Orphan Mine - [CLOSED]

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Taska Vilna

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[CLOSED]
 
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Status: [Closed]
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❁ EVENTS: As dawn peers up over the horizon, cutting through trees and skylines, an unfamiliar sun peeks shyly through the rough ,uneven clouds before flickering away again. The snow has passed its peak now, but still patters on the roof and windows, persistent and cold. The children are woken by a shattering of glass and an Icy wind blustering through the second floor coed dorm. A neighboring tree has broken through the window...

❁ CALENDAR:

JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC


1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
31 |

MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT | SUN

❁ TIME: MORNING | AFTERNOON | EVENING | NIGHT

❁ WEATHER: SUNNY | CLOUDY | STORMY | RAINING | LIGHT RAIN | HEAVY RAIN | WINDY | COLD |
SNOWING


 
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...

It's cold...

...

Crash!!!

Ali pulled what blankets she had tighter around her as she was startled awake. It is jaring, going from dreamless sleep to awake in the frigid air as wind blew into the bunkhouse. However, as she pulled her blanket closer, she only managed to pull it over her toes, exposing her feet to the freezing wind that had just disrupted their sleep. She quickly yelled in surprise at how cold it was, trying her best to remedy it before balling herself inside her blanket. She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself.

The window is broken.

A tree branch broke it.

The wind is now blowing in snow into the room.

Someone has to keep everyone warm, or at least fix the window.

Alice mustered what she could, taking in one last breath before saying, somewhat softly (making it harder to hear over the howling wind from outside)

"You guys, this is a room filled with kids with superpowers, does anyone have anything to keep us warm?"

Ali hated the winter. Things got so cold, and everyone was forced to stay indoors. She liked people... enough. It just wasn't exactly easy to keep talking for too long. She could see, just about everyone in this room was at least mildly annoyed, some were afraid (particularly the younger kids) and then there were those who somehow were able to keep sleeping in spite of the sheer cold. If only she could make the younger kids feel better, but honestly she wasn't feeling particularly good herself. Why can't winter be over?

 
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Emily grunted and rolled out of bed, wrapping herself in her blanket and wincing as she shoved her feet into her slippers.

"Are you for real, Ali?" she groused. "Remember the last time Freddie tried to use her powers indoors? There's still scorch marks on the dining room ceiling."

She pulled on a sweater, grabbed a broom from the corner of the room and padded over to Ali. "Come on, get up and sweep up the broken glass before somebody steps on it. I'll go tell Matron about it."

And with that she ducked under Ali's bed and vanished.
 
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The day had finally come for Johann. He was given the green at the hospital, so he was now on his way to the orphanage. His new home. While on the car, Johann stared silently through the window. At first one may think he was bored or sleepy, but that couldn't be further from the truth. It has been years since Johann last saw the outside world, as his bed at the hospital had no windows nearby, so anything other than a dark room and fighting circles was extremely refreshing.

"Alright Johann, we're here"

The agent said to the boy. Johann recoiled a little upon hearing his name, as if he was suddenly pulled back to reality. Johann turned slowly to face the agent, concerned. The man smiled at him.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. They are going to take care of you. I promise."

Johann's expression relaxed a little. He came to trust this man, he had been aiding Johann since he was rescued. So his word had weight on Johann.
After some moments of internal struggle, a faint smile appeared on Johann's face. He nodded emphatically to the man. He then proceeded to open the car's door and stepped out, with a few new belongings on a military bag slung over his shoulder. Johann took two steps forward, before he realized he had forgotten something. He turned to face the man inside the car, and said:

"Th-tha... Thank you"

The man was quick to smile widely at Johann

"My pleasure. Now go inside, it's too cold to stay out here"

Johann nodded once again, and slowly made his way in. Once he was past the first set of doors, he heard the engine of the car fading away in the distance.
This was it, he was finally free. He stood in front of the entrance door. Was it that simple? Was the thought that invaded his head. What if this was just a trick of Margaret to mess with him? He started hesitating. Just to make sure, he decided to look around outside and see if someone forced him back in or if he would be pacified or something of the sort. He went back outside, and circled the building. Around halfway through his inspection, a sudden noise from above startled him. In a brief moment of panic, he manifested a chakram and threw it at the source of the noise. A wave of regret ran across his body when he looked up. It was a bird, which now was flying away. But that's not what put Johann nervous. The chakram cut a tree branch and fell on a window.
He braced himself for the shot, or the whip, or something. But nothing happened. That's when Johann's fear turned into guilt, as he confirmed in his mind he was safe.

"I'd better go and apologize..."

Back at the entrance, he slowly opened the door to the hall, peeking in at first.

"H-Hello?"

No answer. The place was empty, too. Johann sighed, unsure of what to do next. This was his new home, but it still felt weird to just barge in without nobody inviting him. In the end, he decided to just enter, and snoop as little as possible. He went to the large couch in what looked like the living room, and sat on one edge of it, leaving his bag in the floor next to his legs. When he sat, he groaned, as his body reminded him of his not fully yet healed wounds. Visibly, a cut in his left cheek and another in his right brow. While also having his left hand bandaged up.
 
Ira awoke with a start, the sound of a window breaking pulling him away from the clutches of sleep. The colored orbs that had hovered around his bed as he slept dissipated suddenly as the boy pushed himself up to a sitting position. He groaned loudly to make his annoyance known to the rest of the room. For once he'd been resting peacefully, undisturbed by unpleasant dreams or other children complaining that his power was keeping them awake, and he was anything but pleased.

"What did you idiots do this time?" He forced out through gritted teeth. "It's freezing!"

He swung his legs out of bed far more violently than necessary, a thunk resounding as he slammed his feet onto the ground before standing up. "Can't we just have one normal night of sleep? It's like you people are trying to be unbearable."

Even he knew it wasn't fair for him to be upset with the other children. After all, more often than not he was the one upsetting everyone else's sleep. With that being said, his behavior didn't come as much as a surprise. He was still unaccustomed to communal life and notoriously grumpy right after waking.

Shaking his head in disapproval, he walked over to survey the window, seeming unphased by the broken glass.
 
Ali let out a long sustained groan as she slowly slid out of bed and grabbed the broom and dustpan from Emily. She kept her blanket wrapped around her as best she could in the tightest swaddle she could muster. She slipped out of bed and started putting her shoes on. Just as she was standing out of bed, Ira stood rather angry.

"Uh, Ira you're um... Nevermind. Just... excuse me real quick."

Ali started working on sweeping up the glass, moving around Ira's feet as best she could. She knew he didn't really feel care much, but judging by the blood that was staining the snow blowing in through the window, he had cut his feet up pretty badly. Once she had swept up everything she could, awkwardly working around the boy, she looked back at him. "I'm bringing you some bandages. You're bleeding a lot, and I don't care if it is going to finish healing soon."

She walked off with the dustpan, calling to the other children not to walk across the area without shoes. She dumped the glass in a trash can outside the room to prevent any unnecessary danger. A little excessive? Perhaps, but still, better not to have any risk. After she went searching for bandages, but something caught her attention. She looked back to see that someone was sitting in the living room. She slowly approached the room, a little nervous. Who could be there right now?

She didn't know him at all, but she could see a warm flushed color radiating from his cheeks and ears.
"You're... Embarrassed. No, ashamed? Who are you?"
 
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Johann kept himself busy, trying to prepare an explanation of what he had done, without sounding extremely stupid. Yet, no matter how hard he tried, the answer he wanted never appeared. Some activity started upstairs, as some faint noises reached his ears, but he ignored them at the moment. The noise got closer to him, but he was lost in his endeavor doomed to fail.
It was only when a soft voice reached him that he reacted. The sudden nature of the girl had him visibly recoil. For a moment he just looked at her, remaining tense, he had not a clue of what to say. It took him a couple of seconds to realize the least he could do was answer.

"Jo-Jo... Johann Jockhart"

His tone completely matched his whole demeanor.
 
♫ Now Playing: 18. "Maid and Manor"

A familiar rustling is heard around the orphanage, like the rustling of mice or cats in the walls, the rafters, under the floorboards; not a din, but a quiet, almost unheard ambiance. The Housekeepers.

They seem to appear like clockwork, but always from just out of sight, as if from a room that isn't there, or a corridor around and impossible corner. The Housekeepers are always new, never a familiar face, but always the same caring, peaceful air, and tidy, brown uniform. They always do their business without pause, making beds, cooking meals, setting tables, and the almost miraculous cleaning, all before bustling off into the corners of vision and disappearing back into nothing with the same curious noises.

Today's batch begin to arrive, signaling breakfast, and the haste reparations to the upstairs window.
 
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Eden rolled herself over, putting her back to the new and exciting sounds coming from just a few beds over. Framed at the hips by a black down comforter, far too big for the bed she slept on, Eden carefully pulled the single, thin, flat sheet up to her neck, perhaps expecting to somehow block out the cold winter air with a few micrometers of cotton.
The redhead, somehow reminiscent of a ferret, elongated and burrowed into the top bunk, quickly got over the existential need for five more minutes of sleep and shot out of the bed like a bullet. She whipped the sheet and comforter out of the way with a hand and foot, a coordinated motion no doubt the result of years of habit; rolling completely off the side of the bed and landing in a stumble and crouch on the old carpet, Eden glanced slyly around the room, making sure nobody saw the fumble.

"What happened."

Her voice was pretty normal, all things considered, young and dictional and with a hint of nasality. The only thing to stand out was the flat, unaffected delivery of her words. She wasn't angry, or uninterested, just wholly unaware that her part in the world was but one of billions.
She spoke again in quick succession, with the same bleak and unnerving tone.

"Who broke the window."

Her questions, although very clearly diagnostic, were spoken more like orders. Eden raised herself from the floor and marched stiffly around her bunk bed, like a driver doing a walkaround, then proceeding to fall to the ground by the door, crosslegged and anticipatory.
Eden's standard morning ritual, rocking to and fro ever so slightly, waiting to be the last one out.
 

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This guy seemed so jumpy. But given the nature of where he was, and the fact that she had never met this boy before, it was clear that he was new. He had just joined the Orphanage, and most weren't exactly transplanted happily. Unlike her, who grew up here, many were suddenly thrown into a place that, while better, is confusing and nerve-wracking. Perhaps he could use a bit of calming down? No longer as annoyed, and more sympathetic, she took a deep breath in and out for a few moments in order to calm herself as much as possible.

"O-Okay... Um. Hi Johann. I'm Alice, though most people just call me Ali. I'm going to grab your hand now."


Without any time for him to really process what she was doing she was already approaching him, and extending her hand out for him to take.

"I'll take you to the Headmaster."
 
It was kind of amazing, how Johann managed to get so worked up by just a girl addressing him. He noticed no signs of negative feelings towards him. Which keeps surprising him ever since he was rescued. However, he couldn't shake off his old habit of assuming that everyone wanted to beat him badly, not even if they were just young people, he had fought people his age before, some with fear, and some with blood thirst. However, the soft tone of the girl, introducing herself as Ali managed to make Johann not run and hide. Holding his hand? What kind of weird suggestion is that? That's not the question in Johann's head, though, it was where was he going to be taken.
Ali was already stretching her hand towards Johann. He looked at her hand for a few seconds, then her face, then her hand again. Hesitantly, Johann gave her his uninjured, and somewhat shaky, hand to hold. She then said she was going to take him to the Headmaster. Johann took a deep breath, and closed his hand on Ali's, for him to then follow her. The question he was about to ask was going around his head for a while now, but the mention of the Headmaster settled it in his mind.

"Am... I... going to be punished?"
 
"Huh?" Caught somewhat off-guard by Ali's concern, Ira lifted a foot to assess the damage, a perplexed frown tugging at the edge of his mouth.

He hadn't actually considered the injury until the girl spoke up. Of course, it wasn't as if he hadn't felt the cuts at all. If anything, he felt them more strongly than most. However, when it came down to it, everything was up to perspective; When you were used to feeling more pain than most, it didn't particularly feel like more in the end. Besides, he prided himself on his self-control when it came to such matters. If anything would be truly painful, it would be the embarrassment the boy would surely feel if he flinched over something as silly as a sliced foot. Being considered a wimp was just about one of the worst things he could imagine.

"Don't bother." He responded finally, returning his foot to the floor with a disapproving shake of his head and an eye roll. "I won't use them anyway."

He glanced over his shoulder at Eden, the younger girl's voice drawing his attention away from the broken window. "Considering where we live? An idiot, probably. Almost definitely, actually."

He shrugged to indicate he knew no more than what he'd already said and then - ever a fan of punctuality - turned to leave the room, heading for breakfast.
 
♫ Now Playing: 3. "Please Hold My Hand"

❁ EVENTS: The orphanage has become alive with warmth as breakfast approaches, the children awoken early by the sudden effects of the storm. Having done its deed, however, the snow outside now slows to a gentle patter on the glass, the occasional gust of wind blowing flurries into the air. The Housekeepers in full swing, quiet clattering of dishes and tableware can be heard downstairs; this is all accompanied by the unmistakable smells of precooked, frozen sausage patties, store brand pancake batter sizzling in pans, and subtle hints of an orchard of boxed juices.

❁ CALENDAR:

JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC


1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
31 |

MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT | SUN

❁ TIME: MORNING | AFTERNOON | EVENING | NIGHT

❁ WEATHER: SUNNY | CLOUDY | STORMY | RAINING | LIGHT RAIN | HEAVY RAIN | WINDY | COLD |
SNOWING


 
As he grabbed Ali's hand a wave of calm spread across him. It was small, but it would help calm Johann, if only partly. He hesitantly asked if he was going to be punished, to which Ali looked back at him, somewhat confused before reading the sense of fear on him. She giggled a little before addressing his concerns.

"No no, you're not gonna get in trouble. You wouldn't get in trouble even if you were the one who broke the window." She winked at him knowingly. Sure, the Headmaster would be understanding, but some of the other children could be rather abrasive about it. She started leading him past the quick moving Housekeepers, paying them no mind, but was stopped in her tracks by the sweet and savory aroma of mediocre breakfast sausage and store brand syrup. Not exactly the breakfast if kings, but it was exactly what she needed at this moment.

Her stomach growled.
"After breakfast. Come on. I bet you're hungry too." She remembered that she still lacked her gloves. "Um... One second, I'll be right back." She ran off, back upstairs to her room, and grabbed the pair of dusty blue fingered gloves that sat on her nightstand. She had completely forgotten about Ira, the new arrival fresh on her mind. When she returned, she was gloving her hands. before grabbing his hand again and leading him to the dining room.

"It's not fantastic, but honestly it's likely the best thing a lot of us here have had."
 
Johann didn't understand why or how, but the touch of this girl eased him up. He was still scared, but not as on edge as he was at first. He almost felt like Alice was psychic, as she read him with such ease. Despite her playfulness, Johann couldn't quite get off of him the burden of such a record speed to cause trouble. He just followed along, quickly glancing at the speed of the housekeepers, while also catching some nice aromas in the air. Food? Of course, as if it was weird for kids to eat nice food. For him, it was, as it has been years since he last ate something decent. Margaret served him barely edible garbage, every day, all day. The hospital only gave him IVs to nurture him, so he didn't eat anything there. While grimacing on the thought of past experiences, Alice caught his attention by inviting him to eat. Taken off guard, Johann nervously replied:

"... I... I am..."

Alice stopped for a moment, and asked him to wait. Still completely out of his element, Johann stood silently in the middle of the hall, trying to fully process what just happened. As in hindsight, meeting someone his age and have them being so nice to him, had him quite shocked. As if the window wasn't enough... Then, he came back to his senses when he felt a hand grabbing his. He recoiled, but not as much as before. He sighed, relieved, once he turned and saw that it was Alice, guiding him.
A short trip later, a large table with some kids already having their breakfast greeted him. He would look around, as if still, deep down, the possibility that all of this was a joke at his expense, existed. He shook his head after a few seconds of panic, trying to chase away the thought. Johann
then felt somewhat at peace when he heard Alice's voice comment on the food.

"...That's right... They're all like me..."

A small smile grew on Johann's face upon coming to that thought. He would look at Alice, as if waiting for her permission, or rather, her lead, to sit down to eat.
Once there was a plate in front of him, he would stare at it intently, almost hypnotized by the sight of real food. Johann grabbed a fork and poked at the top pancake a couple of times. Then he slowly pulled apart a small chunk of it and put it in his mouth, where he slowly chewed on it. Upon tasting the amazing sweetness and texture of the pancake, a couple of tears ran down his face, as a bright smile accompanied them. He quickly turned away from Alice to wipe the tears off his face, as it was not pleasant to be seen crying. For now, he managed to stop them from continuing to flow, so he returned to his plate. Slowly taking in the long forgotten experience of a human meal.