Reading in the dark (closed)

Mollie was feeling her way around today. She was tired of using her walking stick so she was determined to not use it today. She had a few of her books (written in Braille of course) cradled in the crook of her left arm while using her right hand to feel along the wall. She felt the texture difference from the wall as it changed into a closed door. She groped around the face of the door to see if it had a number or any kind of identification. She knew there was supposed to be a student common room somewhere... Maybe this was it. With no form of identification on the door she just decided to go in.

She carefully opened the door and was able to prop it open with the foot close to the bottom. She smiled as she saw a small rectangle of color. So this place had a window? She carefully made her way over to where she saw the waving aura. This being on the ground floor she was hoping she would find a room with a window so she could see some auras of the outside. It made her less nervous.

She found a chair, pulled it next to the window and sat down. She read the spines of the books she had by touch and decided to start off with "The Great Gatsby".

Tebryn had made a habit of wandering the castle in his down time, especially if Kazari was in the dorm room. Nothing against his roommate, but he knew there were times when he had difficulty trusting himself around her.

He heard a door open and close nearby, and raised an eyebrow. This corridor was mostly small classrooms, with a storage room for extra desks at the far end. He loped past one door, then another, peering into the little windows for each as he went. When he reached the third door, he saw a girl sitting by the window, reading.

By herself. In an empty classroom.

Tebryn eased the door open and stuck his head into the room. "Miss...?"

She had noticed the aura of someone in the hall in her side vision so thankfully she wasn't startled when a voice spoke to her. She kept her fingers on her book, not wanting to lose her place.

She turned her head towards the voice. "Yes? Is there something wrong?" Her voice was soft and hesitant. Hopefully she wasn't somewhere she wasn't supposed to be.

Tebryn opened the door a little wider so that he could stand in the doorway properly. "No, nothing wrong. Just wandering why you were reading by yourself in an unlit empty classroom."

He offered her a light smile. "Can't be good for your eyes."

She looked startled at first. So she was kind of in the wrong place. Eh, getting into a class room was better than being in a closet like she had been before.

When he made the comment about her eyes she bit her lip to fight back laughter. She did end up giggling and gently gesturing with her hand for him to come closer. "Things aren't quite as they seem to you, Young Sir." She left one of her hands outstretched to him.

Tebryn tipped his head curiously as she stepped forward, unsure as to why she was so amused. He held out his hand, one eyebrow lifting into an arch.

"Care to explain?"

"It might be easier to show you." She slipped off of the window sill gently setting her book aside. She carefully walked towards him, taking his hand and led him back towards the window where she hoped there would be light to see.

She smiled up at him and tipped her head. "can you see my eyes, young Sir?"

Tebryn pursed his lips slightly as he was tugged along and leaned down just a bit to inspect her eyes as he was instructed.

He blinked.

"Oh." Well, now he just felt like an idiot.

But.

Blink.

"But you walked right towards me. You're looking directly at me. You can't be totally blind."

Mollie smiled at him and nodded. "I am by your standards 'legally blind'. The only things I can see are the auras or life energy of living beings, like you."

She looked him over slowly, still holding onto his hand. This young man's colors were truly fascinating. She could actually see almost his entire shape and outline, the clearest being she had seen in a while. Maybe it was because his colors were deep, rich and well defined. No funky pattern to throw her off.

She realized that she had been staring and blushed softly. "Oh, my apologies, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Mollie."

Tebryn felt his ears growing warm as the girl took her time to look him over. His eyebrows rose higher, not so much in response to her power, but in curiousity as to what his aura might look like. He decided he could always ask later.

"Mollie," he repeated, testing the name. It was cute. Tebryn was suddenly struck by how very doll-like this girl was.

"My name is Tebryn." He was quiet for a long moment, considering. "So... are-- are the auras you see... Does everything have different colors? Is there a spectrum, or is it just like light?"

She smiled at his name and repeated it as well. "Tebryn. That's very unique and lovely. I haven't heard a name like that before."

Her mouth made a small 'o' of surprise when he asked her about auras. The only other people who had asked her had been some of her teachers, but most of them hadn't sounded that interested. She smiled and tipped her head, thinking. "Well, the best way to explain it is like a mixture of the two. There are colors and the colors can sometimes be made of light. Some people are very bright and are hard to look at. There is even a pattern of colors with some people and it seems to reflect life styles or personalities. Normally the more active, sociable people are brighter, which makes since for their aura to be bright and everywhere. But the darker lit auras aren't bad people by any means."

She turned her gaze outside. "People are the most interesting and ornate with auras. Plants are generally one or two colors and always the same intensity, each blade of grass the same as the one next to it. But people and some animals even can have several colors and patters and movement." She smiled shyly at him and blushed a bit. "Does that make enough sense? The world as I see it is so beautiful and I want to properly explain it, if I can."

She bit her lower lip, hoping that she had not annoyed the young man or that he thought she was weird.

Tebryn sat in an empty desk and watched her speak. If he had movable ears, they would be perked with interest. "That sounds like a trip." He smiled, the expression showing more in his eyes than his lips. It colored his voice a bit.

"What are some examples of different people's auras you've seen? I'd like to hear an example of what patterns and colors are possible."

Her face looked sad and puzzled for a moment. "That can be a bit difficult. I was born with this sight so I don't know how to express my colors to you." She furrowed her brow, thinking. "People tell me that grass is green but I don't know what that color is. I can try to explain that grass has an aura that seems like a soft flickering brightness but is don't know how to tell you color."

She leaned against the window sill, shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry. I really wish sometimes, more than anything that I could show people what I see."

Maybe then I wouldn't feel so alone. She moved her hand, felt something and heard a thump of something hitting the floor. She made a soft squeak. Her books?? She felt along the window sill checking to see that they were in fact missing.

She crouched onto her knees, using the wall as a guide, and began trying to feel around the floor for her books. She found someone new, who actually seemed interested in her. Of course something like this would happen. Something that made her feel helpless.

Tebryn flinched at the thump and eased out of the desk. He knelt down on a reflex to gather the books for her, at the same time reaching out with one hand to gently touch her shoulder.

"Don't worry, I've got it." He had the volumes restacked on the windowsill in no time, then stood upright and hooked his thumbs into his pockets. He tried to think of ways to describe a color that didn't use other colors, and huffed through his nose.

"Green is..." He bit his lip and took another moment to think. "Green is the color of things that are either very fresh or very old. It can be a lively color or a sickly one. I know that when I think of the taste of mint, or the scent of pine, I imagine the color green."

She blushed and carefully stood. "Thank you, Tebryn." She brushed off her front, just in case she got something on her.

She smiled and tipped her head as she listened to him. She giggled, "Its hard isn't it?" She was silent for a while trying to think of what that color might be. "That seems interesting. Normally when people die or become very ill their pattern becomes... Like it separates and their colors simplify. If they die eventually their aura just disappears."

She slowly shuffled over to be closer to him, reaching out to touch his arm. "Do you want me to try to explain your aura to you?"

Again, Tebryn watched her speak with interest. This was... fascinating, to say the least.

He moved his arm a bit so that her fingers brushed against it. "If you like. I must say I'm curious, Mollie."

She smiled and gently held on to his arm. "I would be upset if you weren't curious." She bit her lip and looked up at him.

"Your aura is made of many deep, rich colors. Something that I'm intrigued by is that you are very solid. I can actually see your entire outline, look." She reached up and put one of her hands exactly on his cheek, trailing her fingers down his jaw. "It is so rare that I can see someone so exactly. The aura likes to focus itself around where the face is so that area can be very bright and hard to make out. You do have a pattern in the form of layers that radiate out from your center alternating in colors."

She moved away a bit from him, still holding onto his arm. She stares at him up and down again. "You do have some brightness around the top of your head, your center and in your hands...." Her voice trailed off and she looked back at where his face was. "That's all that I think I can really form into words." She giggled softly "I think you are quite beautiful."

Tebryn blinked a few times and felt his face heating up a bit. He had been called handsome before, but for some reason this felt more sincere.

"Ah, th-thanks." He raked his hand through his hair and held out his hand to her. "Listen, how about we go outside? If it's living things you see, then I bet it's much easier to get around in the courtyard." He smiled and folded his other arm behind his back, as if he were escorting her to a ball instead of into the hallway.

She blushed and smiled, happy that she was able to see his gestures and that he was being so kind. She took his hand and gave a small bow. "Thank you. It is easier for me to see outside, but I still sometimes manage to mess up. The other day I tripped and Jaebi was kind enough to help me."

She looked at his hands. His colors were very comforting with their richness in pigmentation. Also, for some reasons his colors made her feel warm in her chest. It was a peculiar feeling.

She felt for her books on the window sill and carried them in one of her arms, not wanting to leave them behind. "I would like to go outside with you, if you don't mind." She looked back up at him and smiled. "So what were you up to before you found me?"

Tebryn nodded. "Jaebi's sweet. I feel like he would look after the devil himself if he got into trouble. Or at the very least Kemekin, who is the next best thing around here."

He kept his steps in check, cutting his natural stride to make the walk more comfortable for Mollie. "I was just walking around. I tend to avoid the dorms while my roommate is in, and Daisy isn't in town, so I don't have to option of going off with her. My brothers are all busy at the moment, and library is currently full of students, so for the sake of solitude I was exploring the castle."

He eye-smiled again. "I don't mind this, though. I do like meeting new people, especially interesting ones."

She smiled and held her books closer to her. "Yes, Jaebi is smart to. We have a very interesting way of communicating to say the least."

She listened intently and rested her head against his shoulder. She had only just met this man but she was already very comfortable with him. "Thank you for calling me interesting. As long as I'm not bothering you, I'd like to spend time with you. And thank you for being my escort, it's much easier to get around this castle with its maze of stairs and hallways this way."

"Mm? How do you communicate?" Tebryn realised that with Jaebi's inability to produce human speech, and Mollie's lack of true eyesight, they had quite a language barrier on their hands. Jaebi was swiftly learning sign language, but Mollie had expressed that most auras weren't detailed enough for her to make out definite shapes, so seeing the Changeling's hands would be difficult.

He patted the top of her head. "I called you interesting because you are, in fact, interesting." He chuckled, lo and behold, and found himself nodding. "You're no bother. It's always nice to have a friend to walk the castle with."

"He was ingenious enough to write on my forearm to communicate to me. Though it takes a while for me to recognize some words but he is very patient and kind. He is very bright on the inside," she explained.

She made a happy coo at his chuckle and him calling her a friend. She smiled. "I am happy that I've been able to acquire a few friends here so far. It's good to know that I'm not too different where people wouldn't like me. So, may I ask what brought you to Dunehelden, Tebryn?"

"Ah," Tebryn nodded. "That is pretty clever."

At her question he blinked. "I..." He blinked again, wondering if it was safe to tell her outright. "...am..."

He decided against it. "I'm not powerful enough for my family's tastes. So I was given up on and sent here. I prefer it this way, really. The Headmistress is a much better caregiver than my mother or grandfather ever were."

She looked up at him expectantly as he tried to find the words. Her brow furrowed a bit with his full statement. Something seemed off but she wasn't going to pry about it. After all, she was the one being nosey. "I'm sorry about your family, Tebryn. I never knew my family so I kind of bounced around between different care givers. I understand how people who aren't related to you by blood can feel like your family. That's how I got here. One of the people who looked after me was part Fae and decided that I might be a good match here. I've met some pretty amazing people so I suppose this was the right choice to make. I still don't like living in this castle though. Or maybe there's just too much of it and I get lost too easily." She giggled and gave his arm a gentle squeeze.