Marilyn-

Students walk around me, chatting comfortably. I become aware of how stiffly I hold myself, not looking at anyone. But it’s not like I can randomly start a conversation with someone, right? 

Although it would be fine if someone did that to me...

I suddenly realize I have no idea where I’m going. But I continue walking like I have a purpose. Thankfully, a shrill whistle pierces the air and jolts me back to reality. Well, maybe not thankfully. My head hurts but I resist the urge to cover my ears. 

"First year students!” A deep voice yells, echoing across the hall. “Report to your homerooms immediately for dorm assignments! Crimson in 100, Leopard in 200, Everest in 300! Let's move, move, move, you weaklings!”

Typical mean strong guy, I think to myself, but keep quiet. I have to climb all the way to the fifth floor, better save my breath. 

By the time I reach the second floor, I’ve calmed down. On the third, I start pondering random deep questions. At the fourth, my legs are hurting and my hand is tired of holding on to my luggage. By the time I reach the fifth, neither my brain or body feels like doing much. I stop to rest, then walk in. 

Once again, I stay quiet, looking at the board to find my seat. I walk over to it, not making eye contact. 

The teacher appears, commanding us to be quiet. She looks familiar, I try to place it...

”Hey, aren’t you Mute Button? The superhero?” My voice sounds strange. I’ve never really noted my accent, seeing as until now basically everyone I knew had it. The teacher smirks.  

"You aren't a completely clueless bunch after all. Well, if you know me then I'm sure some of you know that I can control the volume of sound waves. So don't go getting obstreperous on me or I'll quite literally shut you all up."  

Ha. I was right. I’m smart. I’m making a good impression. Wish you could see me now Mother... I stop my train of thought there. Don’t want to think about that now. Now things are good. Plus there might be a mind reader somewhere. Wouldn’t want them to hear me. Hello? Any mind readers? I stop, realizing how stupid I sound. 

Mrs. Cortez, as she wants us to call her, starts walking around our desks. 

"What I'm passing out right now is your official class schedule and a map of the campus. Everest students will be rooming in the Sagarmatha Building, the easternmost pagoda in this complex. On the first floor, you will find a lounge area, as well as a kitchen stocked with every ingredient an aspiring chef could want."  

Several people groan, but I perk up, smile lighting my face. It might be a bit of a challenge to cook for these people, but it’s a challenge I can face! I’m clearly the best chef here. They’d better be grateful. Cortez continues talking about how important it will be for us to provide for ourselves. My smile turns into a smirk. 

"Moving right along.” She says, getting to the front of the room. “As you all are aware, this is a very exclusive school, so you will all be getting your own rooms. There are three other floors in the Everest dorm, with rooms for five students on each one. I'll leave it to you to sort out who gets which room. Are there any questions?"

I don’t raise my hand, and am glad I didn’t in a few moments. Then we are left alone. 

“I’ll have you know I’ll be doing the cooking for anyone who can’t.” I speak up, enjoying the feeling of being in charge. “And I would prefer to be on a floor with quiet people.”

I cross my arms and wait. 

top!

Ripley~

After an unfortunately long trudge up to the fifth floor we are directed to our home room by a short, dark haired woman who will probably be our teacher. She says some things and passes out papers, but I'm not really paying attention until someone calls out:

"Are you Mute Button?" I jerk upright in my chair. Mute Button! I've heard of her! She's super cool- can control soundwaves and stuff! Once she helped defeat a group of exofauna by stifling all their sounds, making them unable to communicate. I thought she'd be taller. But now she's passing out papers and saying something about getting to know each other, and I figure I ought to pay attention. 

"Everest students will be rooming in the Sagarmatha building, the easternmost pagoda in the complex." Pagoda? I don't know that word. "On the first floor you will find a lounge area as well as a kitchen stocked with every ingredient an aspiring chef could want." A kitchen? Brilliant! Unfortunately, not everyone seems to share my enthusiasm and I hear some annoyed voices, as well as some new words I can easily guess. Ms. Cortez rolls her eyes.

"Oh, grow up. An important part of being a hero is providing for yourself and others. And we get fresh deliveries every weekend so it's not like I'm leaving you in a cave with two sticks and a raw steak. I'm sure some of you are capable of rising to the occasion." Two sticks and a raw steak. I might be able to make something with that. Depends on what type of sticks. And what type of steak. If I had cow steak I'd probably use one of the sticks to turn the steak, but if it were reindeer I could leave it in the embers to slow cook. Most of these people have probably never eaten reindeer before, come to think of it. The kid who recognized Ms. Cortez' hero name sounded like my old English language teacher. Certainly somewhere British. Do they have reindeer there? I don't think they do... 

Ms. Cortez is leaving and I definately just missed something. Before I can figure out what, the British kid who spoke before says, "I'll have you know I'll be doing the cooking for everyone who can't. And I'd prefer to be on a floor with quiet people." She sits back with a smug little smile.
Prat.

"D'you think the rest of us are imbeciles? You're certainly not the only one who can cook." My slightly lilting accent, a mixture of my native Finnish with an Irish tilt, rings accross the room. Conversation ceases as the Brit turns around in her chair to face me.

"Excuse me, that is not what I said. I simply wanted people to know who to ask! So don't you put words in my mouth." Her gaze falls to the coat I brought from home, which is very conspicuously made of reindeer hide. "You're probably just disappointed she's not going to give us that cave and the raw steak." 

The papers on my desk begin to rustle. "Just because I didn't grow up in some fancy little city doesn't mean you're more important than me! My clothes might not be as posh as yours, but I've every right to be here."

I know it's a little late in the RP, but I have some clarification questions about powers.

@Rogue - You said that Korrynn's powers "depend on the condition she's in." Could you clarify what that means? Is it more of a "if she's falling, she can fly, and if she's drowning, she can breathe underwater" thing, or a "if she's mortally wounded, she struggles to do this" sort of thing?

@Darkking - Daniel's power sounds cool, but I don't quite understand what it means? Why is he embarrassed by it? A shadow creature seems like something powerful and a great asset, not something to hide.

Dariya~

"FIRST YEAR STUDENTS! REPORT TO YOUR HOMEROOMS IMMEDIATELY FOR DORM ASSIGNMENTS! CRIMSON IN 100, LEOPARD IN 200, EVEREST IN 300! LET'S MOVE, MOVE, MOVE YOU WEAKLINGS!"

I jump about a foot into the air when the voice echoes through the courtyard, then blush when I see everyone around me is totally unperturbed. There's a guy, made out of rocks, hollering at me. I think I have the right to be startled. 

Room 300, then. Probably on the third floor. I start upwards, pushed by the mob of blue-jacketed people surrounding me. When I hit the correct floor, though, it seems the vast majority of people are still surging upwards. Brows narrowed, I tap someone on the shoulder. "Hi, sorry. What homeroom are you in?"

"Everest," the person replies. He's Taiwanese, with long bangs and square glasses. I wait for him to continue, but he doesn't. I've found another chatty soul.

"Oh, me too. Is Room 300 not on the third floor, then?"

"No. It's on the fifth."

"Thanks." Only after he's started up the stairs does it register. "Hang on a second - AREN'T YOU RELATED TO LIN YOULING?"

He ignores me. I can't say I blame him. Still, he could at least answer the question, I think grumpily. 

I finally hit the fifth floor. After sitting in a helicopter for hours, the walk was quite unpleasant; I can't wait to find a chair. I collapse next to a tall, blonde girl in formal dress and try to sneak a smile at her. To my relief, the Youling boy is sitting nowhere nearby. Things would have been awkward otherwise.

"I request that everyone be seated."

The voice takes me by surprise - again. Apparently I'll have to get used to random instructions from people who just . . . appear. I crane around and see, to my surprise, that there are some people who are still hastening to find their seats. Which strongmen were cool with walking up five flights of stairs, then milling around a classroom for ages?

As everyone begins to quietly find their seats, the speaker fixes us all with an intense glare. Perhaps she's some sort of mind-reader or empath. But no - there's something familiar about her - what was it again?

"Looks like everyone bothered to show up. No need for attendance then."

Definitely not a mind reader. But who is she? I know I've seen her face before . . .

"Hey, aren't you Mute Button? The superhero?"

It's the girl next to me who speaks up. I fall back in my chair. Of course! Mute Button! How did I not remember that?

"You aren't a completely clueless bunch after all," she says with a smirk. "Well, if you know me then I'm sure some of you know that I can control the volume of sound waves. So don't go getting obstreperous on me or I'll quite literally shut you all up.

"But in all seriousness, please don't use my alias. From now on, I am Ms. Cortez, and I will be your homeroom teacher."

I think I can feel my head exploding. A real superhero? My homeroom teacher? Nobody else looks particularly nonplussed. I guess I'd better get used to it - this is how things work at Candrama.

"There are fourteen other people you will share all of your classes with for the next four months." There's one of my questions answered. "Now, I'm not one for icebreaking activities, but I suggest you get to know some of them." Ms. Cortez begins handing out papers from a stack on her desk. "What I'm passing out right now is your official class schedule and a map of the campus. Everest students will be rooming in the Sagarmatha Building, the easternmost pagoda in this complex. On the first floor, you will find a lounge area, as well as a kitchen stocked with every ingredient an aspiring chef could want."

I groan along with quite a few others. I can cook - thanks, mom - but I don't want to. Ms. Cortez begins to chide us, and I can feel myself bristling. Nobody told us about this! I was looking forward to exotic meals and new things! Just because we're capable of doing something doesn't mean we have to do it all the time!

Still, this is a silly thing to get mad over. I direct my attention back to Ms. Cortez, who has started speaking again. "Moving right along. As you all are aware, this is a very exclusive school, so you will all be getting your own rooms. There are three other floors in the Everest dorm, with rooms for five students on each one. I'll leave it to you to sort out who gets which room. Any questions?"

My hand shoots up - I want to know why the room numbers are so odd, and how we're supposed to find our way around if those don't even make sense. All she does is dismiss us. I can feel myself getting mad again. This isn't encouraging finding things out on your own - to find things out, you ask! This is just a teacher being lazy. I'm not sure if I like Mute Button very much anymore.

Ms. Cortez leaves the room, and we're on our own. The girl next to me speaks up, offering to do the cooking for anyone who can't. She has a British accent, like I do; I wonder if she knows any British cuisine. Then she adds that she'd like to be on a floor with quiet people.

Am I quiet? Well, I don't like it, but I can be. And that was practically an invitation. I lean over to her. "I'll be on a floor with you. What's your name? I'm Dariya."

----

I hope I handled Wei all right.

Yes, that is probably what Wei would say.

Also, just so I don't have to keep repeating this, anything written in bold in any of my Wei posts is Jingchen (the spirit haunting his weapon) speaking. Wei can communicate to Jingchen telepathically and obviously no one else can hear him.  

--- 

Wei~

Several flights of stairs are child's play compared to the training we did at my old school. I ascend quickly, only breaking my pace to answer a girl's question. Somehow, she actually recognizes me (I must've appeared in a magazine at some point), but she's already wasted enough of my time to warrant a reply.

Well, well, well. Five minutes in and you're already a celebrity. I'm kind of jealous.

Be quiet. You and I both know I'm not here to make friends.

Maybe you're not, but I could be. What if I made a friend, hm? What then? You'd have TWO abominations following you around.

Drop the act, Jingchen. This place used to be a monastery, and monks never become ghosts. Candrama is about as far from haunted as it gets.

Alright, alright. Take a joke, kid. 

I'm one of the first to enter the classroom, as expected. I find my seat and sit until the teacher, Mute Button, arrives. The others seem surprised, but it only makes sense the most prestigious hero school would bring in established superheroes to teach. After all, Master Pahada himself is the principal.

Mute Button goes over a few details, nothing I didn't already know, finally mentioning an 'initiation'. I admittedly have an unfair advantage in this regard, as I clearly recall Lin telling about her own initiation.

They change it up every year, Wei, but it's basically a test of power. They want to see how good you all are at utilizing your powers before they set a baseline for the class.

Well, at least she was vague about it. I want to be on the same level as everyone else when I beat them. 

Mute Button abruptly leaves the room, leaving us to our own devices. A careless move? No, she's too smart for that. This is to test our cooperation skills.

A blonde girl- Marilyn, I note, looking at the seating chart, immediately gets into an argument with another student about about who has superior culinary abilities, and for some reason, also about their clothing? Such a petty subject should not elicit an argument in a school such as this.

At first I consider letting my enemies destroy each other, but then I realize it would be in my best interest to keep class relations as respectful as possible. After all, respecting your opponent is key to not underestimating them. Time to intervene.

"MISS JONES." I lurch out of my chair, standing stiff like a soldier. The quarrel stops and all eyes are temporarily turned to me.

"It would be an honor to share a floor with you. As my daily meditation demands a certain level of quiet, we have a common interest at hand."

Marilyn stares blankly at me for a moment. "Oh, um, thanks? May I ask how you knew my name?"

"Seating chart."

"Oh, right. Well, Marilyn is fine, no need for 'Miss'."

I bow rigidly in her direction and take my seat. The other students resume discussing their dorm room selections, and the girl who stopped me earlier in the hallway begins talking to Marilyn.

Chaos averted.

I’ll just make it happen so Marilyn never got around to answering Dariya because of Ripley.

Marilyn-

My head is still spinning as the boy takes his seat. I look at the chart to find out his name. 

Wei Youling...as in Lin Youling’s brother? It could be a coincidence, but I’m guessing not. 

Anyways, I look back to my rival. They glare at me, and I turn away. What am I to them? Just a stuck-up city brat? Is that how I come off? Well, clearly they overreacted anyways. If anyone wants to cook for themselves, let them! Part of me wants to say something more, but I probably shouldn’t. Besides, I clearly didn’t lose the fight. And if it got physical, I wouldn’t stand a chance against powers. But I didn’t lose the fight. That’s what matters.

I turn back to the pretty, dark-skinned girl that had approached me. “Well, I’m Marilyn as I’m sure you noticed. Sorry about that. Nice to meet you, Dariya. 

@St. Owl the first option, but I think she'll be limited so that she isn't OP.

Korrynn~

I watch the boy, Wei, carefully. I like him already. As a friend of course. I make mental note to talk to him later. I survey the rest of the class. Daniel is slumped in his seat, obviously trying to look invisible. I smile. Rising from my seat, I slink over to his side.

"Hey, kid." I whisper. He gives a start, but when he sees my friendly smile he brightens.

"Hi Korrynn. Good to see you again." Daniel says, smiling back at me. "Do you have any idea what we are supposed to be doing?" I shrug.

"I think we're supposed to use our powers to cook." I put a hand to my chin, feigning deep thought. "I think I'll turn into a Sizzleserpent. I could use the barb on the tail to cut the food and the heat from the frill to cook it..." Daniel laughs.

"Is that your power? Shapeshifting?" I shake my head.

"I can also do some other stuff, but those powers aren't always useful at first thought. And I can only turn into Exofaunae and mythical creatures. What about you?" Daniel's eyes turn dark.

~~ 

I feel my expression darken "I..." I start to say, then I stop myself. I can't tell anyone "My power is unnatural profifiaency with assasin's tooks so I shouldn't do any cooking, I'd probably poision someone Eh?." I joke and Korrynn laughs, it's a merry sound.

"That's halarious, you're a riot Daniel!"

"I'm being serious the only thing I cane make other than a double-double is Canadian Bacon." She looks at me.

"What's a double-double?"

"A coffee with two creams and two sugars." I explain.

"Oh... That makes sense." Korrynn states.

"So, how’s she bootin’er?" At Korrynn's confsed glance I restate "How's it going?" before I realize that there is someone standing behind me and I freeze up.

~~~

Daniel is having a hard time making more than one friend so I have set up him meeting someone else! Hopefully they're not as terrifying as he thinks they might be.

Hey artisticbirdie is this okay? Your charrie's friendly so I chose her to be the person standing behind Daniel...?

Korrynn~

A thirteen year old girl stands behind Daniel, and without looking he freezes like a scared rabbit. A flash of pity streaks through me. The girl sticks a hand out to both of us.

"Hey. I'm Ryan. I overheard your conversation, and I was wondering if we could work together...? Or, it's more like you'll do the work for me, I get really sick if I come into contact with... Most things." Ryan's eyes show embarrassment. I smile and shake her hand gently.

"Sure. Don't be scared though." The younger girl smiles back. Daniel's eyes glitter with a strange light, but he plays with his fingers in uncertainty and fear. Shadows shift behind his eyes, but they calm when he looks at me. I grab one of each of my new friends' hands.

"Come on, let's get cooking, or, I'll get cooking, you watch, I guess." We all laugh. We finally find the kitchen. A few other kids are already cooking. I gather some foodstuffs and lay them in various positions on a slab of stone. Then, turning to Daniel and Ryan I state:

"Don't be scared. I won't hurt you. I promise." A memory of when I was almost shot dead by terrified people flickers through my head. I shake it to clear my mind. Closing my eyes, I grow still. Suddenly, My skin turns a firey reddish-orange, covered by stone-hard scales. My legs turn into a long, snake-like tail, ending in a wickedly sharp, jutting scale, not unlike a sword. My upper half morphs together until my arms and my torso are one, as thick as a tree trunk. I lengthen, and my neck sprouts a glorious frill, streaming out from just behind my giant snake's head. Soon, a giant, orange, frilled and barbed snake sits in my place, head bowed to avoid the ceiling. My blood-red tongue flicks out of my mouth. Daniel takes a step back.

"Whoa. That is terrifying." I smile, or at least I smile like a snake. Which is pretty much impossible. I look down at the raw ingredients. I raise my barbed tail. Soon, the meat is minced, the veggies are sliced, and they are sitting in a boiling pot of water, which is wrapped in my coveniently malleable frill. Soon, I add herbs like rosemary and basil. When the water has turned a thin brownish-yellow, I strain it out of the pot, leaving the meat and veggies. They sear beautifully. I scoop them out of the pot into bowls. Then, Daniel dashes over and grabs two of the four bowls.

"I want to do SOMETHING." He says, smiling. Ryan steals the other two, standing next to Daniel. Both are beaming. I shrink slowly back into a human.

"Good then. Let's go give this to the judges."

~~

Good?