Unfortunate for me, I couldn't afford to be fortunate.

Fiddling with the keys in her pocket, Serenity felt around the door knob to the door that belonged to the classroom that she never used. After a minute the woman finally unlocked the door, letting out a harsh cough at the sudden onslaught of dust. "What the hell, janitors." Serenity mumbled to herself in an irritated tone. As far as she was aware, Serenity was told that she was going to help out a young girl with her powers. The same young girl that she had accompanied from the Port to the school. Knowing that the kid was blind, Serenity was even more annoyed - wondering how much the dust would affect Cecilia since it had caused Serenity to react violently. Shaking her head, the teacher tapped around the classroom a bit before finding her desk which had been shoved up against a wall.

Taking off her jacket, since the room itself was warm - Serenity laid it on her desk and went to finding some chairs. She couldn't remember the kids power, or if anyone had told her what it was in the first place. At most they would be sitting for the first half of this, Serenity had planned that much. Finding the chairs then, Serenity picked them up and moved them over near her desk - setting on chair to the side of her desk and the other in front of it. A little unusual since most teachers typically preferred to sit behind their desk. Leaning back, Serenity folded her legs and proceeded to pop her knuckles along with her neck and back. She hadn't gone to work out today so the woman was feeling just a bit restless.

    An entry into a room must be grand and impressive. It must have an impact. When others are waiting on you, they should not doubt when you have arrived. They will remember the very moment you make your entrance for all the awe you bestow upon them.


    Unfortunately, Cecilia lacked regal servants to command. No one to open the doors for her, so that she would enter unhindered and glorious. There would be no fanfare for her arrival, either. Though, she would insist such a thing had been unnecessary if granted to her; all while secretly delighting in the power it granted. But no, not today. Not at Foresta.

    The creak of the door came with shuffling feet and a soft grunt, an ancient castle's wooden doors resisting movement with apathetic lethargy. This was no light effort, nor one worthy of glory and praise. Merely a half struggle worth a moment's embarrassment. There would be no grand entrance today. Only Serenity Hikaru waited within, and any visual display of grandiose presence would undoubtedly be lost on that one.
    Cecilia Vega suppressed her sound as she passed the door, straightening herself prim and proper as the door slammed with a shoulder-shrinking reverberation. Silence filled the room, even the noise from in the hall had been completely cut off now. Damage done, the only sound to follow would be a young girl's deep sigh.
    And a coughing fit.

    Not a grand entrance at all.


    "Ms. Hikaru?" She composed, doubt and dust in her voice. How could any room be this filthy? Had Toño been right? Had Foresta become such a deplorably lower-class establishment that they did not even notice dust this thick? Or had she merely entered through the wrong door?

The young girls entrance wasn't hard to miss, after all it sounded very similar to how Serenity had walked into to the room - with lots of coughing. "Yes, I'm here." The teacher finally said after a seconds delay, standing up and walking over to the young girl. "You've probably already noticed the horrible state of this room. I don't ever use it for my classes so I guess that janitorial staff doesn't consider it important to come and clean it." It was obvious the annoyance in her voice as she explained this, "I figured it'd be better for our first meeting to be in a classroom setting though."

Stopping for a moment, Serenity angled herself in such a manner that it would seem as if she were looking down at Cecilia - much like how a taller person would look down at a shorter person just to see them better.

"I set out some chairs for us to sit in for now, would you like me to guide you over to them or would you prefer to that yourself?" The question was asked lightly enough, since it didn't matter to Serenity either which way with what the young girl decided.

     Probably already noticed? The girl thought indignantly. As if her inability to breathe could have possibly gone unnoticed. Still, it were not as though the fault were with Serenity, but Cecilia remained quite aware of what her father would do to neglectful staff. 

     "I am not so helpless that I need such attention, Ms. Hikaru. I believe you understand." Cecilia spoke with a level tone, as if addressing a subordinate, yet reasoned with the instructor based on their familiarity. An offering of some equal ground, perhaps.

     When Serenity turned to make her way to her desk, Cecilia instinctively searched outward with her hands before following. The faint padding of Serenity's steps on the hard floor did not echo, offering only the slightest indication of where to follow. Nevertheless, while aiming to follow the instructor's exact footsteps, Cecilia did not want to risk meeting a desk or chair unexpectedly. For her talk, how embarrassing would it be to walk into something now?

     After a clear moment's silence, a searching, shuffling sound filling the room, Cecilia took her seat across from Serenity. She smoothed out, reflexively and by habit, the wrinkles in her dress. She sat quietly. The silence overtook the room again, only the pair's soft breathing could be heard. To any others, that, too, would hardly be noticed.

     The dust, still tickling at her throat, had become so concentrated that the young girl did not doubt her dress had been dirtied by it. The seat must have been coated in months worth of neglect. The mere concept of such filth filled her with disgust, but she allowed herself only a grimace in reaction.

     The air remained stagnant, unused and without circulation. The room held nothing of a truly detestable odor. No mold, or rot, or otherwise. Just dry, slightly warmer than room temperature air.

     She had never been so uncomfortable in her life.

The haughty sort of way that Cecilia seemed to be acting either escaped Serenity, or she had decided to ignore it. Nodding, despite the fact that Cecilia wouldn't see the mannerism anyway - the teacher moved back to her chair with ease. Cecilia managed to find the seat and all that was left was silence, something that didn't seem to cause much discomfort in Serenity.

"Well, to start everything off I'd like to ask you first Cecilia what do you want out of your power?" Serenity leaned back as she asked her question, moving to make herself more comfortable. "Some people want strength, some want knowledge... others just want peace. Understanding yourself is a key part of understanding your power."

To some students, it was unusual to see a teacher who was such the fighter type to go on about self-reflection. Indeed, it was a strange concept that Serenity herself had to learn how to understand. "My second question is do you like having your power, or do you dislike it?" The second question easily could have been asked first, but the teacher preferred asking it as a follow-up question - made things a little easier to her in a manner.

    Cecilia Noelle bit back her answer. She would have certainly spoken with condescension and she doubted 'I want it to be useful' would have been an acceptable answer. But by impulse? It certainly remained true. She took another second to realize that she had never even thought of the question before. Not like that. It gave her such a pause, she nearly failed to comprehend the rest of what Serenity had spoken.
    Well, self-reflection did not appear to be Cecilia's strong suit. For all the time she spent in her own head, much of it had been dedicated to memorizing data and judging the people around her. Faults and ambitions. No growth of knowledge or wisdom, but facts and manipulation.

    "I see," She lied, giving the ironic statement a speculative tone. A delay tactic, and in a way, an acknowledgement of what had been said. Best not to keep Serenity waiting in long seconds of silence.

    What I want? Confusion etched her facial features as she searched herself blindly. Blind to the world and to self, apparently. She did not even know what to ask, where to pry, or how to start. That's a lie, her subconscious responded. If Serenity Hikaru wished to manipulate you, she would know the way to do it.

    This suddenly made the young Vega uneasy, mentally recalling as much as she could of this conversation and all previous. Everything she had perceived since arriving at Foresta. Could any of it be used against her? But this time, she knew what to look for. What could be used against me? It was the same question she would point at another person that she wished to control or subvert. How would I be manipulated?

    Toño.

    Cecilia's father held great influence over her. She desired simply to be seen as worthy of being his daughter. A task, she found, had been expected of her even in blindness. Even with a power that manifested as simply as foul smells.
    She briefly recalled her encounter with Hunter Livas.
    Or nice ones.

    All of this critical thinking and self-reflection. Had it taught her anything? Her initial thought had been true, for rather more distant reasons than personal ones. She wished for her power to be useful, so that she would be of worth to her family. What else could there be? But that still did not answer the real question. It took a rare moment of discernment to recognize that.

    If I had been born with a different power, any other power, what use would I have for it?

    Only half a minute had passed since her empty reply before the idea finally hit her, "To get what I want." The rest proved easy, "I cannot properly describe the elation that had overcome me upon discovering the first hint of my power. I was hungry for it and worried I would not possess any useful talent." A short pause, thinking back to her initial, unspoken thought, "Still worried."

Serenity wasn't surprised at Cecilia's response, she had gotten a similar answer from a few kids before. Searching her memory though, the teacher was finally able to recall a conversation she had had with the Headmistress about Cecilia's power. "If I remember correctly, your power has to do with the senses right? How far have you gotten with what you can do?" It was necessary for Serenity to ask these questions just to get a firm grasp on where to start the specialized power training. Plus, if Cecilia could affect the senses in the some manner - it was almost perfect that both of them were blind. The effectiveness of her power could shine through much easily in the presence of a person who had refined all of her senses except for her vision.

"It's okay if you haven't gotten to far with learning how your power works, after all I'm assuming that's why you're here. Depending on when you discovered that you had a power, sometimes it takes people until adult-hood and even later to have a grasp on their power - much less an understanding." Serenity looked thoughtful for a moment, remembering her childhood and how her power had come so natural to her. People had been fascinating to her back then when she could see, nowadays it seemed that the only people she enjoyed was her students and even at that they could be annoying from time to time.

    "There has been little progress on my own part, despite my attempts of experimentation on surrounding students. I know the feeling when I direct my influence upon an individual. I know that it is taking hold, and am rewarded most often by an audible reaction." She paused a moment, evaluating. "This is only true when targeting the sense of smell. So far, I have not been able to feel it in the same way when focused on another sense. Either I do not possess it, or it will not be enacted through the same exact..." She lingered there, unable to find words for it.
    It felt a certain way when she proved successful. That feeling varied very little, almost indiscernably, when aiming for a separate effect. The difference between prompting a stench and faking an alluring aroma would be difficult for her to explain in words. Similar enough that she knew her focus had been the 'nose'. Different enough to know they would elicit opposite reactions.

    Now that she thought about it, she wondered why she had not yet tested nullifying a person's sense of smell entirely. Surely, that would be a noticeable effect, would it not?

    Little did she know, hallucinations were not illusions. Even if she proved successful, it would be unlikely for the subject to even identify a missing scent. Not without breaking the effect in the process.

    "It may feel different. It may not. I do not know the specifics. How much of my power is intuition, and how much will be knowledge based?" These were rhetorical questions, left hanging in the air. She knew better than to expect a knowing, comprehensive answer.

Serenity listened to the girl speak, pondering on how much more she could help Cecilia. From how she explained it, it seemed as though she had only ever tried to affect a persons sense of smell. "You say that when you use your power on someone you can tell? Is it only by someone saying something or do you feel a difference in yourself? If that's the case, have you ever considered trying other senses besides smells?" It had taken ages for Serenity to become even somewhat of a thoughtful woman, in truth if she wasn't teaching here she probably would have told the girl to just use her power all the time.

She couldn't do that now though and in truth it made more sense for a student to understand what they were doing before they went all crazy using whatever power they had. Leaning back in her chair briefly, Serenity listened for any movements from the girl in front of her besides what she was saying out loud. Back when it mattered to her, she used to be able to actively copy peoples body language - being blind though now, that part of her power was sadly lost with her interaction with new people unless she could listen (but even at that, her power would never be as effective in that area as it had been before).

    "I told you," She pleaded, no measure of elegance in her voice, though if either could make use of facial expressions there would be no doubt of her irritation. "I have tried other senses! But such attempts never felt the same, nor did I receive confirmation in a way I am accustomed." She gave a lengthy pause to catch her breath and contain her exasperation. She had just given all pertinent facts as deliberately as she could, but perhaps her vocabulary, in an effort to be exact, had confused the instructor. In a moment, her intensity faded and she regained the quiet serenity so thoroughly trained into her psyche.

    Cecilia's perception of Serenity's intelligence lessened, just a hair. Enough to trouble the young girl, but not enough to dismiss any further advice the woman might have. What other choice did she have, in any case?


    "Yes," She spoke clearly in response, as if her outburst had never occurred. "I have considered using my ability on other senses, but I have failed so far in dete-" She paused a half second to adjust her wording, an effort to match Serenity's supposed intelligence, "I do not know if it works or not." Constrained by this new limit to not use an extensive vocabulary, she decided that this explanation would take much longer than should be necessary. So there was another small pause while she worked out a proper way to do it.

    "Imagine that each of a person's senses are guarded by a lock. I can forge a key for the nose's lock, and I can feel through that contact when the lock opens. Ignoring anything else, that is how I know that it worked. In regard to the other senses, I feel like I only fumble in the dark for the keys, and can never be sure if I even have one in my hand." With this way of looking at it, two ideas came to mind, though she had no way of knowing if either were accurate. "It seems I have not figured out how to make the key for any sense other than smell, and even if I did, I am not sure that I know the lock well enough to make it fit."

Serenity listened to Cecilia, pursuing her lips as the young girl exclaimed that she had already told her that she had tried with other senses. It wasn't as if she was completely ignoring the girl, it just seemed as though that her mind occasionally thought about other things. She could understand though, the way the girl described to her how she felt about her own power. If she had to break down her own, it would make sense to do it in such a way. "Well, to put this simply - the only way to know is if you try. I wasn't planning on having you use your power today, but since we've already gotten to this point now is a good as time as any." Serenity leaned forward slightly in her seat, as if in preparation for what would come next. "I know you just explained to me that you do not believe you can effect other senses, but despite that I would like for you to try. 'Specifically with my sense of hearing."

It was curious to Serenity how her power would effect her hearing since listening was practically her way of seeing. Would her power make her sense things around her that weren't actually there? It was a bit of a risk, putting herself out there for this young girl to try her power on - but in Serenity's mind at least it wasn't as bad as telling someone they could throw a fireball at you or look into your past.

    "I have tried," Muttered the girl, folding her hands into her lap. She had no way to get through to this woman, but of course the only reason to even be here would be to expand and refine her abilities. So, with that, she supposed she had little choice in the matter. Serenity's proximity could be felt through heat, which made Cecilia slightly uncomfortable. She had to remind herself that the older woman was definitely not looking through her. Something that might have been construed as invasive. The young girl withheld a reflex to lean away; not like she could go anywhere, anyway.


    "Right. Of course, I can try." She almost sounded indignant. To say she did not believe in the scope of her powers would be inaccurate. She simply hadn't been certain. "I just... Give me a minute?"

    How had she first used her power? When the ability to construe someone's sense of smell to her whim manifested, how did she discover it? And how did she know it worked?
    The answers escaped her. Backpedaling mentally, Cecilia sought what she did know. Perhaps there were similarities there she could make use of.

    "An aroma is merely a volatile molecule." Cecilia's tone seemed to suggest that she was merely reassuring herself of the fact. "The nose detects and identifies these molecules through a string of olfactory tissues and synaspes, which connect to a localized cortex that associates with the limbic system." Many more terms for the specifics were clearly present in her thoughts, but she doubted Serenity would have the patience to have a full breakdown of how the senses worked. However, Cecilia mostly spoke aloud to process the information herself. "The Hippocampus associates smells with memory and the Amygdala experiences and expresses the emotion."

    "Test one."

    Her focus shifted suddenly, concentrated on Serenity's proximity to target the exact position of her nose. Thankfully, this sort of thing could be done over a distance. With the intent to be 'gentle', Cecilia aimed to recreate the scent of a strange flower she had come across one day. It would undoubtedly trigger a pleasant, relaxing, and oddly euphoric sensation, but nowhere near the effectiveness of the original. And unlike most scents, it had no particular smell to it at all.

    The more she thought about it, the more she could feel the exact effect she was pushing through. And the more intense that effect became. "No scent, correct? Only a sensation. So, I do not cheat the olfactory nerves into detecting a specific smell. I cannot mimic molecules. I believe it would be impossible to be consistent with the intended result otherwise; everyone has different preferences." She reasoned, sitting back in her seat, pondering her dilemma.

    "I think I target the Amygdala through your olfactory cortex, though my lack of understanding that clearly did not stop it from working before. I could be tricking the olfactory receptors into sending false signals..." She remained silent for a moment, before letting out a small groan of frustration. "I've been approaching it all wrong! If I do not produce molecules for you to smell, than stimulating your eardrum with the idea of vibrations is completely amiss! How did I not notice this?"

It wasn't like she was intentionally not listening to the girl, it had just always been hard for Serenity to grasp the idea that some children had a harder time with their powers as opposed to as when she did when she was younger. As the girl talked, Serenity stayed silent as well - it seemed to her that Cecilia was trying to talk herself through her own power. She waited, all the way up until the point that Cecilia stated test one and proceeded to lean back as she felt what seemed to be a pleasant smell come to her nose.

It was strange at first since the woman wasn't familiar with such a smell, at least compared to the smells she had experience recently in her life. "That's a start," Serenity finally said after few minutes of silence - having been surprised by Cecilia's power. "Cecilia, I'm gonna go ahead and cut this meeting short. I think I've figured out what I need to know to help you when we meet up next." Serenity then started to say, moving to stand up.

    Cecilia's brow furrowed gently, mostly masked by the blindfold she wore about her eyes. The feeling of its presence there had become such a natural thing over the years that she no longer even registered it - unless it were specifically fussed with, which happened to be a rare thing. The cause for concern had been Serenity, the young girl could feel the body heat recede in reaction to her power display. In her own response, she ended the connection prematurely to process her own thoughts, speaking aloud of things she simply did not understand.

    In a moment of silence, Cecilia attempted 'Test two,' which had the audacity to expect to do what Serenity had initially asked of her. She focused. Her power sought. It groped blindly. She grew with comprehension.
    It had never been about finding the right key. The sense of hearing did not have a lock. Well, to put it more specifically, the auditory cortex did not use a detectable pattern at all similar to the olfactory cortex. Given that the sense of hearing connected directly to the brain and thus did not pass through the Amygdala akin to the sense of smell, she would never affect the sense of hearing if her power only focused on that part of the brain. If that were true, however, she should be capable of much more impressive mind altering abilities than simply 'Smell something bad'.
    If she were not mistaken, she had influenced the Amygdala. Only, that required some dependence on the Hippocampus, also. Maybe. So, had she tweaked them both? Or had she played the olfactory nerve like a harp and, with unfathomable intuition and by some weird extension of intent, manipulated both of those brain bits to her command?

    Merely thinking about the complexity of what she found herself potentially capable of drove her mad with frustration. It was all so completely illogical, yet the use of it felt so natural when it worked. Is the sense of smell really all I am capable of? My conduit? What a joke.

    Still, if she could play the olfactory nerve like an instrument, perhaps the same could be said of the auditory nerve. Was it that simple? And yet, still, so complex that none of her other tries had worked? Maybe...
    Her thoughts trailed as she focused, crafting an image of Serenity before her. Her mind's eye only bothered to indicate what had proved important, the sensory systems and their connections to the brain. A lot of holes in that, she realized. Perhaps she should focus on Anatomy more often. Still, there was a feeling there, as she tried to access and manipulate the woman's hearing. Somehow, it felt just out of reach. Like a broken line in an electrical system. If she could only patch it. Touch it and connect processes.
    Her hand raised tentatively, she could almost feel it.

    Serenity's voice startled Cecilia, who had been so entranced with her own exploration that she immediately flushed with embarrassment and dropped her hand to her lap. "Wha- But..." The connection vanished. She could not feel it anymore. Rather than anger, she felt a deep pain, and could hardly register her external surroundings.
    Somehow, Cecilia had moved autonomously, likely at another's direction (one guess as to who that was), and found herself in the cool, significantly fresher (but not outdoorsy) air. Where the room previous had been absolutely, painfully silent, the noise of student chatter and footsteps permeated everything. It was an unendurable spike of stimulation, combined with her internal confusion and pain, which sent her running off, quite literally, blindly.