worry about Minnie trying fruitlessly to recruit interested clients for Iris. And, her alleged insanity also kept others at bay, for though Minnie had suggested a counselor of sorts to speak with her, she'd never accepted, despite the severity of her anxiety.

The girl bit her lip then, recalling the more memorable moments she'd experienced at Foresta Academy so far. From bullies to wild animals, Iris felt that she'd already had her share of surprises, however, it was inevitable that she would encounter more. She was still a bit sore from the blow she'd received with the boys in the cafeteria, but nothing more. Adorned in a simple, white, oversized sweater, dark blue skinny jeans and her combat boots, she crossed her legs over one another, choosing to look over the letter once more to ponder it further. As she read, her hands combed themselves through her long, wavy locks, her emerald eyes slightly narrowed.

"You should really go find her again, she was such a darling." Athena said to Eris as she sat on his shoulder, the young man himself making his way to the student lounge with his messenger bag in hand preparing to get started on some home work. "I'm not going to try and intentionally look for her, we'll cross paths when we can." Eris said to Athena with what suggested a somewhat exasperated tone. When he was by himself it was slightly easier to notice his expression in emotions when it came to talking with the souls.

"You know I actually liked her too," Poseidon said to Eris as he sat peacefully on his other shoulder. It was easier for Eris to practice his power when he used his dolls like this, only actively attempting to keep them in the forms they were given. When it came to them using their powers, that was when his concentration started to falter quite a bit.

Opening the door to the student lounge, Eris looked around the room before noticing the girl that Poseidon, Athena and himself had just been talking about. Even at that she appeared to be the only person in the whole area. "Oh goodie! This is so exciting!" with quite a squeal Athena jumped from Eris's shoulder and somehow managed to land on the ground quite gracefully despite the fact that jumping from his shoulder was almost the equivalent of a human jumping off a twenty foot cliff. This action didn't surprise Eris in the least though and instead the young man moved his arm for Poseidon to stand on, leaning down to allow the male doll to carefully stand on the ground.

Running over to Iris the doll took quite a bit of time attempting to climb up on the couch that Iris was sitting on. "Hello Iris! I'm Athena! I'm one of the souls in Eris's head, it's nice to meet you dear!" the doll exclaimed with quite a bit of excitement.

Having been absorbed in her thoughts, Iris was suddenly shaken back into reality when another person entered the lounge. For a brief moment, apprehension filled her lungs and constricted her chest, as it usually did with strangers, but there was no need for trepidation. Instead, Eris entered, the kind boy that had truly aided her in her time of suffering in the cafeteria not that long ago. Iris smiled gently at him in acknowledgement, before shifting her gaze to the doll that had dashed up to her with an incredible quantity of enthusiasm. She'd already known her name, and oddly enough, sounded familiar.. Like the blindingly bright figure that had defended her before. A polite nod was her answer to the excited soul, beaming and replying shyly, "I-It's n-nice to meet y-you a-as well, M-Miss A-Athena." She was almost certain that she had to address her by Miss, due to her having been more experienced throughout her past life.

Iris' eyes flitted back up to Eris and another doll that slowly waddled off of him, somewhat relieved that it was a recognizable face that had entered. "I-It's good t-to see you a-again, E-Eris," she murmured, smiling at the other doll and feeling quite content. She'd folded the letter and placed it upon her lap, her hands neatly crossed atop it. Encountering someone that actually seemed genuine, even if she wasn't the most social of people, still brought her hints of joy, as if she was delving into an experience she'd missed out on as an adolescent. It cheered her up from her formerly somber mood, and that's exactly what she required.

Finally managing to get all the up on the couch, Athena placed her minuscule hands on the girls thighs and pushed herself up so that she could sit down on the girls leg. "You are so sweet and nice, I think you'd be such a perfect girl for Eris," Athena said to the girl with the tone of a loving mother. Quickly noticing what she was doing, Eris moved to grab Athena from Iris when the doll shoot a flash of light at Eris that the young man dodged with surprising speed. "Don't you even think about grabbing me, Eris! I want to talk with her now." Athena said to Eris stubbornly folding her arms.

On the ground, Poseidon shook his head at the interaction and instead went to looking around the lounge. Eris watched him for a second before returning his attention to Iris. "It's good to see you too," he returned the pleasant small talk with ease. The appearance of the girl didn't do so well as to ease the strange feelings he was having though, as usual though even if he were having unfamiliar feelings the thoughts didn't show too much on his face.

Iris welcomed Athena atop her thighs, finding her to be undeniably charismatic and friendly. It was pleasurable to have friends within one friend, it offered more opportunities for her. However, the doll's next words shocked Iris briefly, having been so clueless with romance before and unsure if this is what she was hinting at. Her cheeks flushed now, unable to speak for a few moments, however she dismissed this as a silly suggestion Athena conjured. Releasing a quiet, nervous laugh, she murmured, "I-I.. U-Um.. I-I wouldn't s-say th-that..." It was the only reply she could formulate on such a short notice, and knowing that it was most likely an embarrassing joke of sorts, she felt somewhat relieved. Eris doesn't feel like that.. It's just absurd, she thought decisively, dismissing the majority of her doubts.

The girl paused abruptly then, watching as Eris' hand flashed forward for a moment, only to be met with an opposing shot of white light. Luckily, he was able to dodge it, quelling Iris' immediate fear. However, now she wondered if it was an affectionate gesture to embarrass him, as Minnie did on occasion to her. Iris shifted her gaze to meet both of them, holding out her hands a bit, and saying, "U-Um.. I-It's o-okay.. Sh-She can s-stay i-if you w-want, Eris, b-but I d-don't w-want y-you t-to feel u-uncomfortable.." Casting an apologetic glance at Athena, the girl bit her lip, unsure of what to do next. As usual, his expression seemed invincibly neutral, and thus she had a bit of difficulty discerning exactly how he felt now, even if his emotions were spiritually available for probing. He had selflessly helped her before, and she still felt as though she was in his debt, and thus it was him who remained at the top of her list of priorities.

Athena smiled pleasantly at the girl, find it absolutely adorable as Iris stuttered. "Eris, isn't she just so cute?" Athena hollered at the boy. "Stop trying to instigate things, Athena." Eris said to the doll, completely avoiding the question all together. Finding a chair, Eris pulled it up a few feet away from Iris and Athena - making sure to keep a careful eye on both Athena and Poseidon. "I'm sorry you have to hear all this," Eris then said Iris - attempting an apologetic look but failing quite miserably. "They don't make me uncomfortable any more, I listen to this kind of stuff daily."

With those words, Athena moved off of Iris and slid off the couch carefully - starting in the direction of Poseidon. "Eris, you just don't know how to charm a girl." Athena stated quite suddenly - grabbing Poseidon by the arm. "Oh, boy here we go." Eris said as he watched the two dolls.

Is she doing what I think she's doing?
We agreed that we could take turns with him!
It was supposed to be my turn next.
I'm going to cut her.

"Athena, please don't." Poseidon waved his arm at the other doll, but in a swift movement Athena angled the two of them to be as if Athena was being held by Poseidon and Poseidon was moving some of her blonde hair behind her ear. The blue doll look dumbfounded and promptly dropped Athena, this action caused Eris to move his hand up to his mouth - while a very feint chuckle drifted out.

Iris wasn't accustomed to so much attention and compliments being thrown her way, causing her features to redden with embarrassment at Athena's words. "I-I.. U-Um," she stuttered, unsure if Eris was comfortable with this. Of course, he dodged the question artfully, which was an incredible weight lifted off of her shoulders. However, with Eris' apology, she only shook her head, flashing him a minuscule smile and murmuring, "I-It's o-okay, a-as long as y-you're a-all right. I-I don't mind, I-I.. I-I enjoy th-the company.." She was truthful in saying that, for she hadn't met such interesting beings before. Their varying personalities had truly captivated her, she'd never been so intrigued and entertained by anyone.. She didn't know that such joys were available when you socialized.

But, it wasn't until Athena gently berated Eris for not knowing how to 'charm' a girl that Iris grew worried. She'd grabbed the male doll and positioned herself in an intimate stance, causing the girl to bite her lip and wonder just what was transpiring. However, Eris appeared rather comfortable and used to it now, so she didn't possess any qualms. The male doll appeared incredibly disquieted at her romantic advances, and hastily let Athena fall upon the ground. Laughter was evident from Eris, and although Iris permitted herself to smile half-heartedly, she reached out her hand in an attempt to place the doll back upon her feet, "A-Are y-you all r-right?" Having not been familiar with them, she didn't feel that she obtained the right to poke fun at her blunder, but offering a comforting hand of support instead. Her other hand remained protectively rested upon the letter on her lap, running her fingertips along its smooth folds.

"That's not how you're supposed to do it, Poseidon!" Athena exclaimed in frustration as she attempted to stand up up - grabbing onto Iris's pinky finger as she pulled herself up. "Thank you, dear. I'll be fine, if you're worried we don't feel actual pain in these dolls - they weren't made for that," Athena replied to the girl in hopes of easing her worries. Poseidon shook his head at Athena, "I didn't want to do anything in the first place." He said to the other doll with grimace.

"I've had this power for a few years now," Eris said to Iris as a passing thought - not bothering to listen to the rest of the souls in his mind for the time being. "They've been stuck in this ring longer than I've been stuck with them though," he then said to the girl, momentarily admiring her hair before glancing away once more. He wasn't sure why he felt the need to hide this, but he suspected that doing anything sudden would mostly likely frighten Iris. Luckily for Eris though, the young man lacked in being a bubbly and out-going person which he suspected would have other wise caused the girl to not want to talk to him.

Releasing a sigh of relief, Iris watched as Athena was able to pull herself up with her finger, smiling at the two dolls as they spoke. It seemed that everything would turn out all right, despite the quarrel that could've transpired between Athena and the other doll. The girl did enjoy watching them, however, before Eris interrupted her thoughts. "S-So you p-probably w-weren't the f-first t-to have th-them, right?" she murmured, trying to engage herself in the conversation, even if it was difficult for her. Now, Iris desired to try and grow closer to those she chose to trust, at least just a little bit. They'd been willing to befriend a person like her, so it was up to her to further that relationship.

For a brief moment, her eyes caught his upon her hair, but she didn't quite understand why. Instead, she presumed that he was just distracted in general. But, it now drew Iris' own gaze to him, causing her to thoroughly examine his colors. He seemed to have gained a few shades of an amiable yellow that battled the calm, cerulean blue and powerful, underlying black tones. Not realizing that she was simply staring at him, Iris murmured, "Y-Yellow.. It's ch-changed.." The girl kept her eyes fixated upon him and the fluctuating colors for a few moments, until she realized with a sharp intake of breath what she'd been doing. "I-I'm sorry!" she said frantically as a humiliated flush heated her cheeks, her gaze now solely upon the letter in her lap. In an attempt to recover herself, she said, "Y-Your.. U-Um... Y-Your colors a-are.. A-Are pleasing t-to look a-at i-is all.." That wouldn't be a lie, since most people had interesting pallets, however she assumed that a compliment might ease his discomfort, if she caused any. And, within the grays and monotones of the rest of the world, a person's personality could be quite beautiful visually.

Eris nodded at Iris's question, from what he understood there had been very few puppeteers before him despite some of the souls having memories every now and then of being from the 1800's and even before then. "I was told that the first person they all inhabited went crazy and killed himself," Eris said to the girl - barely remembering the point in time where he had tried to do the same. As he said this, both Poseidon and Athena were stricken with sad looks. The silence in his head as well made it quite obvious that he had hit a sore spot with the souls.

Things like this though, sadly did not phase the boy as much as it should. The dynamic of his relationship with all of the souls in his mind was every changing, but he imagined if he had grown up with a real and decent family that it might have felt similar. Looking too Iris as she started talking about colors, Eris's brows raised up slightly - the most expression he could currently express when it came to curiosity. "Is that what your power is?" He asked Iris, leaning his cheek on one his hands with his fingers folded. "Oh, Can I guess?" Athena exclaimed suddenly as she started to attempt to climb up the couch once more.

Poseidon instead went over to Eris and without having to look down the young man leaned over and placed his hand out for Poseidon to climb on, soon letting the doll onto his shoulder to sit. "Athena, you shouldn't be so nosy." Poseidon chastised the other doll as he folded his arms across his chest.

Isn't she always though?
Only when it comes to girls.

To Iris' surprise, Eris spoke of something incredibly morbid. That person had.. Commit suicide? Her heart thudded in her chest as she watched him, wondering if he was considering the same fate. Would someone like him really be driven to such drastic measures? Seeing that there were constant voices blaring in his mind, it was understandable, but Iris didn't wish to see him die so young. Silence ensued then, causing the girl to bite her lip and absent-mindedly rub her fingers over the jagged quartz upon her neck, however before she was able to slice through her flesh, she moved her hand to her lap. A few times she'd thought about suicide, due to how miserable she'd been in the past without anyone to rely on other than Minnie, but she was too cowardly to perform the act through. But, now, the young man sitting right before her eyes could be under the same amount of pressure and stress.

Even if she wasn't incredibly outgoing, Iris would feel an indescribably heavy amount of guilt if she didn't at least try to do something. "E-Eris.. U-Um," she began, her eyes fixated upon his, glancing away every now and then, "I-If y-you.. Y-You ever f-feel d-driven t-to such e-extremes.. Y-You c-can a-always talk t-to m-me o-or something, i-if y-you think i-it'll help.." It wasn't just concern that had illuminated within her eyes, but empathy, that she, too, had almost groped at that possibility of immediate release. However, the solemn thoughts were abruptly halted when Eris lofted his brows, actually displaying a genuine expression in front of Iris at her color remark. "W-Well, in a s-sense, yes," she started, however stopping with Athena's interjection and smiling, "O-Of course, g-go on a-ahead." Her gaze drifted back up to Eris, her pulse unable to rest now that the topic of suicide had surfaced. In an attempt to aid Athena in her guessing, she kept her arm lying across her leg with her palms facing upwards, conjuring a small, electric-green hued sphere of energy for the doll to observe.

At Iris's offer to help him if he ever felt suicidal, if Eris had been a naturally expressive person he would have smiled at her. Instead, the young man shook his head "You don't have to worry about me." He said to her simply. Athena and Poseidon who had originally been looking at Eris when this question was asked turned back to Iris. As Iris started to use her power, Athena started to make ooh and aah noises. "You control energy?" Poseidon then asked the girl, beating Athena to the punch. "Hey, I was going to guess that!" the other doll exclaimed.

If it hadn't been for Poseidon mentioning energy though, Eris suspected that he wouldn't have been able to guess. It only seemed logical to him though that the souls have come across way more powers in their day then he had in his own. Having managed to get back on the girls thigh once more, Athena attempted to reach up to touch some of Iris's hair. "What gorgeous hair you have," she said to the girl with pleasant tone. This caused Eris to bring his attention back to the girl, growing even more confused as he felt a small bit of envy over come him.

Really, you're jealous of her?
Don't be rude, Erebus.

Iris was relieved to hear that Eris was all right, and felt the weight of shame lifted off of her. And, to her surprise, Athena guessed spot on what her ability was. She nodded, dispersing the energy at once, "Y-Yes.. B-But, f-for some r-reason, I.. I-I've lost the a-ability t-to see c-colors i-in anything b-but people.. P-Personality t-traits and ch-characteristics b-become d-different hues o-on people.. L-Like E-Eris, y-you're c-calm so you're m-mainly a light b-blue, but th-there are underl-lying black t-tones and y-yellows too. E-Everything e-else, like th-this r-room, th-the sky, t-trees, c-cars, backgrounds.. I-Is gray, white o-or black, f-faded c-colors.." Iris paused then, her long fingers instinctively locating her necklace and relentlessly gnashing themselves against the white crystals, blood now streaming down her palms in an attempt to exert the anxiety she was feeling, "I-I'm s-sorry, I-I must sound p-pretty strange t-to you.." Her gaze returned sadly upon her bloody fingers, having now lowered her hand and watching it with self-loathing.

However, she was wrenched from her thoughts as the doll climbed upon her thigh, moving her mangled fingers away from Athena out of courtesy. Iris felt her face heat up at the compliment, beaming gently as the doll caressed her hair, "I-I.. U-Um, thank y-you." She raised her emerald-hued pair of eyes to Eris once again, noticing some sort of darker emotion glint briefly in his gaze, however she simply peered back over to her hands instead. "I-I don't r-really.. U-Uh... D-Do anything w-with it, n-nor do I-I know h-how to," she murmured with modesty to Athena, having not really thought about the way her hair looked. It just was how it was.

Eris listened to Iris as she spoke, only expressing a slight change in his face as the girl revealed that she could only see people's personalities as colors. As she started to injure her fingers though, without realizing it Eris reached out to grab the wrist of the hand that all the bloodied fingers belonged too. Before he had the chance to say anything though, Athena gasped "Oh, darling! You don't need to do that," she said to the girl, causing Eris to let go of Iris as quickly as he had grabbed her. Poseidon appeared to be unfazed by all of this though, passing no judgement on the girl.

"You don't sound strange," Eris then said with a small shake of his head - making himself comfortable once more in his chair. Athena smiled up at the girl, holding little bits of her hair once more. "I can show you some things, all though it will be difficult for me to do anything for you," she said to the girl.

[ooc; Sorry, I've gone slightly brain dead. ;_; ]

A hand grasped her thin wrist then, causing Iris to jolt to attention. Her eyes locked upon Eris in bewilderment and surprise until he released her, causing her to focus on Athena's worried statement. The girl smiled weakly at them, "I-I.. G-Get nervous, a-and I g-guess I c-can't help it... S-Sorry... I.. I-I promise, I-I'm.. I-I'll try to s-stop, f-for you both. I-I suppose I-I just.. I-I don't really r-realize I-I'm doing it anymore." She gazed down at her mangled fingers for a few moments, never having had someone grab her to prevent her from harming herself.. Their concern for her was an incredibly foreign experience for her, however, Iris was grateful for it nonetheless.

Her eyes ignited at Eris' statement. Nobody had ever truly believed her before, for she was usually dismissed and labelled as mentally unsound. "Y-You really think s-so?" she murmured, her voice uplifting and enthusiastic, "I-I've never h-had someone believe m-me before! Th-Thank you, th-thank you s-so much, E-Eris! M-Maybe n-now I can e-explain i-it to th-the applicants a-at the f-foster home!" The last statement was more or less for herself, but seeing that she'd convinced one person that what she saw was real, perhaps others would agree, which would wave away the rumors of her insanity. A gentle smile remained drawn upon her visage, she began looking down to Athena, "S-Sure, i-if you don't m-mind, I'd l-like that." Iris hadn't felt this jubilant and hopeful in an incredibly long time, or so it seemed. Now, the possibility of a family was closer in her reach. She wasn't even shivering that badly now, if at all, as she gazed upon the blue, young man.