. any way the wind blows . Rohan

The first thing Lacey noticed when she walked into the coffee shop was the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. It smelled positively amazing, even though she despised the bitter taste of coffee and refused to touch the stuff. It wasn't her cup of tea, as it were. Actual tea was much more appealing--probably the British blood coming out. She still retained the old habit of drinking about five gallons of tea a day; tea was the perfect solution to all of life's problems. In fact, she often frequented this particular establishment for her daily tea fix because of the charming vintage atmosphere. 

The shop was fairly busy, with numerous conversations all overlapping into an unintelligible hum. There was no one she recognised here, which was all the better for her first time performing at an open mic. The boy signed up to perform before her--Braedyn--was just finishing up his rendition of "Sweater Weather" by the Neighbourhood, and she applauded politely before stepping up onto the slightly raised platform with him. He'd agreed to play the guitar part of the song and provide harmony, as piano alone could not do justice to "Bohemian Rhapsody". Lacey took a deep breath and sat down at the piano, which was pushed to one side of the stage. Closing her eyes for a moment, she began to sing. The audience melted away, along with all her nerves. There was only her and the piano.

Too soon, they were reaching the end of the song. "So you think you can love me and leave me to die?" she sang, looking at the boy for dramatic effect. "Oh baby, can't do this to me baby, just gotta get out, just gotta get right out here!" 

Together, they finished off the song with, "Nothing really matters to me... Any way the wind blows." As the audience applauded, she smiled at Braedyn, and he smiled back at her. They bowed together and walked off the stage. Her heart pounded, and she sighed in relief, feeling the adrenaline still coursing through her veins. 

(tag: Rohan)

Having watched the performance from his seat in the back corner, it would have been a lie if Kemp said he hadn't taken a strong interest in the girl's song selection. Such a classic. He had come to this spot before, but never on such a busy night. The crowd made him anxious, but the decent taste in music helped combat the urge to retreat from the gathering.

Nearing the end of the song, he stood and carefully began to make his way up to the counter for a refill on his coffee, making sure to avoid any and all eye contact directed towards him and the dark sunglasses that stood out boldly against his contrasting white hair. There was hardly any open space left and Kemp soon found himself bumping shoulders with the very strangers he had hoped to avoid. All for a refill on coffee? In all honesty, it almost wasn't worth the struggle. But, he was stuck and unable to turn back for his table now, hesitantly pushing onward through the large groups  standing about.

With his head tilted towards the floor he weaved through the mingling people, catching snippets of conversations and gossip. He found the sound of mindless banter to be annoying and he tried to find another path to the counter that wasn't quite so irritating. With the front counter in his sight, he began to stride forward with the belief he had made it through the maze, only to stumble over somebody's foot and collide with what he assumed to be another body just in front of him. "Sorry.." he answered slowly, both startled and agitated. Should he  leave? Was everyone watching because he tripped? Who the piss tripped him? His anxiety fluctuated as he contemplated his chances of escaping the busty room. Raising his head to  view the stranger, his eyes settled on a familiar face. She was the same girl who had just ben on stage, right?

" I liked it.." he blurted, having forgotten how a normal conversation worked. " The..the song." he added, shifting awkwardly as he glanced off to the side.

Lisette sipped at the tea Braedyn had thoughtfully gotten for her, enjoying the therapeutic effect the warm beverage had on her throat. He'd left to go back to the school, so she was alone among the crowd of people. This didn't last, though; a boy soon approached her with a compliment--an awkward one, but a compliment nonetheless. "Oh, well, thanks," she laughed. "I'm glad you did. It's one of my favorite songs." She tried to remember if she had ever seen this boy around, since he looked about student-age, but couldn't come up with anything. She was pretty good with faces, too, so she figured he was either new or a recluse. The former option seemed more likely, as a cafe wasn't where you'd expect to find a recluse. 

"Uh, I'm Lisette, by the way. You can call me Lacey, if you'd prefer. Are you new at Foresta?" She gestured for him to sit at a nearby table, then sat down in the opposite seat. There was no reason to be standing, since they both had a drink in hand. She took a sip of her tea, politely waiting for his response. 

(OOC: sorry for the short post!)

He felt like such an idiot, stammering around like some little kid. The girl, Lisette, seemed kind despite his botched introduction and he swallowed the nerves that were beginning to make his mouth run dry." You can call me Lacey" she had told him before asking if he was new. She had an interesting name, Lisette. it almost sounded French. Not that he knew anything about name origins.

He didn't answer right away, trying to get his words straightened out in his mind before letting them exit his mouth." Yeah,.. um..I just arrived last night." he answered, although he didn't sound overly sure of himself. He had answered this  question at least a million times since arriving at the academy and always managed to forget what to say.
 " Name's Kemp." he added with a nervous half smile.

Her guess was soon proven right when he responded that he was indeed a newcomer at Foresta. He was the first in a while, it seemed. When she'd first arrived, it seemed like there'd been new students arriving every month, if not every week. Then, all of a sudden, for a long period of time, the newbies stopped pouring in. It'd been strange, but apparently things were back to normal now. 

"Pleasure to meet you, Kemp; welcome to Foresta. Has anyone shown you around the school yet?" Lisette asked. It was very obvious that he was quite anxious, though she wasn't sure why, and wasn't sure what she could do to help him. It wasn't like she was an especially empathetic or selfless person, but she felt like she should demonstrate the 'welcoming nature of Foresta'. She didn't want to give anyone a reason to hate the school, especially not on their first day there. Moving to a new school was hard enough. 

"Has anyone shown you around the school yet?" His answer was both yes and no, depending on how you looked at it. Yes, because once or twice he had, in a backwards way, asked for directions to and from class. No, because he preferred to decipher things on his own.


"Yeah, a little." He shrugged, carefully reaching under the left lenses of his sunglasses to rub his eye. He smirked to himself, the half smile lasting only a few milliseconds before vanishing." Not really." He confessed, pulling his hand away from his face and letting it fall to his side ." I've been exploring on my own." The parts about being pitifully incapable of socializing like a normal person were left out for the time being. She had probably noticed it on her own by now.

"You don't need to. I- mean..most people don't like helping. Not that you don't like helping or anything.. um.." If there was ever a time to be the world's most bumbling idiot, now would be a perfect moment.The idea of having somebody give him a proper tour made him feel a twinge of guilt. He knew most who offered were only trying ot be helpful, but he couldn't help but feel extremely self-conscious about his inability to control his powers. Should something happen, he'd rather have it happen when there was nobody around. Unfortunately that made him seem distant, but it was the safest option he knew of.

The boy's two initial answers seemed to conflict, and Lisette wasn't sure how to interpret such a response. However, he soon explained that he had a preference for exploring alone, which she could understand. As a young child, she'd often wandered the grounds of their family manor alone, not caring for the company of anyone, even her brother. The tendency had increased after the incident in which she'd discovered her powers; it was so much easier to enjoy yourself in isolation where no one could find you. 

If truth be told, she was almost glad he had denied her implied offer for a tour. She wasn't sure that she'd be a competent tour guide, unlike some people who probably knew a lot more about Foresta's history, or some interesting facts. (Lacey resolved to read up on the school when she got back; it wasn't like she had much else to do, and one had to have some variety in their diet of books, right?) Plus, she often regretted making future commitments for social events--it seemed like, more often than not, just before the event was supposed to start, she realized that she really had no desire to attend. 

However, she supposed that this could be construed as hostility or unfriendliness, so she just gave a noncommittal shrug. "Oh. Okay. If you don't mind me asking, what are your glasses for? Is it something related to your power?"