Turn off your mind. [DAPPLED]

"Th-The nurse?" she echoed, tilting her head a bit. Iris had been offered numerous times to go to the nurse due to her often bleeding fingers, but she'd always declined, unsure of how the nurse would treat it. She truly didn't want to go to a counselor or anything, and thus she tensed up a bit in his arms, murmuring to him, "I-Is she.. U-Umm.. N-Nice?" What she really wanted to know was if she was understanding when it came to those like her, especially because at this moment, she'd already sliced her fingertips open again, the blood dripping onto the ground. "I-I'm sorry, s-sir!" she squeaked, feeling evermore guilty as his discomfort became all the more evident. If she wasn't careful, the blood could drip onto him, and thus her sudden urgency. Of course, Iris was able to sense the cerulean boy's emotions on a far deeper level, even if she didn't know his true motive for feeling that way. Her fingers pressed together then, listening intently as he spoke out in anger.

"I-I.. I-I am n-not too b-badly i-injured I-I don't th-think, i-if whoever y-you're t-talking t-to t-told y-you t-to do this, y-you don't h-have to," she murmured, "I-If I g-grow too h-heavy, y-you.. Y-You can p-put me d-down." Iris had offered this now, her eyes fixated upon him. She'd never come in physical contact like this with anyone other than Minnie, and if these were usual circumstances, she would've been quivering violently, but that movement proved to be painful right now. She wondered just who he was addressing, but the way his tone shifted when he was talking to her to when he was speaking to the invisible being, it proved that something else was there, that he didn't direct those words at her.

"I don't know, I've never met her." Eris said to Iris as she asked about the nurse in what appeared to be a very nervous manner. As she apologized to him once more, calling him sir as well - Eris's thinking faltered for a moment. "I'm not that much older than you, am I?" The young man then suddenly asked Iris with a briefly confused expression.

She's just being polite.
She does seem to be an incredibly sweet girl.
She seems annoying now.
You're just rude.

It was when she commented on his talking to the souls, that Eris shook his head slowly at the girl. "I don't have a choice in the matter, they wouldn't leave me alone if I left you alone." Eris briefly explained to the girl. "You're not heavy, either." Eris said to her for what seemed like the second time. Her insecurity didn't bother him too much though, having five people talk in your head constantly usually either made you insane or a very patient person. Eris liked to think of himself more as the latter than the former.

At his statement, she drew in her breath for a moment, just barely permitting shock to fly over her features, "N-No.. I-I j-just... U-Um.." Becoming a bit flustered, she groped for the right words, only able to mutter the occasional "um" as a result. After a few moments of thinking, she was able to sputter, "I-I must a-address th-those I-I don't know b-by m-mister o-or miss, r-right? O-Or i-is that w-wrong? D-Do y-you n-need me to c-call you b-by another t-title?" She only wanted to please the one that now escorted her to the nurse's office, having selflessly aided her without her asking.. It was far too kind for her, especially because she caused him injuries as well indirectly, and thus she wished only to appease him.

She pressed her bleeding fingers together then, listening to him speak about the voices. If she'd had that much company, perhaps she would've been a different person.. Iris envied his ability to have those with him at all times. "Th-They must b-be v-very i-important t-to you. I-It must b-be nice t-to have o-others t-to r-rely a-and t-talk to w-without f-feeling b-burdened," she murmured distantly, biting her lip for a moment once he released his second statement. So, there was no getting out of his arms, then, even if she persisted, for his patience didn't seem to wear thin.

Eris thought for a moment as Iris spoke, asking if he needed her to call him by something else. "My name is Eris," the young man then said - glancing at the girl's face as he said this. He couldn't help but notice that despite being extremely frail looking, the girl he was holding in his arms was quite pretty. At her observation about the souls being important to him, Eris hesitated before speaking. "They were forced upon me," he said to her slowly with quite a bit of inflection in his tone. For once as he spoke, it seemed as if there was suddenly silence in his mind as he reflected upon his past.

"They do know more than I do, since they were humans once." Eris explained to the girl as he walked. "They can't remember if they had powers like us though," he said to her. "My mind is just a jail for them," he then said to her - seeming almost like he was regretful and degrading himself as he said this. "Most people just think I'm crazy when I talk to them, despite this being a school for gifted people," with those words it almost seemed as if Eris was amused by this thought. If he was though, the expression obviously didn't show on his face. "They call this power being a mind puppeteer." Eris finally said, not bothering to ask Iris about her own powers.

"E-Eris.. O-Okay," she murmured, unsure if she should give him her name as well. Didn't those Lons say that it was customary to do so? Even though Iris might not be the most social person, it was still a courtesy for her to introduce herself as well. "I-I.. I-I'm I-Iris," she sputtered, her eyes drawn towards the ground a she said this. Their names almost sounded similar, but that didn't really prove to be anything useful. Iris now knew that he didn't wish to be addressed as "sir" any longer, and thus wouldn't intend on doing so.

She listened intently to his next words, not noting that he'd glanced at her but instead remaining solely focused on his explanation. Mind puppeteer? she thought, biting her lip and frowning as he spoke of being considered insane. Many times she had been labelled with that same, disgraceful title, and could empathize with Eris. His cerulean hue gained a few undertones of a suffering, misunderstood black streaks, which created a unique pallet of colors, causing her to mumble the words "blue" and "black" under her breath. "I-I do n-not think y-you're c-crazy," she breathed, "I-It's l-like a f-family.. Y-You're all s-stuck with o-one a-another, s-so y-you have t-to tolerate a-and c-compromise t-together.. O-Or n-not, I-I'm s-sorry." She'd doubted herself now, causing the habitual apology to seep into her next sentence. Now, Iris truly wished to have a similar ability, where it wasn't just for causing harm to others. And, it seemed that Eris wasn't as intimidating to her as the rest of the students in Foresta were, so that she could speak a bit more without feeling too frightened. She spoke softly then, half to herself, though, "I-I'd gladly t-take p-powers th-that didn't j-just h-harm others.. Th-Then, I-I could h-have h-had a f-family a-as well." Iris' gaze lingered in the distance as she uttered this, knowing that if that were true, perhaps a family would've been more inclined to adopt her earlier.

As Iris revealed her name to him, Eris nodded momentarily - making his way up some stairs as they grew closer to reaching the nurse's office. As she mumbled some words that sounded like colors to him, Eris looked away from Iris until she started to speak more clearly again. "That's an interesting way of looking at it," Eris then commented at her observation of the souls in his mind being like family. Then again, Eris felt he had a little misconstrued notions about his own family - the issues with his father seeming like a distant horrible memory now. At what sounded like a wish to have a family, Eris shook his head at the girl. "Family is not as great as you think it is."

Don't discourage the girl, Eris.

"I'm just stating opinions." Eris replied suddenly, his tone suggesting once again that he was talking to someone that wasn't there.

I know you are, but can't you tell she didn't have a family?

Eris paused and looked back at Iris once more, considering this thought before he continued walking. "The souls aren't actually in my mind, they are in a ring I can't remove which connects with my mind." Eris then said too Iris - attempting to stray the conversation away negative points. Instead thinking that just pure information would leave the conversation to be very unemotional.

People don't think like you do.

"Th-They aren't?" she murmured in response to his comment about families, tensing up as he carried her up the stairs. She bit her lip, instinctively gripping onto the collar of his shirt out of trepidation. Once she realized what she'd been doing, she released her clutch, murmuring a brief apology and looking away from Eris. At his next words, she spoke softly, "I-It's okay, I-I respect y-your opinion.. You've h-had m-more e-experience than m-me anyways." It wasn't that she was angry at him, but based on his change in tone, she could inference that he was defending himself from a voice or soul in his head. So, Iris decided that she would reassure him that he wasn't wrong in sharing his thoughts.. In fact, it was nice that he had the confidence to say so. Offering him a brief smile, she had to wonder what type of people these souls were.

As they continued on, she winced as she attempted stretching out her body ever so slightly, grasping the top of his shirt out of habit. Her expression partly resumed its neutral state once he spoke again, nodding. "I-I don't th-think that a-anyone w-wants p-powers, r-really.. Th-They're m-more of a c-curse than a b-blessing, s-seeing that th-the ring i-is bound t-to y-you." Her eyes drooped slightly for a moment, a wave of exhaustion coursing through her. Speaking this much and enduring the emotional stress that socializing and bullying created took a lot out of her. "S-Sorry," she mumbled, unsure of why she was apologizing, but feeling her head start to lean to the side upon the young man's chest. Now, she was a bit distant, her eyes glassy with fatigue.

The few times Iris gripped his shirt, Eris felt some color rise into his face each time - causing him to try and turn his face away from Iris as much as possible. The sensation was a strange feeling to him, after all Eris had never had a crush on a girl much less experienced infatuation despite getting so close to becoming an adult in society's eyes. He chose to ignore Iris commenting on how he had more experience, but instead started to notice the nurse's office just a little bit farther ahead as he walked. "Despite that, I think I like being here much more than where I could have been without the ring." Eris then said to her - warranting quite a few joyous sounds from Athena and Gaia.

Was that you flirting?
Oh, yes I'm pretty sure he was flirting.
This is so fun!
Ladies, would you please calm down.

Finally reaching the nurse's office, Eris stood in front of the door and looked down at the girl in his arms. "Here we are." He said to her in a peaceful tone. Realizing that he didn't necessarily feel the desire to let go, the young man shook himself out of it and moved to set Iris down on her feet and open the door to the office in the process. "I'll leave you here, if that's alright with you?" Eris asked the fragile girl - having a strange sensation that she would be upset if he left her too suddenly.

Having never experienced romance in the least, seeing that the boys she'd typically been around were quite young, his words only confused her a little bit, especially with the emotion behind it. In fact, every time he turned away with a flush in his features, she presumed he was just tired from carrying her. Iris tilted her head innocently then, gazing up at him and murmuring, "I-I'm glad y-you l-like it here, even w-with y-your powers. Y-You deserve h-happiness, E-Eris." Offering him a brief smile, Iris wondered what the voices said now, seeing that they could probably speak whenever they wished.

Of course, it was impossible for Iris to even consider that someone viewed her in a more-than-friends way, but she still appreciated Eris' kindness towards her. Once they arrived at the Nurse's Office, Iris was placed upon the ground, her legs trembling as she attempted to regain her footing. She nodded her head at his request, feeling a bit odd with the absence of his arms. Why did she feel like that? "P-Please, don't let m-me keep y-you. Th-Thank y-you s-so much, E-Eris," she said, leaning heavily on the wall to keep herself up. Now, she beamed softly, not feeling as frightened as she had been earlier. She was completely oblivious to his true feelings for her, but that didn't mean she didn't like him.

"Thank you," Eris replied automatically as a girl that he had only meet just an hour or two earlier had told him that he had deserved sweetness. Feeling just a bit overwhelmed by the sweetness, the young man started to make a move to leave. Nodding as she excused him, Eris quickly opened the door to the nurse's office so whoever was in side would notice Iris - having a feeling that she might walk away instead of actually going into the room. "See you later," Eris said to the girl as he walked away realizing that he wasn't really sure if he would indeed see her later. Some part of him hoped that he would and another part regretting saying the words all together.

[OOC; I am assuming the thread is now dead. ]