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Post by DornKoon on Dec 3, 2023 22:06:23 GMT
Niels flinched slightly, almost dropping the fork, but managed to hold onto it. It was not due to what Jason was doing with his body, but the rapid emotional shift was... sudden.
"I see," Niels said slowly; he did not feel any upset coming from Jason. He had many other emotions... but that was not one of them. "I mean, I am telling you. But, no matter how good your ears are, I doubt you would be able to hear a spirit, at least... most of those I have encountered, which is... not that many, to be fair. I'm somewhat surprised; I did not expect you to accept this so quickly. Even with us, the idea of ghosts seems... out there. I'm still not searching for these things; I try to stay away... as it can be", there was a pause as he tried to find the right word. "exhausting."
Niels watched as Jason demonstrated his ability to grab things, which did not look bat-like. He did not know how or what to comment on that; he did not know the details behind mutations other than they usually followed some theme. It is difficult to say what that was for someone like Jason. On the surface, he looked like a bat.
"I can understand that. I've got something similar, but mine are not as visible." He tapped his forehead as he said this. "That being said, I'm sensing nothing in your emotions that would make me think you've lost anything, at least if we speak emotionally. There is a difference..."
"I've always gotten along with most animals. Their emotions are... I don't want to say simple; they can be as complex as any other, but I suppose they lack much of the ego humans have. Yet, most animals, such as our local bats, have emotions tied to survival; they don't fantasise, and the more common emotions go between appreciation to feeling safe, excitement for a kill, or contentment when not hungry." Niels stopped, having gestured with the fork as he talked. He cleared his throat. " and I went on another tangent... didn't I? Sorry..." Niels was usually not the most talkative person, but that was mostly in larger groups or when being put on the spot.
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Post by swapgo on Dec 10, 2023 2:12:06 GMT
Jason wasn't sure if he was getting through with what he was saying, or which side erred. At the very least it means one of them must be finally getting sleepy, which is technically the mission statement.
"I-uh-will try not to think about it", Jason stammered, he definitely hadn't even considered the possibility of just losing any emotion as part of growing up, at the very least it was on tonight's laundry list. Once again, Niels would find Jason staring at him with startling interest. He didn't vocally respond to Niels' apology, merely tilting his ears left and right as if following some sort of melody. He stayed quiet and eventually pulled his body back, either Niels would keep regaling him with strange metaphysical anecdotes, or he could eat his toast. Both sounded grand at the moment, once again, his mind was at an impasse of "you ate, you should go to sleep before Michael catches on", while his other was "Don't Let The Ghost Kid Depart".
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Post by DornKoon on Dec 12, 2023 13:16:05 GMT
"Good, I think?" Niels was unsure where the conversation was going, nor what James had replied to about not thinking about it. Did he mean not to think about his emotions? Or, not think about ghosts? Most likely the former than the latter because he had shown a great interest in ghosts.
He slowly took another bite of his toast, trying to ignore the fact that Jason was staring at him again, and he was not entirely sure what he found so incredibly fascinating about him.
"Am I really that interesting?" He asked after a few moments of awkward silence, turning his eyes from the toast to the fellow student.
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Post by swapgo on Dec 13, 2023 11:28:19 GMT
Jason opened his jaw and drew in air, and then stopped. Of all things, he didn't expect a question.
"Well uh-, it's not that you're interest-it's not just that you're interesting", Jason circled the front fingers of his wings around in front of him. His face was locked straight towards Niels, though his eyes weren't as keen, as hard to notice as it was. "But it's been, well, some time since I'm able to be excited about something, with some other person, in person, at least. You know, yelling at the TV isn't as cool when there isn't someone behind you asking you if you saw that, or to ask them if they saw that, and all that kind of stuff", he suggested. Jason didn't look at all different, but he seemed to be suddenly burdened with sadness, no, it was joy, hope, the things that this new home meant to him, how he could not only be himself, but also be himself amongst people. Jason had been psyching himself up as this reclusive creature of the night at home for so long, that he didn't realize what he longed for, and every other day or so, he finds it again, and maybe, he can be excited about his life as a reclusive creature of the night with other people for once.
"So yes, you're the most interesting contemporary I've met in four or so years"
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Post by DornKoon on Dec 14, 2023 14:40:12 GMT
Niels tilted his head slightly to the side, curiously listening to Jason as he explained. It was good to know that he was not just interesting. Still, his emotional state told him more than his words alone could have.
"Glad to know I'm not boring, at least," he replied with a slight smile. He put the fork down onto the plate before taking a sip of water because he was thirsty and to buy himself time to collect his thoughts. "Yeah, I know what you mean, but that is one of the good things about this place; most of the others here know one way or another how it feels."
Niels could never understand what it felt like to look different, even if he knew what it was like to be different and feel different. He blushed slightly when Jason talked about him being the most interesting contemporary he had met in four years. The empath cleared his throat before nodding.
"Thanks, that's very nice of you to say. I don't think anyone has ever called me interesting... contemporary or otherwise. Apart from my parents, and parents don't count..." He chuckled. " And I think you're very interesting too. You're honest, and I really appreciate that, and I don't mean just with your words. So many say one thing and feel another, it can get- annoying."
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Post by swapgo on Dec 17, 2023 18:42:42 GMT
"They should count, y'know", Jason mentioned, though didn't explain further. Perhaps it doesn't feel as important if both of them would do so, but when only one does, it sure means the world.
"Oh but I can do that too!", the bat chose to misinterpret Niels once again, and suddenly hopped upwards to stand on the two chairs that supported him. His body seemed to warp forward, wings raised and scales sharp pointing downwards as he struck a daunting pose. "FEAR ME, MORTAL. I SHALL DRINK YOUR FLESH AND DEVOUR YOUR BLOOD!", he 'warned' Niels, Jason voice was two entire octaves lower, and yet it didn't sound any louder, after all, they were still sneaking around at 1 AM (I give up). "YOU SHALL NEVER SEE THE SUN AGAIN, IT'S BAD FOR YOUR EYESIGHT", he continued, hopefully Niels was having as much of a blast as Jason was quite evidently having, empathy or not.
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Post by scarletsentinel on Dec 18, 2023 2:27:30 GMT
Cessily dressed in her pajamas intending to quietly grab a late snack like she always did, but much to her surprise as she approached the kitchen she could hear voices and smell something. It was usually always the younger kids or one of the adults, but for once it sounded like it might be someone closer to her age. She was barefoot, slowly and silently moving across the floors, the bottoms of her feet gliding across the various surfaces. Cessily crept around the corner, her reflective eyes blinking as she caught sight of Jason's acting. Deciding to make her presence known so she could get a snack herself, Cessily stepped into the kitchen. "Hi boys. Having fun at this time of night?"
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Post by DornKoon on Dec 18, 2023 9:48:53 GMT
Niels was taken slightly aback by what Jason did because his actions did not fit his emotional state.
"Uhm... what are you doing?" Niels asked, unsure what kind of reaction Jason hoped for or why he decided to do what he just did. Jason seemed to be having fun, so Niels didn't want to ruin that. As fate would have it, he did not have to do much because his attention was drawn to something else. He should have noticed someone approaching sooner, but for some reason, this felt... different. It was not that he did not feel emotions; it was more that the feeling was very... "springy", and he had to focus more to get a clear reading. Miss Frost had told him there were mutants more difficult to read, if not impossible, and this seemed such a case.
Still, Cessily found Cornelius looking at her when she entered the kitchen. "Hello," he replied with a gentle smile. "I guess so?" He looked back to Jason standing on the chairs, looking like a bat out of hell. "We were just talking about ghosts and stuff and having a snack."
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Post by swapgo on Dec 18, 2023 16:24:06 GMT
"OH-UHHh..."
That was an excellent question, Jason knew why he was doing the thing, it was just something that brought him glee, and perhaps he overestimated how other people would take up to his dramatism. "I...HAVE TO THHInk about that overnight, too", Jason hung his head for a moment, his spooky slouch became more of a shrug. He sought to spare himself an accident earliest this...time of day, yet perhaps he was cutting loose a bit too early, in both senses of the timing. Clearly he owed Niels some sort of apology, perhaps he could feel that but there were enough things on his mind, not the least of them being movement in the halls. Jason was interested, but not (totally) worried, it was some sort of exotic footstep, and it wasn't any of the faculty's professors (that he knew). It was still up to whether this person was a stickler for rules, he was guaranteed at least one today.
Jason tilted his ears towards the new acquaintance, at the very least she seemed to take lightly to the situation. "GHOOOOOOOOSTS-", Jason restored his posture and waved his wings around a bit dramatically, though stopped abruptly and tightened his legs as he felt the chairs starting to move apart from each other, while they held his weight adequately, they were not meant to be used like this. He pulled himself down and made himself comfortable again, wrapping his wings around the backrests and leaning to his right. "What's your night bug?".
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Post by scarletsentinel on Dec 19, 2023 1:15:58 GMT
Cessily starred at them both for a moment before answering back. "Well.. I'm a bit of a creature of habit." She said, starting to walk further into the kitchen. "Back when I first came here I didn't want anyone to see what I looked like, so I often ate in my room or at night..." She sighed, walking past them and into the pantry. One of Cessily's arms elongated as she probed around on a higher shelf. Her appendage patted around and moved boxes around until she found what she had been looking for. A slight smile crossed her metallic visage as she seized her prize of beef jerky. Turning her attention back to the boys as her arm returned to its human shape clutching her snack of choice. "But... since I've mostly come to terms with my appearance, its only once in a blue moon that'll think about doing this out of nostalgia." She shrugged, tearing open on of the packets of jerky and biting into it.
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Post by DornKoon on Dec 20, 2023 8:33:31 GMT
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea, get back to me when you figure it out," said Niels with a slight smile, "Don't feel bad about it, I've got a feeling we both lost the point of the conversation somewhere between the ghosts and how bad sunlight is for your eyesight, which... fair if you look into the sun."
He turned his attention to Cessily, watching her as she went over to the pantry to retrieve some beef jerky... and her arm did a thing when she did it. "Ooooh, you're malleable." he let it out without thinking and quickly cleared his throat. "I mean- I think you look fine. Look at Jason, you would think him to be scary, but he is really cool." He gave Jason a grin before looking to Cessily again. "I guess you've been here long?" From the way she said it, he got the impression she had been at the school for a while.
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Post by swapgo on Dec 20, 2023 16:38:52 GMT
Jason took note that, even in the incredibly cool school, he would mostly engage in 'normal' conversation.
The bat wasn't as outwardly impressed with Cessily's casual show of flexibility, his gasp was less in awe and more in clarity, no wonder she sounded so, uh, wobbly. Jason seemed to beam at the idea that he was both of the things he wanted to be simultaneously, his grin didn't change much, but his ears relayed the emotion to Cassidy, whom brought Jason's introspection right back. "Is being alone at night nostalgic?", Jason tilted his head for the question, perhaps it was out of base, but he was genuinely curious. While he didn't exactly hate being alone by himself, he sure felt like he's had enough of it for a decade or so.
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Post by scarletsentinel on Dec 24, 2023 4:50:08 GMT
Cessily finished chewing her jerky and shrugged as she swallowed. "I might be the correct shape, but I'm made entirely out of liquid metal. I uh... technically don't have to eat food anymore." She sighed, crossing her arms and leaning up against the a wall. "Its been almost 2 years since I first came here, my parents scrambled to find a place to take me after I turned into this." She turned on her hands into a set of menacing claws for a moment before flicking her wrist and returning her hand to normal. "Eating itself is nostalgia to me, I can still taste everything just fine, it just doesn't matter to my body anymore. Same thing for breathing or drinking anything..."
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Post by DornKoon on Dec 30, 2023 18:03:07 GMT
"Yeah, I had a feeling it was something like that," nodded Niels, "Not exactly what it was, just that your body was differently built." He cleared his throat, thinking about what to say, not to sound like a pervert or something. "I'm an empath, you see, so I sense emotions, and yours are slightly off, or well, not off, more like slippery?" Niels found it difficult to find the right words, which also embarrassed him, and his cheeks turned a shade of pink. "No, slippery was bad. It's- well... like looking at something through mist."
Niels went to put his empty plate away in the dishwasher.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm Cornelius... or most people call me Niels; only my mama ever called me Cornelius. Some thought it funny to call me Corn, but it never stuck..." He smiled and turned to look at Jason and Cessily. " And, it's nice that you can still enjoy food and taste things. My papa always says you must take the rough with the smooth."
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Post by swapgo on Jan 4, 2024 23:15:05 GMT
Jason had a similar inkling to Niels at first, he was about to interject something about metal being, well, metal colored before watching Cessily reveal a surprise of her own. Jason halted for a moment before snickering for a moment, his scales shuddering in lieu of his body, nostalgic reminiscience from two or three flicks admired this talent, his thrilled train of thought was running again. It was then disarmed once Niels proceeded with courtesies, not because he felt interrupted, he hadn't even started, but he still had to consider whether unfettered conversations about once's very personal and probably traumatic experience's at <REDACTED> AM was a good idea. To Jason, the idea of just being one's old self wasn't nostalgic, he was curious as to why it would be, and he wanted to ask all those things about how Cessily moved and what she could do and what it felt like but he could only maintain this interest for so long in a row relative to his quality of sleep.
"What? A rough smoothie? Where?", at the very least the idea of a more deliberate snack, as ill informed as it was, snapped him back in. "Oh yeah I'm Jason, hi...uh alright maybe one more", the boy took off from his seat feeling for another orange, perhaps a bit adamant about going to sleep just yet.
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