A new arrival part 2

Mika continued to follow Sheridan and Ash to the Pyxis dorms.  She smiled lightly at Sheridan's claims at not being a very good teacher.  "You might have to let a student make that declaration.  You could be great and not even know it."

Watching the two interact, Mika couldn't help but smile.  A soft almost musical laugh escaped the girls lips as she watched Ash make his feelings on the conversation between the two teens.  She rested two fingers against her lips as if to hide the warm laugh.  Ash certainly didn't seem to be shy about expressing his opinion.

As they drew up to the dorm itself Mika's expression lit up slightly upon Sheridan's offer.  "You could?  I really would appreciate it."  In the last 8 years she had no one who would even acknowledge that she had abilities.  Anything she had done had been at her own discretion.  The times she had tried, she had struggled to handle more simple applications of her abilities.  It had always been like the she had been hard coded to go aggressive with her powers, as much as she had wanted to hold back.  However any reason behind this was always clouded to her.  This often resulted in her neglecting her powers as a whole, as she had never wanted to cause trouble at the orphanage.

The prospect of being able to talk and learn from someone else who understood her abilities had the girl so wrapped in her thoughts that she had forgotten completely that she was still carrying her belongings.

Something about her laugh made Sheridan's heart stop in his chest. It had been a long time since he had heard such a sound. Since his sister had been with him. Her voice was happy--she was happy. And that made the world seem less cold, if only for a moment.

He was so engrossed in her laugh and her presence in general that he hardly noticed that they had reached their destination. He was brought back down to earth by Ash stopping once again. He blinked, resuming his normal stony countenance. "Look at that. We're here." He tried to get his bearings. "Wait here," he told Mika. Ash guided him down the hallway a few more paces, Sheridan's hand gliding across the wall as they walked. Suddenly, he felt it. "Here's my room." The familiar number he had been assigned a few short days ago, etched in Braille on the placard next to his door. He remembered when Nadie had reviewed the language for the blind with him. The cold days and nights spent in her cabin, with only the fire and Ash for warmth. His forest home was far different from this academy. "Your room's bound to be around here somewhere too."

It took Mika a moment to realize that Ash nnd Sheridan had come to a stop.  Due to this she almost bumped into Sheridan, but managed to stop herself with several inches to spare.  She nodded as he told her to wait, watching the two locate his room.  She smiled and made a mental note of the room number.  

"So if your room is there, mine might be...." She hummed lightly as she looked at the door on the wall opposite of Sheridan's room.  After a few moments of searching she found the room she had been assigned.  It was just a few doors up from Sheridan's room.  "I think this is it.". She said setting her bags by the floor.

He heard her footsteps move to the opposite wall; she hummed softly as she walked. 'I think this is it,' she said. And he heard the soft thud of luggage being put on the ground. He noted that her room wasn't that far away from his.

"I'd offer to carry some of that stuff in for you, but I think I'd be more of a hindrance than a help," said Sheridan, his tone self-deprecating. He extended a hand to find the opposite wall in the hallway. Search successful, he moved to lean against it, Ash following and settling at his feet. He could practically hear Nadie berating him for not attempting to help the girl, at least. "I dunno, maybe I can help somehow."

Mika reached instinctively for the outward facing lock on the door.  There had always been such a lock on her door in the orphanage, and it took the girl a moment to realize that there wasn't something like that here.  A sad smile twitched across her lips for but a moment as she once again realized what the caretakers at the orphanage had thought of her.

She was shaken by her thoughts as she heard the sound of Sheridan and Ash approaching behind her.  Turning to him with a warm smile she pushed the door open to her new home.  "I don't have a ton of belongings, just two duffels and my violin, but I certainly wouldn't turn down help if you were offering."  She carefully picked up the violin case and one of the duffel bags at her feet, setting it on her shoulder careful that each made a sound.  She then walked through the threshold of the door into the room.

"Ash, forward," murmured Sheridan to his guide. The dog obediently led him over to the remaining piece of luggage. The boy bent to pick it up, slinging it over his shoulder. Just like gathering wood back home, except a lot less of freezing-your-ass-off outside. "Inside, bud." Ash led him into the dorm room, looking around at the interior in curiosity. It looked rather like Sheridan's room, except his possessions were neatly packed away on and within various shelves and drawers.

"Eh, where d'you want me to put your bag?" Sheridan asked, feeling rather out of place. He shuffled his feet awkwardly. He could hear Mika nearby, but remained where he was.

Mika looked around the room as she crossed the threshold.  The room, despite being a standard dorm room, seemed cozy to the winged girl.  A warm looking bed against the wall, a nice looking desk and chair, with a closet in the side wall.  The room had to be twice the size of the one she had spent the last 8 years in.  Without thinking she ran her hand over the desk with a small smile before setting the violin case down.  

As she hear Sheridan enter with Ash she turned around with a bright smile. "I believe that bag can just be set  by the closet, I will unpack that later."She was quite sure the bag he was holding was the one with her clothes, which would be a touch embarrassing to unpack in front of him.  After setting her own bags down to be unpacked later she walked to the window.  She pushed the panes open, letting the soft breeze fill the room.  Turning back to Sheridan with a warm smile she pulled the desk chair out offering it or the bed as a place for him to sit.   "Thank you for helping me.  Both with my bags and helping me get to the dorm.  I probably would have wandered around for a long time otherwise." Her voice was warm, divulging the smile in her stormy eyes.

It was then that Sheridan remembered that he was blind, and that the information was thus useless to him. "The closet? Well, that infomation would be useful if I could see. I may have forgotten that," he said, setting the bag down where he stood. He made no indication that he had seen her gesture to sit down for obvious reasons. He heard the creak of a window being opened and the teasing entrance of a breeze. The wind held signs of the coming of spring, a fact that did not escape him.

She thanked him. "Don't mention it. Someone else would've come along and helped you if I hadn't." The words felt strange in his mouth, perhaps because he was finally following Nadie's advice of reaching out to others. Advice that she had no right to give, in his opinion, seeing as she had been a stubborn recluse.

At Sheridan's comments Mika stopped for a moment and frowned slightly.  She dug her fingertips into her palms as she felt the blood rush into her face in embarrassment.  Immediately worried that she had said something stupid, she bit her lip.  She certainly hadn't meant to say or do anything to make Sheridan uncomfortable, she had just been treating him like anyone else.  She hadn't necessarily thought through her actions, and she kicked herself.  Shaking her head softly the frown was replaced with the same smile as before as he set the bag down.  "That works well enough.  I'm going to have to sort through my belongings later anyways."

At his second comment she couldn't help but shake her head.  "Whether it is something anyone else would do or not, I still appreciate it."  She leaned against the side of one of the beds in the room, her wings stretched out behind her.  "Between that and offering to help me with my abilities, I'll definitely owe you."  She let her fingers trace over the mattress for a moment, quite sure she'd have no idea what to do to repay him in the long run, but she'd have to think of something.

Sheridan couldn't see the turmoil of Mika's embarrassment, but Ash certainly could. He stepped forward with a concerned whine, unknowingly dragging Sheri with him. He worried that the human girl might hurt herself as his master did when he was upset. Sheridan grunted in surprise as he was jerked forward. "Ash, what're you doing?" Of course the dog didn't answer, and the boy dismissed his best friend's strange behavior.

At her next words, he shook his head adamantly. "You don' owe me nothing."

(ooc: I'm sorry it's so short D: )

At Ash's concerns gesture Mika shook herself out of her spiraling thoughts.  Her hands relaxed allowing her fingers to pull back from her palms.  A few red indernt were all that remained of her action, though none were so deep as to draw blood.  As the two approached the girl instinctively held out her hand again to Ash, scratching at his ears if he would allow it.  A fragile smile setteed over her lips at the dogs concern, quite sure it was one of the actions most full of care towards her, intended or not, that she had ever experienced to her memory.

She smiled and loosed a soft laugh at the adament gesture.   "Fine if you insist, but you may have some random acts of kindness headed you way."

Ash visibly relaxed when Mika released her painful-looking grip on her hands. He closed his eyes happily as she petted his head. She scratched his ears this time--the best spot, in his opinion.

"I . . ." Sheridan's mind was spinning. "If you insist . . ." Kindness? No one was supposed to be kind to him. He didn't deserve it, he wasn't . . . kindness was the last thing that should be shown to him. Of course the girl didn't know. She would learn soon enough. He took an instinctive step backward, gritting his teeth as his mind threatened to rip itself apart yet again. His stoic expression betrayed nothing of the battle raging within. A simple fucking statement and the light and dark use it as an excuse to go to war again, he thought grimly.

As Ash closed his eyes Mika smiled softly.  As long as he would let her keep scratching at his ears she would.

The girl grinned lightly at Sheridan's acceptance that she would want to do something to repay him, and nodded to herself assuredly.  Seeing him step back she tilted her head slightly, her long silver logs tumbling softly over her left shoulder.  Unsure as to the reason, she started to wonder if she had been keeping him from something.  She bit her lip softly, but smiled none the less.   "Well I will definitely have to come to you when you are free for those tips you spoke of.  I should probably take a few minutes to settle into my dorm room though.  Maybe put a few things away.  Could I come find you again later though?"

Ash stepped back, returning to his master's side and looking up at, as if sensing his inner turmoil.

The boy rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously, berating himself silently. He almost missed what Mika said. Oh, she wanted to see him again later. He shrugged--it wasn't like he was doing anything. "Sure." He knew the conversation had come to an end, and reached out a hand to search for the handle of Ash's harness. He found it, and turned to leave. "See you later," he said over his shoulder as he exited, the door closing softly behind him.

Mika smiled and waved at the two as they left.  She stood still for a moment thinking.  It would take her a while to get used to this new place, but it was nice to know there were people she could actually talk too.  With that she went about unpacking and settling in, humming softly to herself.

-end