Oxϝσɾԃ Aʂყʅυɱ discussion

((Are we allowed to start roleplaying here yet?))

Clover walked into the common room. She got a bag of Sour Cream and Onions chips - the Queen of the Snacks, in her opinion - and picked up a heavy novel.

Silver wandered in, not really knowing where else she could go. She sat down in a beanbag chair with a book and started reading.

Kimi walked in quietly, carrying a backpack with food, water, a bit of money, and clothes in it. She'd learned to keep it with her at all times, especially on the streets.

Clover glanced up at the two new girls. "Hey," she said, nodding towards them. "What's up?"

"Cool, cool." Clover, having finished her book, stood up and put it back on the shelf. She threw away her chip bag and offered Harley a handshake. "I'm Clover."

Kimi watched quietly from the small cushion she was seated on, near the door. It was good to be near the exit, she'd learned. The other girls didn't seem too threatening. Not nearly as bad as her father, or some of the people on the streets. Kimi was about as safe as she could be.

"I've been told I'm in Aura, what about you?" Clover smiled at the younger girl. With her ratty sneakers, messy blue hair, and oversized Don't talk to me sweatshirt, Clover didn't exactly look like the genius she was.

Kimi walked to the board, gripping her backpack tightly. Her family assignment was 'Copper'.

Clover glanced up at the board. "Yep." She said. "Aura." She grabbed a water bottle and returned to her chair, turning on her old, beat-up iPod and putting in her earbuds.

Kimi sat back down by the door quietly, not wanting to interrupt. Her father had taught her strongly not to interfere with anything he did.

Kimi looked up. Always speak when you're spoken to. "I'm Kimi," she said, observing the new girl carefully before glancing back quickly at everyone else. She was alert, her eyes darting for any signs of danger.

"Ten," Kimi replied. She was nine really, but not only did ten sound older, it also made people back off more often. Ten was a more mature age, one that either deterred attackers or pushed away over-concerned adults. "What about you?"

Kimi nodded, her eyes still flicking warily from Willow to the other three girls in the room. Older people were more of a threat. They were bigger and stronger. What are the families? Kimi wondered. She didn't want a family if it would be anything like her real one. But she didn't ask, because questioning was bad. That was what her father had said.

Clover started singing along to her music quietly, nodding her head to the beat. It was Melanie Martinez's "Lunchbox Friends".

"What are the families?" Kimi asked quickly, braced for any attack that might come from her questioning.

Kimi's eyes narrowed, focusing on the note. Families...people who care for me? Those didn't add up. The family she'd had was her father. He hadn't care for her. And who was Amanda, and where did the note come from? And how did she automatically know what Kimi had said? She didn't feel as safe anymore. Her eyes continued darting around the room suspiciously, searching for a threat.

"Is there a camera in here or something?" Clover asked, pulling out one earbud when she saw the note. She stood up and looked around the room, trying to find whatever it was.

"'Families are a team for the arena,'" Kimi read quietly. "'They care for you and provide you supplies that you and your team need.'" She didn't ask, but what arena? And supplies? Team? It didn't make sense to Kimi, but she knew how to handle it. The same way she'd handled her father, and the people on the streets.

((Is there actually a camera on the wall?))

((GTG))

Kimi looked around nervously, taking her eyes off the people to examine the room. Why hadn't she done that before? She had all the exits marked out, and anywhere she could hide and everything she could use, but she hadn't taken the time to really look around the room. She didn't feel safe here. Cameras?

♡ ᴄʀʏʙᴀʙʏ ♡ | “I gotta find where i belong.” wrote: "((i kinda want Amanda to appear out of nowhere XD))"

(that might be fun)

(sure? or she could pop in after hearing Clover ask about the cameras because either way, she's going to give them away)

Kimi flinched, but she did have questions. Unless she was baiting them. Her father had done that. "What is the arena?" she asked, braced for any blow.

Kimi nodded. "Supplies?" she asked quietly, still tensed and defensive.

Kimi looked down at her bag, not wanting to let anyone take it. She needed the bag. But she also knew not to defy any adults. "Could I keep it until...the arena?" she risked asking.

Kimi nodded, and sat back against the wall.

Kimi nodded again. "Yes." She looked at all the other girls. They hadn't said anything.

"What do we do?" Kimi asked before she could stop herself. She didn't like how Amanda had said survive. She'd been in enough dangerous situations. She didn't want to live through it again.

Kimi frowned. She didn't know what defined a life as normal. Was hers normal? With her father hurting her, being bullied at school? With her running away and surviving alone on the streets, for two years? No, running away wasn't normal. But then what did she do? How did she live? She didn't say anything. Her questions didn't have anything to do with the arena. So she kept quiet.

Kimi nodded. She had the answers to most of her questions, the ones that were really concerning. The personal, she could figure out. She glanced at Willow again, her eyes flicking to the other girls.

(do you want to wait for Existence?)

Colin walked in and smiled sweetly at the others in the room. "Who might you four be?"

Kimi looked up at the boy who had walked in. "I'm Kimi," she said quietly.

He bowed slightly to Kimi. "Pleasure to meet you, Kimi." He said with a smile, holding his hand out in greeting. "I am Colin."

Kimi shook his hand, wondering about his manners. He was so polite for someone his age, a little younger than her probably.

"Same to you, Willow." Colin said to the other girl.

(Willow is a girl)

((I thought I typed girl? Oh well, I'll just edit it ^^))

Silver watched everything from her chair in the back, still unnoticed by everyone.

Clover popped her earbud back in after Amanda left, grabbing a book off the shelf. She noticed the tiny black dot above to bulletin board. "Do you guys think she'd be mad if I broke the camera?" She asked, standing up.

"Okay," Clover shrugged and walked over to the camera. She looked at it, thinking, before taking a dime out of her pocket and using the thin metal to chip the camera out of the wall.

It took her a while -and what would inevitably become a bruise on her hand - to get the camera out, but she did it. "Anyone have a screwdriver?" She called.

Kimi shook her head. "Try using the coin," she offered softly. She broke the flip top off a soda can. "Or this."

Clover saw the camera focus on her, so she crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue at it. She glanced around, thinking, before Silver tapped her on the shoulder and handed her a screwdrivr.

"Oh. Thanks." Clover said. Silver nodded and went back to her seat. Clover set the camera down on a table and proceeded to start taking it apart.

Kimi sat on her cushion with her knees tucked in, then opened a water bottle. She took a quick drink, glancing around in case anyone tried to take it, or make a move. After the camera and seeing that almost everyone here was older than her, she knew she wasn't safe.

Mareva walked in, hearing the announcement from outside. She got a bag of pretzels from the vending machine and plopped down on a couch casually.

Mareva waved back, smiling invitingly. "What's your name?" she asked, popping a pretzel in her mouth.

"Mareva," she said. "Nice to meet you." She discreetly pocketed a coin that she'd found on the couch. It was just a quarter, but it had lots of uses for later.

"Aura," Mareva said, finishing her pretzels. She got a soda. "You?"

Mareva nodded, taking a quick drink. She didn't look around; she appeared completely comfortable on the couch. She had scouted all the people already, to determine what they'd want, believe, or have.