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Post by Aenigmatic on Jul 3, 2007 14:15:32 GMT -5
Matt yawned widely as he drove down the suburban roads, picking his way haphazardly at best. He could see the top floor of the House from here, so it didn't really matter how he got there. Anyway, it was about 1:00am, and he was sure that few would be up at this hour. Even if they were, they probably wouldn't appreciate him coming along and knocking on their door. He had two options then: He could drive around, maybe look for a 24-hour McDonalds or something to grab a bite to eat at, or he could park and sleep until morning. It didn't take long for him to decide which of those plans he would implement.
Matt had been on the road for the past thirteen hours straight, and awake for about six before that. Ordinarily, he would have been able to stay awake, but the hum of the engine and the lack of coffee in the car (as well as his lack of food) were wearing on him. With that in mind, he started looking for an empty parking lot. He found one by a laundromat within ten minutes, then pushed his seat back and put his arm over his eyes. It took him scarcely five minutes to fall asleep.
When he woke up, the clock in the car read 7:48am. A little early to be going to the House, but not too early for breakfast. Eager now, Matt drove off towards a small cafe he'd seen on his way here. It was closed, so Matt took the next best thing - Dunkin' Donuts. He got an egg/cheese sandwich on a bagel and a cup of hot coffee, then sat down to eat. By the time he was done and had also finished a strawberry jelly donut he'd bought on a whim, it was well past eight o'clock. Finally, it was early enough for him to introduce himself. By the time he found the House again, it was just after nine.
Not at all nervous about coming into a new place like this, Matt pulled the car in front of the house and turned off the motor, spending just a few seconds fixing his white belt and pulling down the hem of his red tee shirt before he got out and walked up to the front door. He glanced at the doorbell, then decided just to knock. He didn't want to wake everyone in the house up, after all. Raising a hand, he rapped on the door in a little one-four-two knock pattern, then stepped back and shoved his hands in his jeans pockets, waiting for someone to answer the door.
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Post by crazypunka on Jul 3, 2007 14:31:39 GMT -5
Normally Dahlia was not one for early mornings. Early being before noon. But today, she had awoken from one of her reoccurring nightmares- the one where she saw the gruesome death of her parents. Sometimes it was in a car wreck (which was how they actually died), other times it was a bloody murder, but this time, she had been hanging on to them as they dangled off a cliff, only to loose all strength and watch them plummet to the bottom.
Her eyes flew open the second before they hit the ground and she sucked in a huge breath of air, filling her empty lungs. It took her a few seconds to calm herself, but only a few seconds. She quickly realized that she would NOT be going back to sleep after that, and instead willed her tired body to get out of bed.
Wandering over to her dresser in a white t-shirt and undies, she pulled out a comfotable and faded pair of jean shorts and a plain white tank. After changing clothes, she trudged into the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth and hair.
Feeling much better and wholly refreshed, her stomach growled reminding her that it was time for breakfast. She padded downstairs in her bare feet and was on her way into the kitchen when she heard a knock on the door.
During her stay at the house, Dahlia had gotten used to being one of the few residents that wasn't suspicious looking, so she had taken to answering the door whenever duty called. And it seemed to be calling right now.
She padded over to the door and peered through the peep hole at the person standing on the porch. Well, he didn't LOOK like an experiment, but then again, neither did she. Pulling the door opened she smiled and spoke. "Hi! Can I help you?"
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Post by Aenigmatic on Jul 3, 2007 15:13:46 GMT -5
It took a couple of minutes for anyone to answer the door. In the meantime, Matt shifted from foot to foot, yawning a few times and twirling his keys around his left forefinger. He stepped to the side, peering in through a window at what appeared to be the living room. It seemed normal enough... Maybe this wasn't the right house. It had to be though. Matt's doubts were by and large shoved aside as he saw a couple large feathers sitting on the floor. Probably not from any pet bird. "Okay, so I've got the right place..." he muttered. "Now where is everyone?"
Moving back to the door, he raised a hand to knock again, then stepped back and waited a little while longer. He didn't really have anywhere else to go, so he figured he'd just knock one more time, then ring the doorbell if no one answered. He was about to knock a third time when he heard the lock turn from inside and the door began to swing open. Matt looked up from the cement under his feet, somewhat eager to see who would open the door. He had heard about some weird experiments that came out of other labs, people that had permanent physical changes done to them. Matt couldn't imagine a permanent change like that.
The person who opened the door looked... Perfectly normal, actually. She looked to be about his age, and was fairly attractive. She also looked like she'd recently woken up, just like him. "Hey," he he replied, giving her a friendly grin. "Um... Is this the house my dad told me about? The place for..." he paused for just a second, not sure that he should use the word "experiments." Maybe they didn't like that word... He really didn't know any other though, and so he finished with, "Experiments?" He felt the need to explain a little, but decided to wait until he got a response before continuing.
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Post by crazypunka on Jul 3, 2007 15:30:27 GMT -5
"Yep!" She replied sunnily, speaking before he had actually finished, resulting in her saying "yep!" at the very moment he said "experiments?". She laughed softly, "Sorry, didn't mean to cut you off. But yes, this is it. Come on in." She stepped back from the doorway, allowing him room to enter the house.
She watched him, this time taking a more careful look at him, now that she knew he was an experiment too, and wondering what exactly his experiment was. Was he a psy, like her? Ooooh that would be so exciting! The first person Dahlia had ever conversed with telepathically had been Eric, and she had loved it. But she hadn't seen him around a whole lot lately so her opportunities to talk like that had dimished. She was hoping he was telepathic, but she wasn't going to be rude and ask 'So, what kind of experiment are you?' right off the bat. She would give him space, let him feel more comfortable in the house, before asking such personal questions.
She decided to start off with something much more shallow. "So, are you needing a place to stay? I think there's still one empty room left on the boy's floor."
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Post by Aenigmatic on Jul 3, 2007 16:09:20 GMT -5
"S'alright," he said with a slight chuckle. Well, at least the people here - or this one at least - seemed friendly. Matt half expected the House to be a very secretive place, where he might even have to earn their trust to get in. Instead, he'd just been let in the front door. Not that it was a bad thing, certainly. He was glad that it had been easy and tension-free, in fact. As she stepped back, Matt took a couple steps through the door and swung the door shut behind him with one hand, hearing the keys still hung around his finger scrape against the door. Shoving them in his pocket, he looked around the room a little.
The entrance hall was nothig special, but then again it was an /entrance hall/. He could see the living room from here, although not all of it, and could hear noise coming from somewhere nearer the back of the house. He heard a shower running upstairs as well. Apparently the girl who answered the door wasn't the only one awake right now. That was hardly surprising. He was aware of her watching him carefully, but tried not to pay attention. Maybe she was expecting someone a little more abnormal... Come to think of it, was she an experiment? Or was she just living there? She looked perfectly normal, and Matt knew that he was the only person who had his ability, so she couldn't have the form-changing ability as well...
Matt had never heard of a psychic experiment. More accurately, he had heard of them, but he never believed them to be true. His parents thought it false as well, as far as he knew. That wasn't to say that Matt didn't believe in telepathy and whatnot. Scientific studies had come close to proving its existance, after all. He just didn't expect to ever meet anyone with abilities like that.
Jolted out of his thoughts by a question, Matt looked over at the girl with a bit of a start. "Huh? Oh, yeah. D'you think it would be alright? I mean, would you - anyone - mind?" He felt odd just moving right in. It seemed a little too informal. Then again, what was he really to expect? He had no idea, which may have been why this seemed so odd.
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Post by crazypunka on Jul 3, 2007 16:26:31 GMT -5
"Well, I'm not the one in charge, that's Zephyr, but I don't think there are any rules about who we can let live here and who we can't- Well, I mean besides being an experiment." She paused looking at him again. "Wait, you are an experiment aren't you?" As soon as she'd said it, she wished she hadn't, at least in that way. It had made her seem a bit rude.
And the question itself was silly. Of course he was an experiment! He'd come here asking whether this was the house, didn't he? But.... a small alarm went off in the back of her head, alerting her to the reality that experiments weren't the only people who wanted to find the house. There were others- people who would want to harm everyone in the house if they found out it's whereabouts. Suddenly she wished she hadn't been so trusting in this stranger.
Hopefully though his answer would prove that she'd done the right think by being kind. Hopefully. Or else she'd have to make him leave.
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Post by Aenigmatic on Jul 3, 2007 17:03:43 GMT -5
Matt nodded a couple times as she spoke. So there was someone in charge here. That only made sense, of course. Naturally, he had no idea who this "Zephyr" was, but he expected that he would meet him (or her) soon enough. Her next question took him somewhat by surprise though.
He looked from some claw marks he'd been studying on the wall to her again, eyebrows raised slightly. "Huh?" he said again, revealing what was apparently a speech pattern of his. There was little actual pause between this pointless question and his actual answer though. "Yeah," This time, there was a real pause as he tried to explain himself. "I guess I don't really look, uh, you know. But I am,"
He wondered whether he should show her in order to prove to her that he wasn't suspicious, but Matt felt just a little uncomfortable about spontaneously putting his abilities to use. Anyway, his changes happened slowly enough that she probably wouldn't notice if he started doing it without warning.
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Post by crazypunka on Jul 3, 2007 17:14:45 GMT -5
She raised an eyebrow. Weird. This newcomer certainly was acting funny. He seemed distant, like his mind was elsewhere, and his answer was less than convincing. She shifted feet and crossed her arms in front of her chest, as was a habit of hers.
She was certainly doubtful of him at this point. And she needed to find out quickly if he really was an experiment that needed help, or whether he was there to wreak havoc on the house and its in habitants. But she didn't want to come off like she didn't believe him. A memory of a certain birdy friend came to mind and a situation that arose from him not believing that she was an experiment. She remembered how hurt she'd felt that he'd thought that there was even the slightest possibility of her being a lying imposter. So, she tread lightly.
Her voice was genuinely inquisitive, not harsh or demanding at all. "So, what do you do?" She smiled, realizing the ambiguity of this question. "I mean, what is your experiment? What are you?" As she waited for his response, she suddenly felt very awkward, just standing in the middle of the entryway, opposite this stranger, though he was friendly enough, he was still a stranger. She would feel much more comfortable sitting in the living room, or in the kitchen, but for now she needed an answer, before she could allow him to go any further into the house. If something bad happened to the house due to her own naivety, she could never forgive herself.
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Post by Aenigmatic on Jul 3, 2007 17:51:34 GMT -5
Matt was getting just a little nervous now, if only because she seemed more than a little doubtful of him, possibly even suspicious. He didn't want to make anyone here suspicious of him, and they really had no reason to be either. Matt just wanted to stay here until next summer... And maybe beyond if no one minded and if he liked it here. So far it seemed like an okay place, but he hoped that no one else in the house would be suspicious of him. That was if he was allowed to meet anyone else in the house, of course.
She seemed to brighten a little suddenly, her tone becoming more friendly and inquisitive as she asked what he did. He was about to answer that he was going to college before she corrected herself, asking instead what kind of experiment had been performed on him. Matt didn't like identifying himself by the lab profile he'd been given, but he foresaw that happening a lot in a place like this, and had forseen it well before he got here. So he accepted explaining himself this way for now.
"My name's Matt, first of all," he said pointedly, but not venomously. He wasn't really annoyed, after all. "And... Well, technically the class of experimentation is secret, but basically I can shapeshift in pretty much any way I want to," He didn't ask her what her own exerimentation was, instead asking, "What's your name, by the way?"
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Post by crazypunka on Jul 3, 2007 18:06:26 GMT -5
"Sorry Matt." She shook her head, ashamed that she'd completely forgotten her manners in her suspicions. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Dahlia." She smiled, satisfied for the moment that he was telling the truth, and that he could shift into any form, in any way he chose.
So, not completely reassured, but a good deal so, she felt that they could at last leave the entry way and pursue their conversation somewhere more comfortable, and less forced feeling. She began leaving the entryway, in hopes that he would follow.
She turned her head back over her should to look at him as she asked, "So you're a shifter then? And you can shift any way you want? Like, ANY way?"
Ahhh, one of Dahlia's flaws was that she was infinitely curious about all of the experiments and their different 'powers' if you will. It fascinated her that there was a world separate from the surface world, and she was glad to be part of it. Her curiosity was not meant to offend, but sometimes, inadvertantly, it did. Hopefully Matt wasn't one of those easily offended types.
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Post by Aenigmatic on Jul 3, 2007 18:41:35 GMT -5
Matt grinned, glad that he'd been able to allay her suspicions, at least for now. She introduced herself as Dahlia, which was a name he'd never heard before. He liked it though; it was original, and definitely very cool. She turned and started out of the entrance hall, apparently meaning for him to follow, which he did. He definitely had time to hang out for a while. So long as it didn't get too hot for his birds in the car, everything would be fine.
Her continued questions made Matt grin slightly. He didn't mind being asked questions about himself, so long as that wasn't all people wanted to know about him, even before his name. Especially in a place like this, it was to be expected. "Well... Not really any way. Pretty much though, if I've got enough time. That's the thing; it takes me a while to get it right without hurting myself,"
There was a pause, during which time Matt decided to ask about Dahlia. "What about you, if you don't mind me asking?"
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Post by crazypunka on Jul 3, 2007 19:00:05 GMT -5
Dahlia listened to his answer, intrigued to see what he could do, but if he wasn't going to offer it, she wasn't going to ask. He would have already offered to show her had he been comfortable with it. She nodded as he spoke the last bit, indicating that she understood that his powers weren't like a switch.
As she listened, she led them into the kitchen, for Dahlia's stomach was beginning to eat itself and she needed at least a small bit of something to ease her stomach's tightening.
Just as they were passing through the doorway into the kitchen, he spoke again, this time with a question for her. She smiled, pleased that he was interested. To be frank, Dahlia was quite pleased with her 'powers'. They made her feel powerful, and special. Even among psys, Dahlia had realized that her powers were somewhat more extensive than most.
"Nono, I don't mind at all. You can have a seat if you like, are you hungry?" She motioned to the table as she offered him a seat, then moved towards the cabinets to sift through them to find something for them to eat. She hadn't ignored his question however, she just wanted to find some food first. Quickly, she found some nutra-grain bars and after grabbing a few, sat down at the table opposite Matt.
"I'm a psychic. Meaning that I'm telepathic and telekinetic." She smiled, watching his face to gauge his reaction, be it surprised, impressed, skeptical, or... anything.
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Post by Aenigmatic on Jul 3, 2007 19:35:31 GMT -5
Matt was rather grateful that Dahlia didn't ask to see a demonstration of what he could do. True, he probably would have done so in her position, and she would probably ask him later, but he wouldn't mind then. Honestly, he didn't mind much normally, but he just didn't feel like making that his introduction into this house. He decided he wouldn't ask her to show him what she could do, if her abilities were "hidden" like his were.
Following her into the kitchen, Matt glanced at the sink, where a frying pan had been left to soak in soapy water. The smell of pancakes filled the room, and Matt felt a slight hunger rising in him despite the breakfast he'd just had. Thanks to his frequent shape-changing, Matt had an extremely fast metabolism, and had a habit of snacking throughout the day. Despite this, he never gained much - if any - weight from it, which was a good thing.
"Thanks," he replied to her offer, accepting it and sitting down on one of the chairs. "Actually, yeah," There was a slight pause while she rummaged around in the cabinets, and Matt sat quietly while Dahlia piled a few granola bars on the table and sat down across the table. She didn't open one yet though, instead answering the question he'd asked her on the way in. He listened, his eyebrows rising a little bit as she spoke. There was a bit of a silence between them, during which time Matt wondered what to say to that. A psychic? He was more than a little surprised by the claim that she was psychic, and immediately images of elderly women in turbans and shawls came to mind.
"...Telepathic?" he echoed, regretting afterwards how much skepticism had laced his voice. He supposed this wasn't really the place to be doubting people, but the idea still seemed a bit far-fetched at best. In an effort to relieve the tension (or at least his tension), he leaned forward a bit and grabbed one of the granola bars, peeling back the wrapper and taking a bite.
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Post by crazypunka on Jul 3, 2007 19:55:35 GMT -5
"Yeah." She replied, smiling smugly at the obvious doubt in his rhetoric question 'telepathic?'.
'Do you want anything to drink?' She 'asked', not opening her mouth, hoping against hope that his mind was open to telepathy, or else she'd just look like a fool, sitting here looking at him smugly and meaningfully.
She said the next bit out loud since she knew he could hear her normal voice just fine. "We have orange juice, milk, grape juice, and some soda. Oh and water." While she said the following, she opened the fridge telekinetically, held up the orange juice, milk, grape juice, and soda, all in time with her words. And when she mentioned water, she turned on the faucet. All of this happened as she sat at the table, unwrapping her cereal bar with her hands.
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Post by Aenigmatic on Jul 3, 2007 20:38:52 GMT -5
Matt chewed his bite of granola bar, swallowing quickly, and was about to ask Dahlia if she had any coffee before he heard - sort of - a voice. It wasn't really even a voice, but more of an idea that suddenly appeared in his mind. It was a decidedly foreign thought, and one that didn't lead to other places as his own did. Matt decided very quickly that he didn't like the sensation of being spoken to telepathically, and betrayed that by a rather violent start that caused him to drop his granola bar.
The next proof was less of a shock, mainly because it came from outside rather than spontaneously appearing in his own mind. It was still surprising to see the refrigerator door open, several bottles come floating out, and the faucet turn on all while Dahlia stared at him with a rather smug expression on her face. For several seconds, Matt sat quietly, almost flinching as he hoped that she wouldn't speak to him telepathically again. He really did not like the feeling.
When he was fairly certain she wasn't going to try it again, Matt laughed a little bit, shaking his head. "Alright, I'm wrong," he said with a shrug. "I never saw any proof that things like that were real, so..." he shrugged again rather than finish his sentence. A couple seconds later, he answered Dahlia's question by saying, "Soda, I think... But I can get it myself," He stood up and moved to the fridge, pausing before cautiously grabbing onto the neck of the floating soda bottle. He didn't really expect anything to happen, but wasn't sure he'd be able to move it if she didn't want him to.
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Post by crazypunka on Jul 3, 2007 20:51:42 GMT -5
Dahlia giggled softly as she let Matt take control over the soda bottle. "Sorry if I startled you, I was just feeling fiesty." She grinned and put the rest of the refreshments back in the fridge and turned off the faucet. Again she didn't get up, but this time it wasn't because she was trying to prove anything to Matt, but rather because she hadn't really woken up yet and was still feeling tired and groggy.
She took a lazy bite from her cereal bar and chewed thoughtfully before opening her mouth to speak. "But could you hear me? I was trying to talk to you telepathically, did you hear what I said?" Dahlia was very interested in finding out who could and couldn't hear her telepathic messages, it was something she kept in mind because sometimes communicating telepathically helped in certain situations, or made things easier in others. If Matt was someone she could effectively communicate to, she wanted to know.
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Post by Aenigmatic on Jul 3, 2007 21:21:23 GMT -5
Matt went through a couple cabinets until he found the glasses, and poured himself a glass of Pepsi from the bottle that had - floated - out of the fridge. As he went to sit down again, he saw the other bottles putting themselves away and the frodge closing itself. Trying not to stare, he sat back down and took a sip out of the glass. Setting it down a moment later, he started to pick up the granola bar when Dahlia asked him if he'd heard her.
"Yeah, I did... Is that something I'll have to get used to around here?" he laughed nervously, touseling his hair with one hand. Honestly, he really didn't like the sensation of having someone else speak in his mind. When he was told about the experimentation the lab (and specifically his mother) had been doing on him, he'd been furious for a little while and had felt like his body didn't really belong to him. He didn't like that same sensation about such a private thing as his own mind.
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Post by crazypunka on Jul 3, 2007 21:42:06 GMT -5
Dahlia frowned for a split second, realizing that maybe not everyone would enjoy telepathy as much as she did. She still had a lot to learn about etiquette with her telepathy and even telekinesis. Her smile quickly returned though as she lifted her head to answer him.
"No, of course not. It's up to you, I won't use telepathy with you if you don't want. Sometimes its easier, but if you don't like it, its no problem. And unless I'm mistaken, which I might be, there are so many people that live here, Eric and I are the only telepathics in the house that can speak as 'fluently' as we do." She looked down at the table, flicking a few crumbs onto the floor before speaking again, eyes still down at the table. "Sorry. I didn't mean to.... I didn't know.... sorry." She looked up at him with a pathetic smile, an apologetic look. "I won't do it again. Promise."
A few moments of awkward silence later, Dahlia had to break it. "So, Matt, where are you from?" She stuffed the rest of the cereal bar in her mouth, her stomach now much less pained than it previously was, and listened.
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Post by Aenigmatic on Jul 3, 2007 22:19:18 GMT -5
Matt nodded gratefully as she told him that she wouldn't use telepathy if he didn't want her to. Good. He might eventually not mind if she only did it occasionally, but for now Matt would really rather have his mind all to himself, since up until (and including) this point his body had belonged essentially to science. He was a little embarrassed by her own apology, but managed to hide it almost completely. "It's alright, but thanks,"
During the few seconds of silence, Matt chewed absently on his granola bar, eating half of it in a single bite, and listened to the increasing sounds of life from upstairs. He wondered if or when any of the others were going to come downstairs. Matt would have liked to meet more people from the House, although Dahlia was certainly not dull company. Matt tended to immerse himself in new places rather than introduce himself gradually, and a place like this seemed to be a perfect place to do just that. For now though, he was perfectly content just talking to Dahlia.
"I'm from Minnesota," He said. "Starbuck, Minnesota, to be exact. I'm here because I got accepted to the University of Kentucky, and I need a place to stay where no one will think I'm... Weird, I guess would be the right word. This place is a bit of a long drive from the university, but I don't really care much. What about you? How come you're here?"
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Post by crazypunka on Jul 3, 2007 22:37:29 GMT -5
"Oh so you'll be going to college in the fall! Cool! I kind of wish I could go to college, but I'm sort of afraid of leaving the house. Well that and I have no money to pay for it." She shifted her eyes down and frowned slightly before going on.
"I'm here because my parents died. Well, pretty much. They were killed in a car crash and I was living at home for a while until these guys tried to kidnap me, or... something. I don't know who they were, I'd never seen them in my life, but they were dressed in lab attire." She shrugged, implying that she wasn't sure if this was of any significance. "Anyway, I got away..." She paused, debating briefly whether to divulge that she'd accidentally killed the men, but she quickly decided to leave that detail out. "I got away, and came here. So I'm kind of afraid to leave because I'm not sure if there are still people looking for me."
She looked up from her hands, fiddling with her now empty wrapper, into his face, her head tilted slightly sideways. Finding her mind still stuck on college, and her longing to go, she turned the conversation back to that. "So, do you know what you're going to major in?" She rested her elbow on the table, and subequently, rested her cheek in her upturned hand.
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