The young psychic, for her part, had been trying her best to ignore everybody else in the room while not seeming inattentive to the teacher's actions - after all, the last thing she wanted to do was miss her instructor's orders and be seen as a disinterested egotist by a figure of authority who would doubtless be obligated at some point to give a report to her supervisor - that man she so despised, Dr. Bessiger. However, without her headphones to drown out the noise, several voices began to force their way into her mind, different murmured words from countless different students pouring into her unwilling consciousness, blending together into a completely unintelligible stream of half-sentences, images, and vague emotions. Lorelei gritted her teeth, trying to ignore the ever-rising cacophony of thoughts that assaulted her, when suddenly, a single voice, closer, much clearer than the others spoke out, its quiet, awestricken tones drawing her attention to it simply by virtue of the fact that she could understand it. The moment she focused her attention on this voice, all other sounds ceased, as though drowned out by those murmured words.
"Woah... I've never met someone like her. She's pretty..."
Lorelei's eyes rose up from where they had been focused blankly ahead, slowly peering to the right to see whose thoughts, exactly, she had begun to read. An image of herself displayed through the eyes of another emerged as she followed the source of the words that had suddenly caught her attention, drawing her to focus on the boy sitting next to her, watching him out of the corner of her eye as he continued to stare at her, seemingly transfixed. "He seems... young..." The psychic mused to herself, somewhat surprised by how he looked. Granted, this was a school for aspiring warriors, and she had no doubt that his actual age was somewhere close to her own, but his appearance nevertheless evoked a somewhat deceptively childlike image that belied the darkness deep within his red-brown eyes. His hair was a dusty brown shade, like a maple leaf just beginning to redden with the onset of fall, while his skin was tanned from the light of the sun in some places, and yet still remained pale and fair. Actually, with his soft-looking face and small size, he almost seemed like a girl, considering his rather pointed lack of facial hair or even stubble to show that he'd once had some, and the fact that he probably wasn't much taller than she was. He had the look of somebody who'd been forced to grow up in mind faster than his body could match, with an appearance that simultaneously evoked images of a youthful teen and a homeless drifter. People like him were all too common nowadays. Yet, despite his out-of-place image, Lorelei immediately noticed a slight smile on his face, as though remaining there out of cheerful habit even though his attentions were currently elsewhere. That, she realized, was unusual for someone who was probably one of the many working orphans left in the wake of Daemon attacks. It was almost impressive, seeing a kid like him grinning after whatever events had caused him to come here with that mature look in his eyes. Lorelei grimaced slightly as she realized that she'd just been getting dangerously close to staring herself, and turned her focus back towards the far wall, flushing slightly as she continued to perceive his eyes running over her, as though he was intent on burning a hole in the side of her head.
"Huh. I wonder if he knows what I am. Probably not, considering he's ogling me as though I was a normal person. Er... He does realize he's been staring at me for the past thirty seconds, doesn't he? And that I've noticed? So why hasn't he stopped? What is he, some sort of space case?" Lorelei's eyebrow twitched slightly as she raised it in equal parts confusion and annoyance. The boy's attraction to her had provided an interesting diversion that had helped her shut out the voices of her classmates, and had thus given her some small peace of mind, but nevertheless, it was getting more than a little distracting having him leering at her, seeming intent on appraising every last aspect of her appearance without even taking into consideration the fact that she was a living, breathing person who was fully aware of his actions. She was just a few seconds away from snapping at him when, suddenly, a second and third voice rapidly reached her ears. They were indistinct, as though not meant for her, and their words nearly unintelligible, but from one - a low, booming masculine voice several decades older than the boy in whose mind it evidently resided, its words sounding like the roaring of a lion - she got a feeling of intense wariness and hostility, as though her own intrusions into his skull had been perceived, and this strange guardian was far from pleased, while the second - a gentle, distinctly feminine speaker whose words carried a lilting cadence like flowing water - merely seemed to be warning the boy that she'd noticed him. Lorelei raised an eyebrow. She knew it didn't mean much, coming from somebody who heard voices, but having two extra personalities in your head was probably a sign you had some serious problems.
Still, it wasn't any of her business. Butting into other peoples' thoughts was just asking to be singled out and derided. Her only duty was to fulfill her assigned objectives as quickly and completely as possible. Social interaction was both unnecessary and disadvantageous. So, although she had to admit that the boy's attention was certainly intriguing, responding now - especially after whatever those voices were had told him that she'd noticed - would only draw his ire. She would just ignore him, drown out his voice like she had done so many others before.
-Is what she told herself, but she found herself glancing furtively to the right again despite herself, hoping that she'd find the boy simply going back to what he'd been doing and ignoring her. It was in both of their best interest not to involve themselves with others at this juncture - and yet despite that thought, she found herself grimacing slightly with what she refused to admit was a sense of guilt as she found the boy hunched over, as though trying to hide his face in shame. Was he only trying to keep her from noticing him now, when he already knew she was onto him? She didn't even need to read his thoughts to see right through this boy. He must have been scared of what she thought of him now.
"I hope I didn't make a bad impression... I can't help but feel attracted to her..."
...Wait a minute, come to think of it, why would he care what she thought of him? Since when had her opinion meant anything to anyone? Maybe, she realized, she'd been too harsh in judging him. Even if the thought of being stared at disgusted her due to the constant fixation of the monitoring staff upon her, this boy was somewhat different, for one simple reason - he was viewing her as an attractive and interesting person, not just as an appealing object. So, even if it was probably just because he didn't know what she was, she supposed she'd forgive him for bothering her. His thoughts had been interesting enough to read, after all, and his honesty did him credit. So, Lorelei sighed silently, it seemed she would have to set things right. He had complimented her, after all, which was more than she could say for... well, pretty much anybody else she could remember ever interacting with, really.
"You know, it's kind of hard not to make a bad impression if you don't even say anything," She said at last, sounding equal parts resigned and vaguely amused as she responded to the words he'd only spoken internally. "Not to imply that I know a damn thing about social interaction, but I'm pretty sure you should at least give a woman your name before you gawk at her like you've forgotten how to move your eyes," She added, raising a finger to her own twin azure orbs, as though to say "My eyes are up here, by the way."
...Urk. Now he just looked more crestfallen than before. Had she come off as too stern? To be fully honest, she'd mostly just been trying to joke and lighten the mood a bit. The reason she'd seemed irritated was probably because she hadn't bothered to mask what frustration she did feel, not all - or even most - of which was his fault.
"Well? You were the one who started staring at me, so don't expect me to introduce myself first. I kind of like the sound of it, so if you're not going to give me anything to call you, you can just keep calling me 'Pretty' as payment," She said sarcastically, giving a faint yet smug half-smirk that went completely against her stoic countenance a moment prior. Figuring that since the teacher probably couldn't hear her from where he was, wasn't paying attention, and, even if he was, likely wouldn't care, and that she'd probably never have to interact with this boy again anyway, she might as well take the chance to amuse herself a bit without worrying about what other people thought of her. With any luck, the kid would loosen up a bit, calm down, and stop beating himself up over something she honestly didn't care all that much about. After all, compared to being monitored 24/7, being stared at for a few seconds and complimented for it was a non-issue. Either he'd probably take her jokes in stride and distance himself, or, if he decided not to take the hint and keep trying to start a conversation, she'd tell him who she really was to scare him off. Nobody wanted to associate themselves with a subhuman. She was sure that this boy would be no exception.
...Still, although she should have been relieved by the knowledge that she could poke a little fun at this boy without worrying about any further interactions with him or any opinions he might formulate, though, somehow the thought that he'd probably go from complimenting her to hating her the moment he knew who he was talking to was a little depressing. Lorelei found her momentary grin vanishing in an instant as she sighed to herself. Couldn't be helped, she supposed. That was just how people were.
RPG
