The sky outside was bright, with almost no clouds, except for several, pure white ones which stood in one place, due to the wind being 'absent'. It was rather warm, even though it was only the beggining of April. You could hear birds outside, perhaps even spot some rabbits or squirrels. The air seemed to bring the fresh scent of meadow flowers, and forest herbs, making it smell somewhat like tea. The sun hasn't fully rised yet, but you can hear a commotion happening infront of the doors of the mansion, seemingly some students which have returned from their vacation.

There are lots of voices and noises from the corridors, and they seem to be somewhat crowded, which isn't as often for the mansion. But then again, if you've payed attention to the event board, then you'd know that today was a big day, due to more residents being allowed to join. Many of them have came with their friends or families, to show where they lived, so that those could visit them, when they had the chance.

The Day of the Open Doors, they called it.

Joseph was drinking his smoothie, sitting upon a rock platform on a mountain near the town. It was quite beautiful. There were plenty of trees, the flowers were blossomed, and there were a few animals scurrying about. One, however, was a wild boar that was about to charge at the young man. He jumped off the platform so he could free fall through the air. At halfway to the ground he teleported to the roof of the convenience store that he bought the smoothie from. [i]I bet I can get to that place's entrance without a single step.[i] He thought to himself.

Teleporting across buildings are very easy, all it took to get to that mansion was to teleport through a pattern of rooftops that could over look the next or overlook something such as a street light post. He was making progress rather quickly as he came ninety meters to the entrance. With one more "jump" he was there. "Hmm. Maybe they could teach me to jump this building." He thought out loud to himself. Then he walked right in.

Ren sauntered through the halls. It was time for the students to come back from their vacation and after seeing their families, meanwhile Ren spent his whole vacation in the Mansion. He was Doctor Everett's nephew, and even though that old man encouraged him to go see his parents, Ren disagreed, as he had held a grudge for them, despite the fact that he really wanted to see his little brother. That, except for his uncle, was the only person in his family who didn't think of Ren as a nusiance, in a way. Even though Ren could teleport, and take a glimpse at his brother, that required energy that he was not going to willingly spend, instead, he used it to go exploring while he could.

Soon enough, the halls that Ren was walking through were crowded, so he had no other way but to teleport, to avoid any fuss. He didn't like crowded places much, since many of the psychic families didn't like him, and thought of him as a snobbish kid. Almost everyone knew who he was, and he didn't like that either, even if he was a people person, he didn't like the way he was treated: "Oh Mister Everett."
'Pah-leese, they don't even care.' He thought as made his way to a clearing, and teleported, so he wouldn't accidently drag someone with him. When he had landed, he had realised that he was just outside the mansion. With a loud sigh, he sat down right on the spot.

Then again, he was kind of curious who his room mate would be. In the last quarter, his room mate refused to share a room with him because appearantly, Ren's laugh was a little too much for him. 'Annoying' He thought.


Kuro, just in time had managed to pick up directions for his room. Once again, his room mate had changed, not everyone wanted to be with someone as gloomy as him. But that didn't bother the tall boy, he lazily walked over to his.. No, their room, and opened the door. It was a bit different from what he imagined, the room was larger that his previous one, and there was more spacing between the beds, which was nice.

His eyes locked on a large black army bag infront of a bed, it was his bag. Lovely, that someone had decided to drag his bag upstairs, probably one of the guys paying off their debts for disturbing Kuro while he was meditating, or something like that. He shrugged and walked over to the bed behind the bag, flopping down on it, staring aimlessly at the cieling. Then his hand reached for his pocket, as he took out the direction sheet again, wondering who his room mate was to be this time.

A certain "Gabriel Honey-Sinclair", to him, it sounded french, but he was simply jumping to conclusions. Even though his mother was french, his main language was Russian, even though he didn't talk on it all that often. Then again, he had no one to talk to.
"I wonder if this one will run away in fear." He muttered silently to himself, slamming the sheet onto the bed, staring back up at the cieling.

Ren tilted his head as he heard a yelp behind him. He blinked turning around, looking at the girl which seemed to be staring at him. He raised his hand to wave at her, but she stood up and walked into the mansion. "Eh? Am I that scary?" He asked himself, blinking several more times. But he couldn't bother going after her, infact, he thought that chasing after girls was either stalkerish, or a way to show affection.. Which he didn't have for strangers, even though he would gladly make friends.

He shrugged and crossed his arms behind his head, laying down, staring up on the sky. He was oblivious to everyone and everything around him, it didn't bother him much that he was right infront of the mansion entrance. The stampede of people had already passed inside, anyway. Or so he hoped. He sighed, blowing his brown bangs out of his eyes, as he began counting the clouds.

"This is my last year of school in this place, and you ask me if I know this place?" He raised an eyebrow, not bothering to get up. He smiled at her, "So that means you don't know who I am.. FANTASTIC!" He then exclaimed, quite happily, standing up so that he would face her.

He was taller than her, but that didn't bother him much. "Looks like you and I will become good friends!" He laughed, "Anyway, where do you need to go? I can bring you anywhere. Or are you looking for someone? Ren Everett is at your service, but you can call me Renny, that's what most of my friends call me anyway. " He said. "Or are you interested in meeting cute guys? We can arrange that to, so who do you like?"

Ren smiled brightly, "Just kidding."

He smiled brightly as she took her time to answer. He seemed to somewhat notice that she seemed uncomfortable around him, or so he thought. That was, untill she spoke.

"Cupcake? That sounds really cute! I'll call you that, if you don't mind!" He smiled brightly at her, "You're rather forward, aren't you? Being called cupcake and all. But don't mind me and my awkward mind, I can often end up saying awkward things." He began speaking very quickly, untill he heard some girls speaking. He knew their voices sounded very familiar, but he couldn't make out who they were.

Then he looked down at her. "Since most of the rooms are under construction, yes. We have room mates here. I wonder who my room mate is. Heh, actually, I wonder who YOUR room mate is. Just gotta hope if it's a he, that he wont take advantage of my cute new friend. If you get in trouble, call me!" He raised his thumb, pointing at himself.

"Take...advantage..? Why would a guy do that? D...do you mean copy my homework....?"

"H-huh? What, you don't know what that means?!" He exclaimed, almost surprised, "Woooow. You really are a good girl.." he begun rubbing the back of his head, wondering if to explain it or not. "Well, when a guy takes advantage of a girl, it usually means that.. Well, in short words, flirting like... Flirting and stuff." Ren thought, it wasn't the best way to explain it, but he wasn't sure how else to... "And maybe take advantage of you by copying your homework, guess it depends on the type of guy."

Then he got the awkward idea of creeping her out..

"But y'know.. You're alone, in a closed room with a perverted guy, and he starts hitting on you, and you can't get out.. Keke~ What will you do then? People wont exactly barge into your room to rescue you.." He said in a creepy, yet joking tone, walking up closer to her, making a 'creeper' face. Then he stopped, smiling. "Just kidding, I'm not trying to scare you or anythin'."

"Aww. You're so squishy." He laughed at her, ruffling her hair, looking up at the sky. "I actually scared you. Jeez Cupcake, you really will have a hard time around me. But hey, since you're my friend, I'm not letting go now!"

Ren gave her a reassuring smile, then tilted his head as he heard his name. He looked in the direction of the sounds.

"Look, that's Ren Everett.." A girl squeaked.
"What's he doing, talking to that girl?" Another one protested.

He twitched, narrowing his eyes in a rather cold stare. They looked away as they noticed. He turned back to the girl. "I'm sorry for the plethora of girls, since I'm Doctor Everett's nephew, that makes me a bit.. Known around the mansion. That's why I want to be friends with you. You don't know anything about me, and it means that I can have a new start.." He told her.

"New start...ok well...I...I don't know who that doctor guy is but uhm, as long as you have that sticker you can't f-frown....Renny."

His eyes widened slightly as she put the sticker on his cheek. He smiled at her, "You.. You don't like it when I frown?" He asked her, raising an eyebrow, "Ofcourse you don't... Okay Cupcake. But you really can't expect me to protect you from people talking ill about you while smiling? They wont take me seriously." He laughed.

It was funny. He had lots of female friends, but she was different. She was.. Sincere. She didn't have to 'fake' being who she was, and she didn't wear a ton of make-up. And she was shy, but she wasn't afraid of him. The important thing, she wasn't afraid of him. He often did things to test how people would react.. And it mainly turned out that most would be frightened. But she was different, it made him happy.


"Ah well. If anyone gives you trouble, call for me, okay? Now that we're friends.. Well, I would expect people to look badly upon you. After all, everyone had their own opinion of me." He smiled awkwardly.

She sat there silently, next to her grandfather in the car. Her small body was tense, hands balled into little fists on her lap while the silence persisted—it was an uncomfortable sort of quiet. Awkward and uncertain. But…between him and I, that’s how it always is. Gabriel reminded herself, her lavender eyes flickering over to the elderly man’s stern face, holding their gaze there for a moment before the man’s own eyes turned to her. A soft yelp came from her throat at this, her muscles tensing up as she looked away from him, and down to her feet. Face going red with embarrassment and shame, the girl resorting to chewing on the inside of her cheek while awaiting whatever orders and words her grandfather had for her before she stepped out of the car, and took her first steps into her new life at the Goruden Mansion.

“Haven’t I told you before that it is not your place to be timid?” he spoke, his voice terse.

The elderly psychic’s authoritative voice sent a jolt through Gabriel’s body and she found herself inwardly flinching at his words, before opening her mouth up and forcing a response from her throat. “Y-Yes sir!”

Maxwell Sinclair’s head turned, slowly, and he fully looked upon his illegitimate granddaughter, his own eyes showing no sadness that she was about to be gone from his life for the months to come. “Then Gabrielle, act with the pride your surname allows, do not shy away from the harshness you are certain to face in the coming days—you are the child of the Sinclair family. Even if you only possess diluted blood, you have in you the essence of our proud clan. Do not shame that.”

A soft sigh happened from the girl’s lips as she relaxed a bit, her head drooping as she heard his words, ‘diluted blood’ sticking with her the most. “I am sorry grandfather; I will do my best to act as you wish me to.”

His head turned away from her, “As I expect. Remember, here, you are to act the part of your name. The last heir of our line, the prideful son of the late Aldric Sinclair. Though your blood is not pure, you are strong and worthy of your name. Do not ever dare let anyone think otherwise by how you proceed.”

“Yes grandfather,” Gabriel tucked a bit of her short hair behind her ear, her words coming out softly. “I know what my place is here. I am Gabriel, the grandson of Maxwell Sinclair. Despite my tainted blood, I am a strong psychic, I am a boy who is gifted in many ways. And, I am to never let anyone know of my weaknesses, nor shall I allow anyone to know the shame I inflict upon our name by having been born a girl.”

“Very good…now, it is time you leave.”

At his words, Gabriel turned her head and looked to her grandfather one more time, opening her mouth to say something to him before sighing a bit and simply electing to remain quiet. The last thing she wanted to do now was to enrage the man before leaving…she and him already didn’t get along as things were, and the last thing Gabriel felt like doing was upsetting him. I should just go. she thought, reaching out and setting her small hand on the door handle. She sat where she was for a moment though, turning and looking out the tinted windows of her grandfather’s limo. A glint of melancholy ran through her eyes as she thought about what lay ahead of her, what her life was going to be, how she was going to be living. Mindful, secretive, always having to be on guard of the fact that she was female....

She couldn’t act like a normal enough girl, hell, she couldn’t even dress like one. . . . Her hair was now short, and she herself was wearing clothes that barely stayed on her they were so baggy, a black shirt that’s neck hole hung off one of her shoulders, only to be covered by a white hoodie she could almost swim in. Along with a pair of black capri things that were barely staying on her by means of a belt—frankly, Gabriel looked like she was nothing more than a misanthropic little boy who didn’t know how to size his clothing. The only thing that did fit her were her black Converse . . . that was it though.

Things were going to be hard for her, very hard…but this was the way she had to live, right? Her grandfather was ashamed of her and the fact that she could not at all do anything worthwhile with her powers, so, it made sense that he didn’t want to put up with her anymore. Sending her away to ‘train’ seemed the best excuse to be rid of her. Haven’t I already come to terms with this? I know he wants next to nothing to do with me, only to make sure I don’t shame our family name. As soon as I’m away from him, I can just act like myself so long as I don’t spill my secret....

Eliciting a soft sigh from her lips, Gabriel finally pulled on the door handle and popped the thing open before setting a foot onto the pavement below. Quickly she swung herself up and out of the back of the limo with a rather forlorn look on her face, she turned around and bent back into the car, grabbing onto her suitcase before looking at her grandfather again. Swallowing she turned her gaze away from him and spoke one last time, “Farewell grandfather, I-I wish you the best.”

To this, the elderly man merely nodded as his granddaughter backed out of the car and proceeded to shut the door herself. Gabriel stood there, at the entranceway to the train station which would take her to the Goruden Mansion, watching the black limo pull away slowly, her shoulders drooping. It was time for her to face her new life as a boy head on, wasn’t it? Yes…it was, unfortunately.

Things were definitely not going to be easy from his point on, though it really wasn’t as if they’d been otherwise. Her mother had rejected her and her father upon finding out of the fact that they were both psychic, she went missing, then…her father had been murdered in what seemed to be a mugging. She’d been taken in by her grandfather shortly after when the search for her mother failed to turn up anything, right about as soon as she was about to be deposited into the care of the state.... Even then, the elderly man really hadn’t wanted much of anything to do with her, only taking her in for the fact that she shared a bit of his blood and his last name, even if it were hyphened with her mother’s maiden name, and as soon as he deemed her to be an annoyance, he shipped her away in order for her to apparently hone her powers, or whatever. My uncontrollable ability to suddenly wind up twenty feet in the air when I’m not paying attention.

Gabriel took in a very deep breath, raising her head upward as she shut her eyes, letting the sun’s light wash over her for a moment as she composed herself and her thoughts as best she could. No matter the situation life had left her in, or Fate, or whatever deemed how it was someone’s life turned out, things were as they were, and there was no changing that. Her mother was missing and her father was deceased, her grandfather was a prideful old man who couldn’t deal with the fact that she was born between his son and an otherwise normal woman.... There was no changing that. “It’s not like I have control over what’s happened and what he thinks of me, the only thing I can do is to make sure that I don’t upset him anymore than he already is.”

He’d done enough, Maxwell had paid someone to forge documents on her, changing all records of her that there were to have her listed as male—even going so far as to have her name changed from Gabrielle to Gabriel.... Before they’d left their home so that she could be left to the care of the Goruden Mansion, he’d even applied some weird sort of ‘psychic block’ to her using his powers so that no one would be able to peep in on her thoughts, whether on purpose or by accident, so far did the block extend that her emotions and feelings would remain her business. Maxwell wanted to everything he could to keep the world from finding out that the last remaining bit of his blood had been born a girl, an illegitimate one at that.

Letting out a sigh, the girl shrugged to herself…and went on her way, heading up toward the train station so that she could finally reach the place which was about to become her new home.

---

So, she wasn’t quite sure how much time had passed or how long it took for the train to actually go between the station to the Mansion considering she managed to doze off on the way there, waking up literally fifteen seconds before the train was due to go back from its stop near the school. Only thanks to the fact that her powers had decided to spontaneously work while she’d been out, causing her to bump her head on the ceiling of her train car.... She had to rush off the thing so quickly, that she about got stuck in the doors to the car she was vacating as they closed. After a short run from the station, Gabriel finally found herself arriving at the Goruden Mansion. The chat between herself and her grandfather in his limo before she’d boarded the train had otherwise been left to the back of her mind.

The negative thoughts and sentiment’s left in its wake had all but evacuated her mind, leaving it open and empty—though quickly filling to the brim with curiosity. It was busy, there were many people scattered about the grounds it appeared…how many of them were students or were residents, she didn’t know. Hauling her suitcase up from the ground with a slight groan, she began her trek forward onto the campus grounds. All around her were people her age, a montage of teenagers whose heritages Gabriel could only imagine.

“I guess...getting to my dorm room would be the best course of action to take first.” She mumbled to herself, stopping in place for a moment. A slight breeze blew through the campus, rousing Gabriel from her thoughts as it caught some of her too short hair. Sighing before shaking her cranium, Gabriel nodded to herself, “Yes, dorm first, other things come later.” A placid look upon her face, she adjusted the heavy suitcase in her hand before taking off in a rather hasty walk, walking toward the Mansion. Luckily for her, Gabriel had already gotten over the whole thought pattern of how awkward the living conditions might be for her as the living quarters were co-ed it was possible she’d be living in the vicinity of both guys and girls around her age, as well as probably sharing a room with a boy. While it would indeed be uncomfortable for her if that were so, it probably wouldn’t seem as much for whoever she lived with, as far as said person would know, she would be a he.

Walking through the halls of the building, Gabriel mentally recited her dorm number to herself as she passed by every room that was not hers...when she finally did come across good old number 5, she stopped in place and looked at the door for a moment before actually moving toward it. Turning the doorknob, Gabriel stepped inside what was now her new home, her head down. She wasn’t even sure if she had a roommate...Maxwell had only told her, her room number before he’d sent her off, not whether or not she’d be rooming alone. So, Gabriel wasn’t sure what to expect upon taking her first steps into the room.

The room was quiet…but it didn’t exactly take too long for her to realize that she was indeed not alone. Hand still on the doorknob, and still holding onto her heavy suitcase with her other hand, Gabriel stood in the doorway of the room, drawing her head up with a questioning expression upon her features as her grandfather’s expectations rang back through her memory to mind herself and her secret. Standing there, in front of one of the beds was whom she presumed to be her roommate. Of course, it was a guy, things always seemed to work out that way. You can’t control some things, just roll with it best you can....

After a moment of staring, and of silence as she tried to figure out what to make of her evidential roomie, Gabriel realized that she was probably coming off as rude. Well…he’s tall, kinda looks dark.... But then, I look like I’m a thirteen year old boy, so looks definitely are deceiving. she thought before blinking a few times, shaking her head while cracking something of a nervous smile. Gabriel let go of the doorknob, and raised her hand up in an effort to gesture hi. “Ummm, sorry about the random silence from me, and the staring, I’m Gabriel Honey-Sinclair…I guess that I’m gonna be your roomie for the year.”

Kuro didn't bother looking at his room mate when he heard the door open. He remained laying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, in deep thought, oblivious to everything, or so it seemed. He closed his eyes for a moment, not wanting to look at the person infront of the door. He could feel that he was watched, but he was used to it, it wasn't a first for him... And clearly not the last.

Inside his mind, he was re-playing the images of how he ended up alone through all these years. How he was the 'silent, awkward kid'. When he was finally done, we worked up the courage to sit up, that was, when the young 'boy' talked.

He raised an eyebrow, looking at him, silent, not willing to reply at first.

Then he realised, that if the boy didn't run away yet, it probably was worth a go.

"Gabriel.. It's nice to meet you." He spoke rather silently, hesitantly, it would give a bad first impression, to most people at least. "I'm Alistair.. Please call me that." He said in his usual, silent tone, narrowing his eyes, looking away for a moment, then back at the boy.

"You look... Awefully young." He told him, "Looks like you either didn't hear the rumors about me, or you just don't care... Or you have no choice, which is probably the right answer."



Ren seemed completly oblivious to Cupcake's confession about her powers. The spirit thing didn't bother him at all. He just gave her a smile in return, remaining silent. When he sensed the tension she had, he realised that he had to say something.. He didn't want to make her run away for some reason..

"Uhh.. Is there an evil spirit behind me, or are you just tense because I found out your psyche?" He raised an eyebrow, his tone sounding pretty sarcastic. "In any case, I'll protect you if there is one, and as I said earlier. Since you're my friend now, I'm not letting go. Even if you were a serial killer and could back stab me.. Not that I believe that you are one, it's just how I feel about my friends." He chuckled, then stuck his hands in his pockets and turned around.

"Anyway, the crowd seems to have dissolved a little. Do you want me to lead you to your room, before the crowd makes its way OUT of the mansion, and we'll get stomped to death?"

So, he returned the stare…that was something she deserved, considering she’d stared at him for at least a good minute before actually speaking. Her roomie though, he stayed quiet for a moment, seemingly observing her, his expression a vigilant one. The silence, and the fact that she had a set of eyes directly on her, from someone who was perhaps ten feet from her made the smile vanish off of Gabriel’s face while her hand returned down to her side.... Within the realm of the quiet, the girl simply moved her eyes from side to side, doing the same with her head as she awaited a response, something that acknowledged her introduction besides the intent gaze she was being paid. Okay, I sort of deserve it, it is still awkward though.

....besides the favor being returned for her own rather rude observance of him prior, the only other reason Gabriel could speculate him looking at her so very closely would be because he was dissecting her appearance—the fact that she didn’t exactly look like the gender she supposedly was. If I’ve been found out already, grandfather’s not going to be happy. she thought, swallowing back a somewhat sick feeling at the notion of being discovered within her first two minutes within the mansion. Feeling her heart suddenly kick into high gear within her chest, Gabriel began to tremble a bit from anxiety. Was he going to say anything to her or not…? Maybe he was just shy or something…people weren’t always what they appeared, something she knew too well.

“Gabriel.. It’s nice to meet you.” Finally, he responded, though his voice was rather quiet. Seemingly cautious, although this didn’t escape her notice, Gabriel brushed it aside as she let out a soft sigh and drew her gaze back to him, drawing a smile back over her lips. Well, at least he’d finally spoken and cut through that awkward quietness. Whatever the reason he seemed tentative to speak, she didn’t know and she wasn’t going to question it. She had no reason to yet do so or think more of it than possible apprehension, after all, she was certainly feeling her own share of it given her circumstances. “I’m Alistair.. Please call me that.”

Alistair…hmm, well, at least I got his name. she thought to herself, moving her free hand over to grasp at her heavy suitcase, holding onto the handle with both of her hands, proceeding to step into the room. Standing in the doorway of the room is kind of stupid looking when this is as much my room as his…plus, this thing’s getting annoying to hold onto. Gabriel groaned a bit as she shuffled on into her new domicile.

Alistair began to speak again, “You look… Awefully young.” Hearing that, Gabriel turned her head up from looking at her suitcase, expression quizzical of his statement, yeah, she did look young…for a boy. He was just making an observation though, so it was nothing to worry about, so, the girl simply shrugged it off. “Looks like you either didn't hear the rumors about me, or you just don't care... Or you have no choice, which is probably the right answer.”

She blinked a couple of times, following the last thing he said, and returned to staring at him, one of her eyebrows raised curiously. Okay, I have no idea what the hell he’s talking about. Rumors or whatever—sheesh, sounds like Alistair here is under some weird impression about people…? As far as things went, Gabriel really had no impressions about anything or anyone around her as far as the Mansion went or the students. She was inexperienced as far as other psychics went, the only contact she had with them had been within her own family, and while under her grandfather’s care, she’d been isolated from the world, from others, so she knew next to nothing about any other families who possessed supernatural abilities. This Alistair was no different than any other stranger to her in the world.

So, he had rumors going around about him, and whatever his past encompassed seemed to have him assume that people were going to know about them, or think the worst within him. Even if I knew about these ‘rumors,’ I doubt I’d care since I know better than to fall victim to idle gossip. Gabriel sighed to herself as she moved over to the still empty bed, dropping her suitcase to the floor below with something of a surprisingly loud thud. So, he’s kind of quiet for whatever the reason and he seems to assume I’m going to think something bad of him off the bat. Tch, I’m not like my grandfather there, I know better than that....

Gabriel spun back around on her heel and crossed her arms, tilting her head to the side as she looked at Alistair, kind of observing him for a moment as she tried to figure out what those rumors he’d mentioned concerned, or why he’d think she’d be rooming with him without a choice. Honestly, she couldn’t see anything about him by appearance alone that would involve such things. “....yeah, I can’t say that I know what the Hell you’re talking about. I fall into the ‘didn’t hear the rumors’ category there, not that it would matter anyway. Rumors are idle gossip, it’s shallow to fall victim to them, and even more so to believe them.”

A small laugh slipped from her throat along with a smile surfacing over her features as she set her hands on her hips, “It’s true, your appearance comes off as intimidating, but eh, looks can be deceiving, can’t they? I look like I’m young, but for all anyone knows I might really be centuries old…of course, I’m not, I’m sixteen, but whatever.” She waved her hand around as a gesture, before turning back around to mind her belongings. “Like you said though, it’s nice to meet you, Alistair. I hope that we can become friends.”

Honey, are you sure you can do this?”

“Yes, mother. I’m just as ready as I was five minutes ago.”

The lady of the Casimir house eyed her bright red manicure with a sudden interest. “Well, you never know. It’s just that I...” -she sucked in a breath- “worry about you....”

Luca stared out of the car’s tinted window, deciding to wait his mother out. He could feel them, all of the other students milling about the train station. Their laughter, their excitement, their fear... all of those emotions were his now, battering against his psyche with an almost physical force.

That one is uncertain they will fit in....

She wonders if her great-uncle is going to be alright without her... On instinct, Luca swiveled his attentions to the elderly man the young girl was currently saying goodbye to. The man was a psychic, and as such had a few barriers. Luca hesitated for a split second before cracking open his mental door, just enough surpass the walls and feel out the old uncle. Luca’s eyes narrowed.

She’s right. The geezer is going to miss her a lot.

Suddenly Luca was drawn from his reverie, noticing a concerned surge of energy coming from his mother. The youth instantly swiveled around to face the middle-aged woman once more.

“You know, I sometimes... I sometimes wonder if we’ve sheltered you too much, your father and I. Maybe if we had allowed you to go to school when you were younger, you could’ve built up more of a resistance. Then... maybe then you wouldn’t be forced to do... this!” Mrs. Casimir looked away, gesturing wildly at her son.

Luca frowned. “You’re just waving your hands in my general direction.”

Mrs. Casimir jerked her head back to her son, impatiently pushing her curly brown hair out of her blue eyes. “You know what I’m talking about!” -she snapped- “Look at those kids out there, Luca! I bet not one of them has to deal with... has to be reduced to what you’re having to do here!”

The dark haired young man sighed impatiently. “Mother, you know that I don’t really mind-”

“Don’t mother me, you weak-willed pansy! Look at you! You look like, like a weirdo!” Mrs. Casimir threw her hands up in the air dramatically. “There! There, I said it! I’m such a terrible mother, calling my own son a weirdo. But it’s true! It’s true!”

Luca just stared impassively as his mother began the waterworks, sobbing as if there was no tomorrow. He knew that at the end of it all, she would be fine and her mascara would be as perfect and un-smudged as ever. When Mrs. Casimir finally raised her head, sniffling and wiping her eyes, he was proved right.

“How can you not care?”

Luca rolled his eyes. “The mundane opinions of the masses have never really been a deciding factor in either of our lives, Mother. We both have more important things to worry about.” He pulled out a pair of sunglasses, and slipped them on, the black lenses glinting malevolently.

“Like, for example, eye safety.”

Mrs. Casimir snorted. “You look like a freak! Seriously, with that sweatshirt, and that creepy ‘stay away from me’ aura you have surrounding you, you’re a total stalker!”

Luca recoiled, suddenly defensive. “You know just as well as I do that ‘creepy aura’ is just a side effect of my anti-empathy shield!”

“But I worry for you! What if everybody figures out how weird you are!? What if my son doesn’t have any friends!?”

The elderly chaffeur in the driver’s seat finally turned around, unable to take his mistress’s distress for a second time. He sobbed, tears streaming down his wrinkled face.

“Don’t worry, mistress! Since the young master takes after his father in the looks department, I’m sure that his peers will be unable to see past the superficiality! No one will ever know how much of a freak he is, I assure you!”

Mrs. Casmir choked. “Oh Charles, I knew I could count on you!”

“Mistress!”

“Charles!”

“Mistress!”

“Charles!”

Luca rolled his eyes at his mother’s flamboyancy. It was to be expected, of course, that he couldn’t escape without some kind of humiliation. Though she didn’t look like it, the lady of the Casimir house was quite peeved that her son had decided to leave her.

Suddenly black eyes flicked over towards the train. “I need to go.”

Mrs. Casimir looked up, startled. “So soon!? Maybe, maybe we can wait for the next one...”

Luca glared. “No. You’ve caused me to miss the train three times now, mother. I think it’s about high time I board, don’t you think?”

Blue eyes locked with ebony. There was a moment of charged silence; this was the last chance, he was really going to leave, and if she wanted to stop him that time was now. When her gaze hardened, Luca thought she was going to make him stay, but Mrs. Casimir’s gaze softened, and she looked away.

“Look, Luca...” Luca was instantly at attention. It was a rare event for his mother to speak his name. “I-I know how you feel about interacting with others. I know how much energy it saps from you, how much it hurts to be around people who are hurting.” Mrs. Casimir reached under her seat, fumbling with what looked like a cake box.

“Just, just promise me this, Luca. Don’t shut people out, don’t ever distance yourself from people who need you. Luca, that’s how empaths like us become tainted. Normally we exist to be a healing force for other humans, but if we become too self-centered, or emotionally unbalanced, you know what kind of impact we can have on others around us.”

Luca’s mother grabbed her son’s chin, forcing him to look at her. “Luca, we can scar people. Don’t be like that. Be someone people know they can turn to for help.” After planting a swift kiss on his cheek, Mrs. Casimir finally released her son, handing him the cake box.

“Now take this, you should already have your stuff in your room, but I want you to have this as a final parting gift from me to you.” Mrs. Casimir smirked. “Now get out of here before you miss your train, stupid boy.”

________________________________________________________


Luca felt like he was on the verge of throwing up. He was slumped in front of the mansion’s courtyard, clinging feebly to a nearby pillar. Oh god. This was... difficult, to say the least. He had arrived just before the mob of people had arrived, but unfortunately didn’t get his wits about him fast enough to escape the surge.

So Luca Casimir, one of the most sensitive empaths of the age, was forced to experience the emotions of several hundred people within an extremely short period of time. And while the magority of the people seemed to have left (thank god), a disturbing amount of psychics still remained on the property. The haggard young man gagged, clamping a pale hand over his mouth as if to physically force the vomit to stay within his body. Would he have to deal with this number of people every single day? The prospect was utterly horrifying.

Luca scowled, wincing as he attempted to straighten himself. Screw the whole ‘being a healing force’, if this is what he had to go through on a daily basis, he would gladly corrupt himself. Corrupted empaths were cut off from the feelings of others, but still had access to the extra information that came with empathy. While that was all fine and dandy, corrupted empaths were almost always manipulative and self-serving, because, well, they no longer had understanding for other people’s feelings.

But, remembering his mother’s words, Luca decided to hold out for a little longer. He sucked in a breath, trying to go over all of the things he and his mother usually did in such situations. First of all, he needed to isolate himself, find a protected room where he might be able to either sleep off the unwelcome feelings or meditate through them.

Okay, so he only had to make it to his room then. Luca frowned. His mother had made herself in charge of his living conditions here at the Mansion as a term for allowing his departure. She hadn’t told him what his room was like, let alone what number it was. Desperate black eyes fixated onto the cake box. There. The information had to be there, otherwise he was doomed. If Luca had to spend his last few crumbs of energy asking for directions, he was going to pass out. For sure.

With shaking hands, Luca fumbled with the stiff cardboard lid, only just managing to slide it open.

Luca stared blankly at the small black rabbit that was seated comfortably inside the box.

The rabbit stared back impassively.

"You are..." He stared at the boy for a moment, narrowing his eyes, inspecting the features of the 'young' male infront of him. "Fragile." He concluded, standing up.

He walked over to the boy, staring down at the suitcase. Then at Gabriel. He was feeling rather tall, since he literally had to 'look down' in order to be able to talk to Gabriel properly. At that thought, he sighed. It was troublesome to always have to 'lower' his head while talking.

After a moment of silence, he ruffled the boy's hair. "Do you need any help moving that around?" He asked, half-smiling. It would look like a smirk from ones point of view, but.. That was actually his smile. "They didn't help you get here? Thought they'd atleast bring your suitcase up for you, in an apology for sticking with me." He narrowed his eyes.

This boy is.. Strange. I've never seen people like him before.. Alistair thought, And sixteen? He doesn't even look his age...

He kept running horrible images of how horribly this boy must have been treated in school or by society. As far as Alistair knew, the 'human' survival chain consisted of the strong picking on the weak. Bullying.

He gave off a light shrug, trying to clear away the thoughts, but they kept on rushing into his head like no tomorrow. After all, he was an outcast in the 'human' society too. Maybe.. We might.. Get along. He thought, but stuttered even in his head. Having friends was new for him, even if he didn't have any bad intentions.

I can't believe I'm referring to my family as .. Human beings.. What does that make me? With that final question in his head, he seemed to zone off for a moment, staring blankly ahead.



For as long as it lasted, Ren was happy with the company he had. Even if the people in the mansion did seem to give... Unfortunately, bad looks, or evil grins, at either Ren or cupcake, he simply ignored them. It was after all his duty to protect her, so he stated himself.

As they walked, Ren couldn't help but to notice Cupcake's... Constant zoning off. Or so he called it. She seemed somewhat troubled, appearantly by something he could not see or understand. He stopped, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Cupcake... If you're feeling uncomfortable.." He went silent for a moment, wondering if he should tell her about his apportation abilities. Then again, she could pester him to use them for her selfish needs.. He quickly shook his head,

No. Cupcake isn't like that! Even her aura feels nice.. He thought.

"If you're feeling uncomfortable.. I could teleport us to the door of your room? That is, if you're fine with it. Sure apportation, or teleportation, is a rather uneasy thing at first go. But hey, it's better than standing in a place crowded with spirits that only YOU can see." He chuckled, smiling brightly at her, "If it's ghosts you're talking about. How am I going to protect you from something I can hardly even sense? Even for an Aura Reader, spirits auras are pretty 'smokey', unless they interfere with our world much. That's what I've been told in class, atleast."

Axel strolled into the Mansion, duffel bag slung ove his shoulder. He hadn't known what to expect when he had been told by his dad that he was going to be attending a place for people like him, but he hadn't expected it to be so... Clean. As he walked though the halls, the click, click, click of his running blades echoed off the walls, each click of a step reminding him of the fact that even though he was with other psychics, he would still never be completely like everyone else. He sighed, bounced on the blades a bit, and then took off down the hall, moving as fast as the wind and every bit as untouchable, sliding around and over obstacles like they weren't even there. Even though he might not have been like everyone else, he sure as hell wasn't going to let the stop him from running.

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