Nick and Shen - Backdated
Jul. 5th, 2017 03:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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ax_mainNick's just settled in and meets his first fellow student.
Well, it was comfortable. He had a room to himself, at least for now, his systems and computer all set up, but even he had to be impressed with the massive TV that dominated the common room of the mansion.
And honestly, the relatively small student body was nice. They'd offered him something called an 'image inducer,' and he'd stashed it on his desk to play with later. But for now, he was going to do what his mother had suggested, and just be himself.
Even if that meant being the awkward wolf-boy sitting on the couch, channel-surfing. He was deciding between cartoons, cooking channel, or ... well, something else. He scratched the side of his muzzle, idly, and then cast a glance around. He wondered if maybe people would try to avoid him because of his looks. His parents loved him, after all. And as long as he remembered that, he'd be okay. At least, that's what his mother had told him.
"Hey," Shen stated as she walked in, wearing one of her usual racerback tank tops so her wings could hang free on either side of it. "New guy? I'm Shen," she introduced herself with a smile.
Nick blinked blankly at her, for just a moment, before he stuttered out a response. "I-I'm Nick," he said. "J-just got here today. Were you, uh, g-going to watch something?" he asked, gesturing at the TV.
"I could do," Shen replied with a shrug that made her wings shift in her back. "I was bored, I thought I'd see if anybody was around."
"W-well," he said, briefly distracted by the wings on her back. "There's video games, too," he said, offering that. "I-if you're into that kinda thing."
"I'm not the best, but sure," Shen replied with an easy smile, moving over to the games to see what was on offer. "Any one in particular you like?"
"Mario-Mario Kart is good with other people," Nick said. "Y-you have wings?" he asked, finally seeing her back for the first time. "C-can you fly?"
Shen winced. "It's a work in progress. But yeah, ish. I'm working on it," she added, and smiled when she found the game. She was glad he hadn't suggested one of those games where the idea was to kill everyone dead.
"Oh. That's... that's neat, though," Nick said, weakly. "Wings are neat." Cooler than what he'd gotten. "H-how long have you had them? J-just curious. I... I started, uh... being... like this... when I was like, eight," he said.
"Wow," Shen stated, eyebrows raising. "Yeah, no, it's only been a few weeks for me. And I've got a way to go." She was so glad she'd gotten that information from Tessa, too. She felt a lot more grounded for it. She slid the disc into the console and grabbed a couple of controls, handing one out to Nick as she came back to the couch.
She toed off her flip flops to sit on the back of the couch, her bare feet on its seat.
"Thanks," he said, as he took the controller from her. "Did... did it hurt, when they started coming in? I-I know how that can be," he said, figuring that she might appreciate some sympathy if that was the case.
"Yeah, it's like, growing pains plus back pain," Shen stated with a grimace. "But this other student can tell everything about our mutation, and apparently I'm gonna be able to get rid of them and grow them back much more quickly, so at least the growing pains bit won't last as long. And I've started working out like crazy. I mean, a lot." Stupid ablist language; she still had trouble doing without.
"Wh-who here can figure out mutations?" Nick asked, suddenly interested in that. "I-I've been wondering a lot about mine. I... I'm hoping that I'll be able to... change back, someday." Not like he really remembered what he looked like, though. He was eight when he changed, and that was years ago. He'd grown, a lot.
Shen looked awkward, nose wrinkling as she picked a character. (Yoshi, of course.) "I'm still trying to figure out whether telling you that would be at all like outing them. It's a bit weird, being part of a brand new minority, so we don't know where the lines are yet." She looked at him with an apologetic little smile. "I shouldn't have mentioned it at all. I'm sorry."
Distracted momentarily by the noise of Shen picking a character, Nick hurriedly selected his own character (going with Luigi, because his dad had always picked Mario when they played together). "I-I guess I understand that," Nick said, feeling just a bit down about it. "I just..." He sighed, figuring he should let it go. "I-I'm sorry. Y-you're like, the first... kid my age I've spoken to in... a long time."
"I'm sorry," Shen said again, immediately. "This is really hard to navigate." She'd stopped paying any kind of attention to the screen, and was just turned to him, now. "But, like, we can talk. I just don't want to infringe on the privacy of others, you know?" She was tempted to say 'I'm sorry' again, but she stopped herself from apologizing for that.
"N-no, it's fine. I-I know that privacy's like, super important," he said. "I just... I-I've just... been removed from social stuff for a... a really long time," he said. Seven years, now? The math checked out. "S-so I have to relearn everything."
"If it makes you feel any better, most teenagers are shit at respectful interaction?" Shen tried, then figured that was more offensive than anything. She sucked, and she grimaced. "I mean - there's a lot of stuff we learn to navigate over time. You'll be okay."
"I-I'm glad you think so," he said, taking small comfort in the fact, but at least it was comfort. "They gave me this image... inducer... thing... they said it'll make me look--make me look normal," he said, figuring it was a topic she could relate to since she had wings. "B-but when I came here, my mom told me I should try ... y'know... just... being myself."
"If you're okay with that," Shen answered, hesitantly. "I just mean - if you want to use the inducer to help smooth things over... It's not like anyone else knows what it's like to be you."
"I-I mean..." He wasn't sure if he was. But he also wasn't sure if he wasn't, either. "I dunno?" he said, meekly. "I... I haven't had a lot of time to think about it."
"It's okay," she told him earnestly. "You're in the best place to figure it out."
"Yeah." He gave a little smile. "It's one of the reasons I'm here, I guess," he added, nodding. "S-so do you know the controls?" he asked, since she'd said she hadn't played much before. They were still lingering on the course selection screen.
"Uh, yeah," Shen confirmed with a nod, redirecting her attention to the screen. "Yeah, this is one I've actually played a bunch."
"Oh, cool, I'm glad I picked it, then," Nick said, clearly a bit more relaxed with the topic of video games. "My dad and I used to play this all the time at home. It was one of our regular after-work things." He tilted his head, thinking about something for a moment. "P-parents are allowed to come visit if they want, right? I'd... I don't see why they wouldn't, but I kinda forgot to ask. Do you know?"
"Yeah," Shen confirmed with a nod. Her uncle had come in with her to help her move in and check out the place. "Xavier just wants to know beforehand, from what he said?"
"Th-that's good," he said, nodding. "I just... it's..." Difficult, moving out of the only place he'd known since he was a child. "School, you know? I mean, at least it's summer. I have to take some classes to make sure I'm good with highschool stuff, but my mom home schooled me. Sh-she gave up her job to do it," he said, knowing that she had, though she'd never brought it up but once or twice, and never bitterly. "I... got really lucky with my parents. I don't think a lot of parents would have accepted what... what happened with me."
"Sounds like they're awesome people," Shen remarked with a warm smile, the course selection totally on hold for now.
Realizing that he was talking a lot about himself, he decided to switch it up; he didn't want to be rude. "Wh-what about you?" he asked, curiously. "H-how was your home life? I-if you don't mind me asking. I-I... is that an okay thing to ask?" he said, obviously stumbling socially.
"Sure," Shen confirmed easily. "I mean, some people might not want to talk about it, but as long as you respect that, you're good." She then shrugged. "My parents died when I was a kid, and my uncle brought me to the States. We lived in Seattle, but he's moved to Salem Center so he could be nearby. He's pretty awesome."
"Oh jeez," Nick said, blinking at her. "I-I'm so sorry about your parents," he said. "Th-that must've been really... really terrible." He couldn't imagine losing his parents; he'd be devastated. "Y-you must be... a really strong person."
"It is what it is," Shen replied philosophically, and perhaps slightly evasively, fine. And she was what she was; she liked to think that she was strong, yeah, but bragging wasn't a very Buddhist thing to do. "My uncle's the best, though."
"That's-that's good," Nick said, glad that she had a good uncle. "I don't have an uncle, so I don't know what that's like. D-do you have any siblings? I'm an only child."
"Same," Shen answered with a nod. "No cousins either."
"Oh." Nick seemed kind of disappointed in the answer, but he shrugged and then nodded. "I guess we're in the same boat, then," he said. "D-do you have a roommate? They haven't given me one yet, but I'm sure they will eventually... I-I'm not sure how I'll handle it..."
"Mine's coming tomorrow, last I heard," Shen replied with a smile. "It's gonna be a first for me too." Well, her uncle and she had once lived in such a tiny apartment that sure, she'd shared a room before, but she'd been much younger and it wasn't the same as sharing with someone your own age, was it.
"Are you excited?" he asked, curiously. He wasn't sure how he felt about the prospect of getting a roommate, but it was bound to be a new experience.
"And nervous," Shen confirmed with a nod. "I mean, what if she sucks? Or what if she thinks I suck?" She shrugged, her wings shifting with it. "We'll see."
"I-I mean I just met you, but I... I don't think you suck," Nick said, awkwardly, dipping his head to scratch the back of it nervously. He still couldn't believe that someone as pretty as she was would be found talking to him without, well, being forced to. "I-I mean, you... y'know. Didn't... didn't judge me by my looks."
"A, that would be a shitty thing to do to anyone, B, your looks are cool anyway," Shen replied easily. All the more easily that it was clearly a touchy topic for him, and she didn't want to add to his unease. "Come on, let's race each other," she added with a grin, and turned back to the screen.
He was honestly a bit surprised, enough so that he almost fumbled the controller a little bit, before nodding and turning his attention to the screen. "Yeah. It'll be great to see if I'm as good as I think I am," he chuckled, clearly more confident when video games were the focus of things.
"Now you're giving me extra motivation to defy expectations and manage to kick your ass," Shen stated with a grin, as she chose a course at random. "Ready?"
"Yeah," Nick said, grinning at the screen. "Let's race."
Well, it was comfortable. He had a room to himself, at least for now, his systems and computer all set up, but even he had to be impressed with the massive TV that dominated the common room of the mansion.
And honestly, the relatively small student body was nice. They'd offered him something called an 'image inducer,' and he'd stashed it on his desk to play with later. But for now, he was going to do what his mother had suggested, and just be himself.
Even if that meant being the awkward wolf-boy sitting on the couch, channel-surfing. He was deciding between cartoons, cooking channel, or ... well, something else. He scratched the side of his muzzle, idly, and then cast a glance around. He wondered if maybe people would try to avoid him because of his looks. His parents loved him, after all. And as long as he remembered that, he'd be okay. At least, that's what his mother had told him.
"Hey," Shen stated as she walked in, wearing one of her usual racerback tank tops so her wings could hang free on either side of it. "New guy? I'm Shen," she introduced herself with a smile.
Nick blinked blankly at her, for just a moment, before he stuttered out a response. "I-I'm Nick," he said. "J-just got here today. Were you, uh, g-going to watch something?" he asked, gesturing at the TV.
"I could do," Shen replied with a shrug that made her wings shift in her back. "I was bored, I thought I'd see if anybody was around."
"W-well," he said, briefly distracted by the wings on her back. "There's video games, too," he said, offering that. "I-if you're into that kinda thing."
"I'm not the best, but sure," Shen replied with an easy smile, moving over to the games to see what was on offer. "Any one in particular you like?"
"Mario-Mario Kart is good with other people," Nick said. "Y-you have wings?" he asked, finally seeing her back for the first time. "C-can you fly?"
Shen winced. "It's a work in progress. But yeah, ish. I'm working on it," she added, and smiled when she found the game. She was glad he hadn't suggested one of those games where the idea was to kill everyone dead.
"Oh. That's... that's neat, though," Nick said, weakly. "Wings are neat." Cooler than what he'd gotten. "H-how long have you had them? J-just curious. I... I started, uh... being... like this... when I was like, eight," he said.
"Wow," Shen stated, eyebrows raising. "Yeah, no, it's only been a few weeks for me. And I've got a way to go." She was so glad she'd gotten that information from Tessa, too. She felt a lot more grounded for it. She slid the disc into the console and grabbed a couple of controls, handing one out to Nick as she came back to the couch.
She toed off her flip flops to sit on the back of the couch, her bare feet on its seat.
"Thanks," he said, as he took the controller from her. "Did... did it hurt, when they started coming in? I-I know how that can be," he said, figuring that she might appreciate some sympathy if that was the case.
"Yeah, it's like, growing pains plus back pain," Shen stated with a grimace. "But this other student can tell everything about our mutation, and apparently I'm gonna be able to get rid of them and grow them back much more quickly, so at least the growing pains bit won't last as long. And I've started working out like crazy. I mean, a lot." Stupid ablist language; she still had trouble doing without.
"Wh-who here can figure out mutations?" Nick asked, suddenly interested in that. "I-I've been wondering a lot about mine. I... I'm hoping that I'll be able to... change back, someday." Not like he really remembered what he looked like, though. He was eight when he changed, and that was years ago. He'd grown, a lot.
Shen looked awkward, nose wrinkling as she picked a character. (Yoshi, of course.) "I'm still trying to figure out whether telling you that would be at all like outing them. It's a bit weird, being part of a brand new minority, so we don't know where the lines are yet." She looked at him with an apologetic little smile. "I shouldn't have mentioned it at all. I'm sorry."
Distracted momentarily by the noise of Shen picking a character, Nick hurriedly selected his own character (going with Luigi, because his dad had always picked Mario when they played together). "I-I guess I understand that," Nick said, feeling just a bit down about it. "I just..." He sighed, figuring he should let it go. "I-I'm sorry. Y-you're like, the first... kid my age I've spoken to in... a long time."
"I'm sorry," Shen said again, immediately. "This is really hard to navigate." She'd stopped paying any kind of attention to the screen, and was just turned to him, now. "But, like, we can talk. I just don't want to infringe on the privacy of others, you know?" She was tempted to say 'I'm sorry' again, but she stopped herself from apologizing for that.
"N-no, it's fine. I-I know that privacy's like, super important," he said. "I just... I-I've just... been removed from social stuff for a... a really long time," he said. Seven years, now? The math checked out. "S-so I have to relearn everything."
"If it makes you feel any better, most teenagers are shit at respectful interaction?" Shen tried, then figured that was more offensive than anything. She sucked, and she grimaced. "I mean - there's a lot of stuff we learn to navigate over time. You'll be okay."
"I-I'm glad you think so," he said, taking small comfort in the fact, but at least it was comfort. "They gave me this image... inducer... thing... they said it'll make me look--make me look normal," he said, figuring it was a topic she could relate to since she had wings. "B-but when I came here, my mom told me I should try ... y'know... just... being myself."
"If you're okay with that," Shen answered, hesitantly. "I just mean - if you want to use the inducer to help smooth things over... It's not like anyone else knows what it's like to be you."
"I-I mean..." He wasn't sure if he was. But he also wasn't sure if he wasn't, either. "I dunno?" he said, meekly. "I... I haven't had a lot of time to think about it."
"It's okay," she told him earnestly. "You're in the best place to figure it out."
"Yeah." He gave a little smile. "It's one of the reasons I'm here, I guess," he added, nodding. "S-so do you know the controls?" he asked, since she'd said she hadn't played much before. They were still lingering on the course selection screen.
"Uh, yeah," Shen confirmed with a nod, redirecting her attention to the screen. "Yeah, this is one I've actually played a bunch."
"Oh, cool, I'm glad I picked it, then," Nick said, clearly a bit more relaxed with the topic of video games. "My dad and I used to play this all the time at home. It was one of our regular after-work things." He tilted his head, thinking about something for a moment. "P-parents are allowed to come visit if they want, right? I'd... I don't see why they wouldn't, but I kinda forgot to ask. Do you know?"
"Yeah," Shen confirmed with a nod. Her uncle had come in with her to help her move in and check out the place. "Xavier just wants to know beforehand, from what he said?"
"Th-that's good," he said, nodding. "I just... it's..." Difficult, moving out of the only place he'd known since he was a child. "School, you know? I mean, at least it's summer. I have to take some classes to make sure I'm good with highschool stuff, but my mom home schooled me. Sh-she gave up her job to do it," he said, knowing that she had, though she'd never brought it up but once or twice, and never bitterly. "I... got really lucky with my parents. I don't think a lot of parents would have accepted what... what happened with me."
"Sounds like they're awesome people," Shen remarked with a warm smile, the course selection totally on hold for now.
Realizing that he was talking a lot about himself, he decided to switch it up; he didn't want to be rude. "Wh-what about you?" he asked, curiously. "H-how was your home life? I-if you don't mind me asking. I-I... is that an okay thing to ask?" he said, obviously stumbling socially.
"Sure," Shen confirmed easily. "I mean, some people might not want to talk about it, but as long as you respect that, you're good." She then shrugged. "My parents died when I was a kid, and my uncle brought me to the States. We lived in Seattle, but he's moved to Salem Center so he could be nearby. He's pretty awesome."
"Oh jeez," Nick said, blinking at her. "I-I'm so sorry about your parents," he said. "Th-that must've been really... really terrible." He couldn't imagine losing his parents; he'd be devastated. "Y-you must be... a really strong person."
"It is what it is," Shen replied philosophically, and perhaps slightly evasively, fine. And she was what she was; she liked to think that she was strong, yeah, but bragging wasn't a very Buddhist thing to do. "My uncle's the best, though."
"That's-that's good," Nick said, glad that she had a good uncle. "I don't have an uncle, so I don't know what that's like. D-do you have any siblings? I'm an only child."
"Same," Shen answered with a nod. "No cousins either."
"Oh." Nick seemed kind of disappointed in the answer, but he shrugged and then nodded. "I guess we're in the same boat, then," he said. "D-do you have a roommate? They haven't given me one yet, but I'm sure they will eventually... I-I'm not sure how I'll handle it..."
"Mine's coming tomorrow, last I heard," Shen replied with a smile. "It's gonna be a first for me too." Well, her uncle and she had once lived in such a tiny apartment that sure, she'd shared a room before, but she'd been much younger and it wasn't the same as sharing with someone your own age, was it.
"Are you excited?" he asked, curiously. He wasn't sure how he felt about the prospect of getting a roommate, but it was bound to be a new experience.
"And nervous," Shen confirmed with a nod. "I mean, what if she sucks? Or what if she thinks I suck?" She shrugged, her wings shifting with it. "We'll see."
"I-I mean I just met you, but I... I don't think you suck," Nick said, awkwardly, dipping his head to scratch the back of it nervously. He still couldn't believe that someone as pretty as she was would be found talking to him without, well, being forced to. "I-I mean, you... y'know. Didn't... didn't judge me by my looks."
"A, that would be a shitty thing to do to anyone, B, your looks are cool anyway," Shen replied easily. All the more easily that it was clearly a touchy topic for him, and she didn't want to add to his unease. "Come on, let's race each other," she added with a grin, and turned back to the screen.
He was honestly a bit surprised, enough so that he almost fumbled the controller a little bit, before nodding and turning his attention to the screen. "Yeah. It'll be great to see if I'm as good as I think I am," he chuckled, clearly more confident when video games were the focus of things.
"Now you're giving me extra motivation to defy expectations and manage to kick your ass," Shen stated with a grin, as she chose a course at random. "Ready?"
"Yeah," Nick said, grinning at the screen. "Let's race."
