Serenity Lessiran's Story

Miyako had seemed down all day. It wasn't usual for her to be this solemn, even with everything she'd been through. She looked about the bus taking everything in. She saw a girl in the back of the bus fiddling with her gloves, another who was doing her nails and another who was drifting in and out of sleep. They must have done something too, to end up here she thought. She was very curious to find out what exactly they had done, but didn't think it would be appropriate given the circumstances.

The bus came to a stop behind a car. She looked out the window to see what would seem like a very nice house, but she was still skeptical. She liked what she could do, and didn't want to jeopardize it. It wasn't her fault that someone got frisky with her and she lost control. She shook her head to clear the bad memories away and followed the guards off the bus. The undid her shackles and she rubbed her wrists to restore some measure of feeling to them.

As she looked at the new faces, she found one in particular to be familiar. That face belonged to her lawyer Shinji Tagasaki. Wayward House was known throughout the world for their high reputation and that reach extended as far as Japan. She had been on trial for involuntary manslaughter and he pleaded her case. It should have been an open and close case. She had defended herself and "pushed" him into the water, but Shinji had completely botched the job and got her sent here. She was as far from home as she could get, so she made sure he would know how homesick she was.

As she was focusing on the girl who had been doing her nails strange behavior, a girl had sidled next to her and attempted to use her stuffed animal as a shield.

"Hi!" the girl's voice quavered, "Umm! I'm sorta scared. Wanna be friends?"

Miyako was a little taken aback, but soon recovered from her initial shock at being spoken to. "Oh, hello" she said in an accented voice, "I am scared too, actually. I would not mind being friends." Miyako said as she bowed and extended her hand in a friendly gesture.

"My name is Kiyomizu Miyako, but you may just call me Miyako. I like your name, Lily, it suits you well." Miyako said with a genuine smile. She noticed the pretty cat that was brushing up next to them and wanted to pet it, but Lily got to it first. She wouldn't admit it, but she really loved cats. She was startled to say the least, when the pretty cat formed into a boy and gave her a bow. He said his name was Sebastian. "Oh, as you probably heard, my name is Miyako. It is a pleasure to meet you." she said formally. He has an ability too, that means I'm not alone! she thought rather happily and gave a small smile to herself.

She looked up at Shinji as he began to speak "Welcome, all of you, to the Wayward House for the Misunderstood! Now that everyone is gathered, please follow me to the dining room. I'm sure that many of you are hungry, so lunch has been prepared for you. Everything will be explained, so I ask that you do your best to remain calm." with that he proceeded to lead them inside the house. She saw him visibly pale and he looked up, she looked up to see what it was that had frightened him, but could see nothing. That is odd she thought.

Shinji had lead them all into a spacious dining room. On the table were several plates of sandwiches, none of which were labeled. She wasn't very picky about which she got, so she picked one at random and sat at the table, saving one of the seats next to her for Lily. She couldn't help but roll her eyes at the snobby vegetarian girl who complained about the food. She looked about the dining room as she bit into her sandwich, which she was surprised to find was peanut butter and banana. A boy was eating and drawing frantically in the corner, while another boy had commented on the snobby girls complaints.
She looked across the table at a girl who was taking of her gloves. As she attempted to eat with a fork, she had frozen it completely. Does everyone here have an ability? This is amazing! She had a wider grin on her face as an older lady came in and apologized for not having labeled the sandwiches. She seemed very nice, and instantly decided that she liked her. She reminded her of her own Obaa-chan. A girl that was sitting next to the girl that had frozen her fork began to help her eat her sandwich.

The snobby girl asked Shinji what the Wayward House was all about, and she had to admit that she was curious as well. "It is obvious that all of us here are special, so will this "rehabilitation" take what makes us special away?" She was eager to find out if she would have to fight to keep her abilities or not.

An impossible image. The cat, the white fluffy cat that had brushed against her, morphing into a tall boy with a mop of red hair. Lily awkwardly takes a quick glance at Phina, realizing that this can't be a coincidence. Right? She obviously did... something, and this boy can, as well. Beside her, Lily could feel surprise and some strange sort of revelation coming from her new friend. The Japanese girl. She had a small smile to herself while the boy introduced himself as Sebastian, and shook hands with the smaller girl. He then made a polite bow to Miyako, who quickly re-introduced herself to the cat-turned-boy. Lily, while feeling a faint bong with Miya, she is still wary of Sebastian, knowing exactly what his kind is capable of doing. She let out a small shiver as Shinji called everyone into the house. Through the ugly door and the awful yellow walls.

House for the Misunderstood. That's what Shinji said. Misunderstood. Like, an honorific? Kinda like special needs? A more polite way of saying how unfortunate we are? I think so!

Warmth spread through Lily's face for the third time when she saw that Miya had saved a seat for her. She timidly propped herself into the seat and beamed up at the Japanese girl. She could now examine some of the other people here, too. Lily saw a boy who appeared to be having trouble staying awake, which made her giggle. Very tall, though. And probably well-muscled. She'd keep an eye on him. There was also the drawing boy, who has some sort of coin with him, rapidly sketching something. How old was he? Eleven? Ten? Oh, and the girl with the dragon, of course, with the appropriate dragon tattoo on her arm. Lily briefly wonders what it means when an old woman came by with multiple packs of food. She made an apology and a kind welcome, and Lily felt this strange sort of satisfaction at being somewhat pampered. Only somewhat. She still remembers the shackles she had on not too long ago.

"Can I call you Miya?" Lily whispers to her friend beside her, who looked somewhat content at the various people around. All of whom seemed to have some sort of supernatural gift. Just like... just like Phina. And all the others, too. There was even this girl talking to someone who didn’t seem to be there. Darryl? Darren? Lily couldn't quite hear.

As the snobby girl with awesome nails asks Shinji about the Wayward House, Lily begins to think that, possibly, there's something bigger going on here. It all just seems too convenient. In any case, she's happy to have made a friend, Miya, and she already begins to feel herself becoming slightly reliant on the mild mannered Japanese girl.

He smiled at Miyako. "Yes, I did hear. Cats have good hearing." He smiled at her and then looked down to Lily. She seemed to be wary of him, but not necessarily frightened. He hoped she might warm up to him soon.

Sebastian was watching silently as everyone spoke. The snobby, yet gorgeous, rich girl had complained about not having a vegetarian option, then she began flirting with the giant bird, or at least that's how Sebastian pictured him. He started sizing himself up to all of the other predators... people in the room. He was gauging how well he would be able to defend himself, if need be. Even in human form, he had feline instincts to protect himself. Even thought lions were his favorite to turn into, and they live in prides, the instinct of being alone was still stronger for him. He figured he could grow to let these people into his pride.. No, grow to become friends with them, they're not my cubs... He thought to himself, but somewhere deeper was telling him different, he just had to fight the urge to be in control. ..Yet.

He ducked his head when Brenna screamed. It was a loud piercing scream that hurt his ears. His cat eyes darted around the room, looking for a safe spot, and his ears grew long and furry. Once the firstly assumed snobby girl calmed her down, his eyes returned to normal, and the cat ears disappeared. Sebastian often began changing if he was frightened; sometimes he could help fully changing, and other times he couldn't.

As Miyako awaited an answer to her question, she saw a girl out the corner of her eye began clutching her throat. Miyako's first instinct was to jump up and give her the heimlich maneuver as she feared the girl was choking. As she moved to get out of her chair, the girl released an ear shaterring scream. It startled Miyako very severely and she began to lose control. The drinks in the glasses began to shake violently and shattered from the screams of the girl. Once they shattered, the drinks didn't spill but remained as they were. The girl who seemed snobby attempted to calm the girl who had abruptly stopped. She saw Sebastian literally freaking out. She touched his shoulder in an attempt to calm him and turned to Lily to make sure that she was okay. As she calmed, she released the drinks she had taken control of and they splashed against the table. "Ah, I always make messes when I lose control" she said shaking her head and grabbing napkins to clean the mess.

And then; the ear splitting scream.

"Stop fighting, girl... you know you'll love it..."

"Scream. Scream all you want. Turns me on..."

It was like a total frenzy; everything was happening at once. While all the glasses completely shattered, the water, the liquids remained stagnant; floating for a few moments before it being let down. Lily nearly jerked from her seat, but she felt Miya's worry, and she felt warm gratitude towards her friend. Beside her, Lily saw Miya start to clean, apologizing politely about the mess. This made Lily raise an eyebrow in acknowledgement. Her left forearm, unfortunately, was hit by a flying shard of glass, drawing blood. She didn't notice it, of course. Lily caught her breath slowly, remembering that it wasn't her doing the screaming, that it was that creepy girl.

"U-uhm..." Lily stammered, looking down at Phina, but aiming the words at Miya. "A-arigeto? Did I say it right?"

Sebastian seemed to be terribly shocked by the screech, of course, afraid. Lily shot him a hesitant, reserved smile of sympathy, and squeezed Phina to her chest as usual. The dragon girl was petting the dragon, petting it and scratching behind its ears. Nail-polish girl and Angel-boy, they approached the screaming girl, hands held tight. And of course, Shinji, who had obviously meant for her to come here, he was on the phone. With a look of deep relief on his face, he then turned to the screaming girl and brushed his finger against her lips. Lily recoiled almost violently from that; seeing a male make such intimate contact with a prone female. A few moments later, she felt the gaze of the sleepy boy upon her. She locked eyes with him for a few seconds, silently asking him, why are you looking at me? what do you want? and then she held her head down, chin tucked to her chest. A drop of blood fell from her arm onto the waist of her skirt but she was hardly paying attention.

Sebastian almost flinched when Miyako touched his arm, but restrained. He felt vulnerable right then, but he realized it was a comforting gesture. He looked to her and smiled a little, sharp canines showing just barely. He sighed heavily and listened as Lily and Miykao conversed. He accepted the smile from Lily with another smile from himself. He was so shaken by the horrible acream, he hadn't noticed the water stayed in their shape utill it all splashed on the table. It splashed him a bit, but he was distracted by Miyako apologising. He scrunched his eyebrows together.

"You didn't break the glasses.. Why are you applogising?" He asked at almost a whisper. She began cleaning up the mess, the he realized. "You were keeping the water in the air. That's amazing." His eyes were wide and curious, but he began helping her clean it up, careful to acoid the glass.

When he heard Miyako shout he looked around the room, wonderjng why she said something. He then looked back to her while she was talking about Lily bleeding. "Are you alright?" He asked. He bit his lip. Again his instincts were taking hold, and he was tempted to lick the wound. Obviously that would not be acceptable, possibly not even in cat form. Sebastian looked away from the wound when Shinji spoke. He actually didn't have-- wait, he had to know if he was allowed to hunt, alone. He had no intentions of running away, so he wouldn't need a supervisor, but they wouldn't believe that. Now he was itching to ask his question and recieve an answer. This was such an important part of his nature.

((I didn't mean to tag Serenity))

Sebastian was taken aback by Lily's glare turned to scowl. He didn't understand what he did wrong. He slight bared his teeth at the girl then looked away. Anther boy, the tired one, started shouting at Shinji, asking questions like rapid fire. his shouts turned to screams as he began saying stop it. Sebastian, still spooked by the first girl screaming, turned into a Siamese again and slinked over to to the corner. He sat down and hunched over, looking at all the people. Why does everyone insist on yelling? What's the big deal. Just calm down and I'm sure Shinji will explain everything. This is better than prison, so stop complaining. He thought to himself as he watched everyone. He felt too vulnerable on the floor, so he quickly darted through the legs of the chairs and people and hopped up onto the counter. He then hopped onto shelf, avoiding knocking over what was sitting there and perched on his hind to legs. He liked this new spot. He could see everyone clearly, and he had a straight shot to the door. When Shinji began speaking he twitched an ear to listen, but his eyes were still wandering around the room. He saw the dragon that the girl named Nell introduced as Brom. He would either be an enemy or a friend. Sebastian was eager to meet him and Nell. His tail flicked slightly. He was still annoyed but he had gotten over being afraid.

Sebastian listened to the rules. He liked Rule one and two. They guaranteed, well mostly, his safety and especially his privacy. Rule Number three could be a slight issue, he would have to talk to them about the hunting thing, and just him being allowed outside in general. He needed to explore, in fact he was itching to go outside right now. He also began wondering if he could have cat furniture in his room. Another question popped into his head.. Would he be allowed to eat raw meat? Would Granny make that for him? He licked his chops just thinking about it.

His ears twitched forward when Serenity spoke. He voice was just as beautiful as she was. She seemed upset and frightened. She didn't remember what she did? Sebastian couldn't decide if that would be worse or better. Better because she might not have that terrible memory and constant reminder of killing someone, or worse because if she couldn't remember, she might have felt in her mind she had no reason to be there. He turned one ear back to Shinji, one on Serenity, and his eyes still looked around to room.

"You didn't break the glasses.. Why are you apologizing?" Sebastian had asked her in a whisper. Before she could answer, he had figured it out. "You were keeping the water in the air. That's amazing." She blushed at the praise for she hardly received any. "Thank you very much. Your gift is incredible as well." Miyako said. Their conversation was interrupted by the boy who had been sitting quietly suddenly peppering Shinji with questions. He then began screaming and Sebastian could no longer take the commotion and turned into the pretty Siamese cat again and rushed to hide. She could see him from his vantage point and gave him a small encouraging smile.

Shinji finally spoke and Miyako payed attention once more.

"Yes, everyone in this room has a power or two of some sort. As some of you might have guessed, it is also the reason you are all gathered here. Take a moment to think about the name of this place. 'Wayward House for the Misunderstood.' Not many people would give such a name to a place like this, but this place is exactly what the name implies; a house for misunderstood people. In this case, what has been misunderstood are your powers and how you use them. Now, I don't know if any of you were actually guilty of whatever crime you were charged for. However, it doesn't matter. The crime happened simply because none of you can control your powers. I find that in most cases, it manifests in self-defense, although that may not always be the case. Now that you all know the reason you are here, let me tell you the truth about the Wayward House and what we do. The Wayward House exists to educate, guide, and shelter those gifted with special 'abilities'. The world does not yet understand people like us; they fear our strengths and give no heed to our needs. You may think of the House as a sort of underground shelter, a place for you to learn how to control your powers so that you may live a normal life." Miyako was most interested to learn that she would be learning more. She knew a lot already, but she imagined the possibilities. To be able to create intense water pressure, to manipulate the temperature to whatever she chose, she could even draw water from air if she wasn't near a water source. She gave a large grin as her imagination wandered.

Then, Shinji was speaking again. "Don't misunderstand. This place is not a school. It is not your home either, unless you wish it to be so. It is an intermediary place between you and the outside world. That being said, there are some rules that everyone, and I mean everyone, must follow."

He had stood straighter and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Rule number one: You may not use your powers against each other, no matter the reason. No exceptions."
Well, that isn't any fun. Now I can't pull pranks on anybody she thought and pouted.
"Rule number two: You will each have separate bedrooms. You are not allowed to visit each other's bedrooms, especially after dark. Lights out is always at ten." Well, I guess that's a reasonable request.
"Rule number three: You may not leave the house unless directly given permission by either the Director or I."
How am I supposed to go swimming?!
Rule number four: Everyone MUST attend the training sessions. No exceptions.
Why would anyone want to miss a chance to advance themselves?[/b]
Rule number five: Breakfast is always at eight a.m., where you will also be told what you will be doing that day. Therefore, you are expected to be in the dining room at that time.
[i] I am not a fan of being woken up early, but I suppose it can not be to hard

Shinji had finished his lecture on rules and spoke again "All of these rules are subject to change depending on your behavior. If you show good behavior and control over your power, you will be shown lenience. You could even do as you please, as long as it is within reason. However, if you show that you cannot control yourself and cannot follow the rules, you will not be shown any mercy. Your powers can and will be taken away if it is necessary." Miyako was very upset at is mention of taking her abilities away and she gave a very worried look at him.

Shinji then spoke again after stopping his pacing "There is one last thing before we go on. One last rule. There are no exceptions to this rule, even if you show perfect behavior and mastery of your powers.
Rule number six: Stay away from Room 12. It is off-limits to everyone except the Director and I. This intrigued Miyako very much. What could possibly be in there that can make him look so serious. She thought perhaps that it could be the thing that could take what they could do away. As she was musing, the girl who did her nails turned hysterical again asking if she had really killed someone. I really am in an insane asylum she thought depressingly. The girl then fainted and Miyako barely resisted rolling her eyes. She could be perfectly polite when social situations called for it, but she was only human and could barely withstand the onslaught of drama Sereinity came up with. "What a drama queen," she muttered under her breath.

Sebastian meowed quietly then took a giant leap and landed silently on the floor. He padded over to Shinji, and began shifting into a human again. He didn't change all the way, he still had a fluffy tail, furry ears, and his hair wasn't completely red again, it was mostly blonde. His eyes were still aqua blue and his pupils were slits . "Shinji," He began, "I first want to thank you for bringing me here. This is a much better option than prison." He emphasized the word prison and glanced around the room. He scowled and continued, "We are all lucky to be here and the last thing we should be doing is complaining to you about it." His eyes scanned the room and lingered on Miyako, he gave her a quick smile. "Anyway, like the others, I have some questions." He flicked his tail and yawned, showing his long and sharp canines. He grabbed his own chair and sat in it, before continuing.

"The rules are reasonable, and speaking for myself, some are appreciated. But what if one rule was not going to work with someone?" He asked, say someone, as if it wasn't obvious enough of who he was talking about. "For example, what if it was the instinct of every fiber of someone's being, to explore the outdoors, on his or her own? What if they needed to hunt without the burden of a suervisor.. Would that be possible for this person?" He was being very polite, it wasn't in his nature to be rude. He had a feeling he wasn't going to get the answer he wanted, so he continued on to his next question. "Also, if the vegetarian gets special food, would it be possible for the carnivore to get raw meat?" His mouth watered just thinking about it. "Then again it would be much simpler for the feline to get his own food if he were allowed to hunt." He returned to his first question. He really hoped he had a made a valid arguement. Maybe I should say I'd be willing to get a chip so they can track me.. He thought then pushed it away. He wouldn't like that at all. He wasn't a house pet.

Rae watched the cat turn to half cat, half boy and she shook her head then saw the girl and the dragon, now looking more over each of the other kids there, she couldn't believe it, she mumbled to herself but outloud in a whisper "so a house of freaks...this is going to be interesting" She laughed then moved down to the ground feeling the different emotions in the room was giving her a headache and was feeling a bit over heated. Then she looked over to the girl that asked about going to our rooms.

"When can we go to our rooms?"

"I say we should be able to go to our rooms now" She said wanting to just lay down and try to get away from all the emotions.

Rae looked at the girl that asked her a question, seeing the look and she felt fear from the girl. Her eyes started to turn darker red.

"How the hell am I suppose to know, I am pretty much in the same situation you are. And can you please keep your emotions a little lower...I can feel the fear off you like your breathing it... what is your fear? Just think your not alone any more.... we all here cause we are 'different' "

Rae huffed a little thinking maybe the officer should have just let her keep the gloves on her hands, she never could control the fire especially if there was alot of emotion in one room

Rae just shook her head at the girl, the girl feared being called a freak..well she better get used to it she thinks to herself. Rae then looked up as she saw someone hanging from the ceiling and her eyes go wide, hearing Shinji call this guy the Director, she got up quickly but as Shinji raised his voice at the Director she cringe and tightened her fist then spoke outloud "Is there like a fireproof room around here?" She then grabbed her suitcase and followed the Director to the rooms just really wanting to shut everyone out before she burns something.

Miyako stifled a chuckle as the Director literally popped out and began insisting on playing with Sebastian. The Director was amusing, especially in comparison with Shinji, but she had not forgotten that the Director was just that, The Director. Her assumption was that he ran every aspect of this place and somehow procured the means to take their abilities away and she wasn't soon going to forget it.

As they made their way upstairs and through hall, people were being placed into their rooms. She glanced over at Sebastian who was still furry and whispered. "You know, you would be very popular back in Japan. I once had to dress up like the way you look for my job. I never thought it would be a possibility to actually be that way." She smiled at him and faced forward again. Jeremy had detached himself from the group at his room which was the first fairly soon.

Miyako was surprised to find that she was next to the boy. She was also pleased to find that her door plaque read her name in both english and japanese, giving her some feeling of home. She opened the door and gasped rather loudly. "Sugoi na. It's amazing" she said at the sight of her room. It was everything and more than she could ever ask. It was completely surrounded by water save the walkway to the one spot of dry in the center. On it was a simple futon and a simple japanese style dresser. She turned back to Lily and gave her an encouraging smile as if to say 'You'll be fine' and walked into her room. She noticed her bags sat next to the dresser in the middle,and though she was tired from the long trip from Japan, she was eager to get settled. She was glad that she never wear many clothes, as it gave her more room to pack her more personal items. She meticulously combed through her bags and placed the items in their appropriate places. She kept her favorite doll on the highest part of the dresser she could find.

It had been given to her on the last Hina Matsuri (girl's day) she had celebrated with her family. A small tear welled in her eye at the thought of her family and she quickly swiped it away. They shunned her, so why should she think about them now?

She looked back at the futon. She had unpacked everything she carried with her and the futon seemed to call her name. Figuring she could do nothing else for the day, Miyako laid on her futon and drifted into sleep.