the world through weary eyes., edric hoppe.

[Cupcake]

Alice was completely beat.
She'd spent the last forty minutes hauling box after box of nick-knacks and furniture up the several flights of vintage-looking stairs that led to her room. She had been placed in the Hinoki dormitory which had thus far been vacant, leaving her to clutter her new room alone. However, Alice had been far too tired to unpack, so she just threw the boxes and pieces of furniture in the doorway and got dressed in her new uniform. She rather liked the gray dress, it was fitted very well and was rather flattering on her. She had jumped in excitement when she noticed the golden ribbon around her long-sleeved shirts collar (which she had chosen over the short-sleeved shirt for summer due to her privacy issues), and was tickled pink when she slid on her knee-high white socks and black ballet flats.

But now she was flopped against a cream loveseat in the communal common room, located smack-bang in between the female and male dormitories of Hanemaboroshi High School. So far, she was yet to see any students pass her this morning. She had assumed that the school's opening hour being six in the morning, that students would be up and around by six thirty... But she was wrong. It was almost seven o'clock, and she still had hours until classes started for the day. Literature was her first subject, she wondered if she'd make any friends. Unlikely, she thought. "Hum..." She exhaled, trailing her eyes around the antique-furnished room. There were four golden arches, two on either side of her, that led to different sections of the common room. She had yet to explore them, and was quite frankly, too tired to even stand up. So, instead, she flicked her pony tails over her shoulders and gazed lazily at the common room's entrance, wondering if anyone would come by.

[Tomi-lovely]

Edric had just finished dressing himself in his brand new uniform, as was eagerly awaiting his first ever class at Hanamaboroshi High School. He was exhausted after a busy morning of moving his furniture into his room, and unpacking all his belongings, but that wasn't going to stop him from being almost over-the-edge with excitement. He checked his hair one final time in his dresser's mirror, and then left his dorm, dawdling anxiously down the hallway, heading towards the common room. He took in as much of the atmosphere he could, or, at least, as much atmosphere as one could in a hallway. Despite it being just a hallway, there was a magic to it. The antique wallpaper and old pictures framed in it made the place seem hundreds of years old, which was just down Edric's valley of interest.

He wondered if he would find people like him. People he could identify with, or, at least, get along with. He sighed a sigh of hope, and looked up at the ceiling, which was decorated with chandeliers every few meters.

As he drew closer to the common room, he noticed a girl sitting in there. Alone. He wasn't expecting to see anybody out so early, as it was a rather prestigious school, full of the elite of the elite, he expected everybody to be quite lazy, just as he'd read about in so many books.He looked down and composed himself. 'No need to worry..' He thought to himself. 'She looks nice enough..'

He looked up again at the girl, and smiled shyly as he passed the threshold, into the common room.

[Cupcake]

Just as quickly as she had wished she'd see some form of life at her new school, a boy appeared through the threshold of the common room. Alice sat up, feeling her heart quicken as she thought of her first encounter with a genuine, Hanemaboroshi student... But, he was foreign. His hair was dark and parted so it fell over half of his face, making his eyes very hard to see. He was somewhat tall, and looked incredibly thin in his uniform and huge, black boots. 'Wait, how the heck can he get away with that?' Alice thought, blinking in confusion. He looked European, like herself, although unlike herself, his features weren't French - they were English.

Alice flicked her white-ribboned pony tails back onto her chest and straightened up her dress, blushing a little when he smiled at her. She wondered idly what to do, should she speak to him? Alice had a general fear of males, and had trouble communicating with them and had completely lost the ability to maintain a relationship with them. She gave the nice looking boy a subtle smile, bracing herself for her first encounter.

"H-Hello. I'm Alice." She stuttered, nervously.

[Tomi-lovely]

Edric didn't know what to expect of the girl, but upon receiving that small smile and warm, yet uneasy greeting, Edric felt a little better about the first meeting with a student outside of a formal setting.He also noticed she was not a local. Her features just screamed 'European', and so, he felt a little bit safer knowing he was not far out of his cultural safe-zone. He flicked his fringe out of his eyes gracefully, yet sheepishly with his delicate fingers and looked at the girl before him.

"I'm.. E-.. Edric.. Edric.. Hoppe.. Pleased to meet you.." Edric replied, equally as nervous.

"I'm.. quite.. new here.." He said as he looked down at the clean beige carpet, unsure of what to say next.

[Cupcake]

The boy's name was Edric. Clearly English, just as Alice had assumed. However, his nervously timid voice told her that he was new, slightly disappointing Alice. "New? Ah... As am I." She replied, almost in a whisper. Edric was quite polite - she'd never met a boy like him before. She'd been used to the obscene behavior of men like her father who had abused her for their own pleasure. Speaking to this boy... Was unlike speaking to anyone else. She didn't feel the fear rise up and claw at her throat, choking her and disabling her ability to speak. He wasn't screaming at her or pushing her against a wall - he was being nice.

"Um... What grade are you in? I know that there's... Another transfer student... In fifth grade." Alice whispered, hurriedly. She wondered if Edric would sit down in one of the many other vintage armchairs in the room or perhaps if he'd sit with her. She was excited to be meeting someone else, but cautious because he was a boy. 'I guess... Not everyone is like my father...' Alice thought, her stomach lurching.

[Tomi-lovely]

Edric smiled once again at Alice upon learning she was also a new student - He wasn't in this alone. He felt a wave of relief and acceptance wash over him, and felt all his previous fears about another grueling year being spent alone slowly fade into nothingness.

"I.. am also in the 5th grade.." He said quietly before giggling softly into his hand.

'How excellent! I really wont be in this alone!' He exclaimed to himself in his mind. He knew that this year would bring so much change to his life that all that had happened before was but a prologue to what was going to unfold for him and everybody around him.

"Um.. Excuse me.. but.. May I?" He asked quite politely, sitting down next to Alice with his knees together and feet apart.

He wondered to himself if the two of them could be friends. It always helped to have people who you could rely on, or.. So Edric always heard.

[Cupcake]

'So it is him...' Alice thought, looking down at her pressed-together knees. Alice had originally been denied entry to Hanemaboroshi because they only accepted one European transfer student per grade per year - and they'd already accepted a transfer student. This transfer student, which Alice had just discovered, was standing... Now sitting beside her. 'Oh!' She thought, jumping a little when she noticed he'd gotten closer. She felt her face redden slightly at the thought of being so close to a boy... The only time she'd been close to a boy was when she'd been hit by her father.

"S-Sure..." She stuttered out, nodding towards Edric. "Wow... I guess it's really good then... That we'll be going trough this year together. Alice paused and inhaled, breathing in the scent of sandalwood and coconut that clung to the building she was in. "I-I mean, it's better than being alone, when you've never done this kind of this before... Well at least, I haven't." She stopped again, but this time, giggling softly. "I've never been to a school before." She explained, smiling as she looked over to her new... friend? Alice blushed.

[Tomi-lovely]

Edric's cheeks reddened a little as he realized he had sad a little too close to Alice.

"Oh.. Do excuse me.. I beg your pardon.." He said with sincerity as he shifted a small distance away from the girl. One must be a gentlemen, even if one is attracted to gentlemen.

Edric looked at Alice with concern, his lips parting slightly as he drew a breath.

"That's exactly what I was thinking! It.. feels good to have met someone who immediately shuns me.." Edric said with an undertone of sorrow as he giggled demurely into his hand. "But..You've never previously attended school, Alice?" Edric asked with a tone of interest and wonder.

"Why-ever not?" He added, looking her straight in the eyes.

Edric turned himself slightly, facing Alice. He put his hands on his knees and began to loosen up more and more, feeling like he truly had made his very first friend. The year was looking better and better already.

[Cupcake]

Alive felt a wave of chagrin hit her as Edric moved away slightly, she didn't mean to draw attention to her discomfort of being around males... Although in truth, she felt fairly comfortable with Edric. She looked into his pale, lavender eyes and attempted to answer his questions. "Well you see... I lived in a family home in France, at first... Where I was home-schooled..." Alice paused, taking a deep breath. She'd never been comfortable with talking about her family, but she wanted to be friends with Edric - and if they were to be friend, she'd want him to know about her past. "But then... My family started to notice that I had some special... Abilities." She continued. "And we were evicted from the family home. Alice dropped her gaze from his eyes and looked back at her knees, balling her fists against her thighs.

"So my mother, father and I moved out... But then my mother passed away." This was the part of her past she had suppressed the most - the dreadful passing of her mother. Her death had been sudden and unexpected, not to mention tragic in her and her father's eyes. "But my dad starting drinking... And didn't bother sending me to school or taking care of me." Which was true. Alice was the one who put food on the table - Alice was the one who cleaned up after her father even when he bruised and bashed her until she was barely conscious. But Edric didn't need to know that. "And so... I eventually escaped. And wound up here." She ended her story with a smile, indicating that she was happy to be at Hanemaboroshi. She looked back up into Edric's mesmerizing eyes and giggled. "What about you?"

[Tomi-lovely]

Edric looked at Alice with an unimaginable understanding of her situation. His eyes were glazed over as he listened to her story, and comparing her experiences as a youth to his own.

"Ah. Home schooling. My parents hadn't the time.. Come to think of it.. Considering how wealthy my family is.. I don't see why I wasn't just appointed a tutor.." Edric said with a tone of annoyance in his voice towards his parents. "I'm.. so sorry to hear about your mother.. and.. I'm terribly sorry about your father.." Edric said with the deepest tone of sorrow for Alice.

"How did I get here?.. At Hanemaboroshi High School?" Edric asked rhetorically. "Well.. My parents and I lived in London.. We came from a long line of nobles throughout British history.. so we had a fairly large and quite beautiful house from the Victorian era which has been in our family since then. But.. even though we were supposed to be quite a sophisticated family.. We most certainly were not. My father was a drunk also. He beat me and abused me and everything else you could expect from such a disorderly person, and my mother didn't even acknowledge my existence.. She was addicted to Marijuana and Heroin. I was bullied at school rather severely.. Quite cleshe, yes. So.. I isolated myself from everybody.. and got myself emancipated, and my parents were forced to move three cities over to abide by the AVO, and eventually.. I obtained some.. 'abilities'.. of my own. Eventually I needed an outlet for such abilities.. and found the school website.. and.. well.. after a short interview with a representative.. Here I am today.." Edric blurted out, seemingly unable to contain himself when it came to sharing his story with someone he felt somehow bonded to.

"Ehe.. I'm.. sorry.. for all t-... that.. I shouldn't have been so open with you.. I apologize if I seem too forward.. I've never had this before.. someone to talk with.." Edric said, his cheeks turning a slight shade of pink as he looked down, his hair falling down and covering his eyes.

"Um.. so.. Tell me more about these 'abilities' of yours. It sounds intriguing." He looked up and smiled at Alice, brushing his hair out of his eyes with a princely flick of his hand. He was obviously changing the subject.

[Cupcake]

Alice completely understood what Edric had been through, and felt rather rude that she had not been as open as he had been. Her father was just like Edric's, although her mother was kind... But once she passed on, it made no difference. She was too, wealthy. Her mother had in fact, left her with everything she owned and her enormous trust fund, so there was no need for Alice to go out or look for work. She was... Set for life, to say the least.

"Please don't apologize... I understand. My father was... Much like yours. She paused, sighing. And because of him, I... I'm somewhat afraid of... men." Alice didn't want to continue speaking of her family, so she took her new friend's next question with gratitude. However, she'd never really spoken of her abilities before, so she wasn't entirely sure of how to describe them.

"Well... I haven't always had my... abilities. She began, deep in concentration. "I'm telepathic. Although, my telepathy has two different forms. Normally, I can only hear people's thoughts if I'm t-touching them, or making contact... But you see, I'm also a shape shifter. When I'm in the form of an animal, I can hear all human and animal thoughts without making contact." Alice finished, hurriedly. She felt a lot more comfortable with Edric now, even though they had only just met. She guessed it was the pure fact that neither of them had ever really had a friend before. Regardless, she was feeling happy.

"And I can also blood bend... But I don't count that as an ability... Blood bending is controlling the water within anothers' body, moving them to your own will... It's quite horrible, really. I started learning it when my father... Tried to hurt me. But I've never had to use it any other time." Alice smiled, pausing and gazing around the fragrant room. Students were now beginning the pass by the archway that was used as an entrance for the common room. The majority of them had been females, she guessed the males were somewhat more likely to be late risers. She took a deep breath and turned back to Edric. "What about your abilities? What are they like... If you don't mind me asking?"

[Tomi-lovely]

Edric smiled and laughed slightly, turning his attention to the entrance of the common room. There were people walking past rather frequently, and he knew that Alice had noticed also, due to the smile on her face as she saw the school begin to wake up, as she had wanted so badly.

"Well you don't need to be afraid of me" He said, looking into her eyes sweetly. "That.. 'blood bending'... sounds rather painful." Edric said, cringing at the thought and giggling all the while.

"... My abilities? Well.. I, too, have not always possessed mine. Like I said earlier, I developed mine from quite a young age.. I am also telepathic, but I don't need to be making physical contact to do so. But, I do know my place and don't just read people's thoughts without prior permission or reason to do so. I also am telekinetic, and can teleport small distances, as well as having power over auras, to harm or help the person, though, is completely up to me. I can also predict the future at will, but that is something that I do with caution. If I know too much, I could see something bad and attempt to change it, which would make the future mess itself up." He smiled at Alice again, flicking his hair out of his eyes with a swift head movement.

He felt so comfortable with Alice, just as if he'd known her his whole life. Like they were siblings in a past life, or like they were supposed to meet. Like fate.

[Cupcake]

Edric had a certain charm that captivated Alice, making her feel safe and nostalgic of her brief friendship with her cousin Gabrielle, before her family had moved. "I-I don't feel afraid... Of you." She confirmed, drawing her aquamarine eyes to meet Edric's lavender ones. His eyes were such a pretty colour. Lavender had always been one of her favourite colours - she remember her mother dressing her up as a child in many dresses that were the exact shade of Edric's eyes. They made her feel warm inside, as if filling up something that had been missing for a long, long time.

"I've never felt... comfortable, with a boy before. I've always been scared but... I feel... fine, with you. Alice added, quickly. "And our powers are kind of similar... Except you don't turn into a wolf or fox when you get emotional." She giggled, lifting her pale hand to her mouth. It was true though - sometimes when Alice was hit hard by a certain emotion such as anger or embarrassment, she would transform into an animal. "When I transform at will, I turn into the last animal I saw, but when it's against my will, I could turn into anything, as long as I have seen it before." She smiled, innocently. "It's quite a bother, sometimes."

[Tomi-lovely]

"I noticed that, too! Ah, yes.. I can imagine how bothersome it must be to turn into an animal quite suddenly.." Edric said as he looked at Alice.

"I'm very glad we met, Alice. I feel very comfortable with you, too, which is a strange feeling, admittedly, for me. But it feels.. like a good type of strange." Edric said again, smiling brightly at her.

'I just know something good will come of this!' Edric thought to himself. He knew, right then and there, that a beautiful friendship had been woven.

"So, Alice. What classes have you chosen this year?" He asked as he put his hands in his lap.

[Cupcake]

"Yes." She laughed, carelessly. "Especially when I'm in front of other people... It can be rather problematic." Alice continued, giggling. She didn't feel nervous around Edric at all now, she felt incredibly comfortable - as if they'd known each other their entire lives. She was so happy to have made a friend. Coming to Hanemaboroshi, Alice had convinced herself she would go the next few years entirely alone, and that she would be okay with that because she was used to being alone. But, meeting Edric this morning had shown her that being with someone was much better than being alone, no matter what the circumstances. Perhaps these next two years would be enjoyable, now that she had a friend. Who knew? Maybe they were in some of the same classes.

"Um... I believe I applied for Art, History and Literature. I have a free period between History and Literature." Alice answered, after Edric asked her what classes she was taking. She hoped she'd have at least one class with him, it would be so much more exciting if they were able to spend more time together. "I'm usually very quiet so I chose the subjects that I thought would be easiest for me to participate in alone... Plus I love to read." She added, explaining her choices. She was little worried about her selection of a free period, but perhaps with some proper concentration, she'd get some study done. After all, she was naturally very intelligent despite the lack of schooling she'd had. "What classes are you taking, Edric?"