Entering the Black [Closed]

Kaya took the girl's hand and walked her through the growing sea of students, not particularly fazed or nervous about it. Sure enough, when they made their way down the other hall after a few minutes of squeezing through the bustle, Kaya's face brightened. "That's it, that's it." She looked up at the sign, taking a minute to read the characters slowly. Admissions Office. That was the place. She brought Lenoir through the door, which she immediately closed behind them. The noisy hall was kept outside, and the room faded to a tranquil hush.

"I apologize." Kaya gave her an uncertain smile, glancing back at the door. Lenoir seemed a little shaken by the whole thing. "I suppose I'm not....old, or, experienced enough for this job." Her hands absentmindedly fumbled with the braid in her hair.

She would have shouted out upon a force enacting on her hand if she didn't quickly realize who it was. Instead, she mutely followed after her guide, trying to get her mind off everyone who was surely staring at her. However, that just made her think about life back home, which in turn made her sad. So she ended up thinking about symmetry until they reached their destination. Lenoir was surprised they had actually made it, but hey, they did.

"Hey, it's, uh, it's alright," she tried to reassure the girl, though she was sure that she wasn't doing a very good job of it. "You're fine, really." It was true enough. This girl wasn't bad at all. She was pretty nice, all quirks considered.

Kaya fell to a state of ease, but her hands still massaged her hair, her toe smoothing against the blade that clung to her leg. She kept to this docile state for a moment, before blinking over at the desk, and coming back to life. She swung her back around, opening it and sifting around. The bag's side was fluffed in caribou fur, fur that looked as light and warm as clouds, and in its beige face was the dark etchings of two symbols: ᑲᔭ She pulled out a small piece of paper, but kept the shoulderbag to her stomach. She traced the characters with her fingers. "Kay-ya.," she said in her breathy, quiet accent. "Kaya, that's my name." Swinging the bag back around, she held the paper firmly in both hands. When she introduced her name, her voice was almost proud, a small tone of righteousness. She looked up at the girl with a small smile. "What's yours?"

Oh, they were exchanging names now. To be honest, the thought crossed her mind to ask the girl her name. It would've been polite, but it had never felt like the right time. She was relieved that Kaya - so that was her name then - had initiated it. She had only Kaya's word on those symbols, but maybe it was her own written language. That was kind of cool. "Uh, it's Lenoir. Spelled L-E-N-I-O-R, but it's pronounced Lenore." Her mom had thought the spelling was unique, but everyone who read her name either pronounced it in the French way - Le-nwah - or with an extra emphasis on the 'ir'. Her friends hadn't cared that much: they pronounced it correctly. She missed her friends. "Thanks for helping me, Kaya."

Was Kaya a friend, then? They'd only just met, but she had taken time out of her day to help her. Normally you didn't do that for a stranger. She needed friends: she felt sad without them. They'd probably text her, but it wasn't the same. Her best friend wouldn't be there to hug her when she cried over a failed test. Not that she would try to fail or anything. She needed a new Virginia. Maybe Kaya could be her temporary replacement. "Hey, uh, Kaya? Do you, uh..." She fidgeted nervously with her hands. "Do you want to be friends or... something?"

Friends. Kaya was busy testing the girl's name on her tongue, soundless whispers to herself as she molded it with her mouth, Len-or, Len-or. But at the suggestion she perked, almost as if she was grabbed from a trance, and gave a polite smile. It seemed genuine enough, slightly hindered by her linguistic practice, and she nodded. "I would enjoy that," she said, before scribbling her name on the paper. Though she sometimes struggled with writing, her name was well practiced, and she put it atop a room number. Her dormroom number.

She handed this paper to Lenoir. "If you need anything, I live here," she said. The thought of having someone to help, of being someone's Loic, made her brighten. She took her left hand, moved it in a circle around her heart, and nodding her head in a short bow, turned and left the room.

Phew: what a relief. Lenoir was definitely worried that Kaya would say no. Now she had a friend: a new friend. Without any other friends, that made Kaya automatically her best friend. Could she whistle? Virginia could whistle. Maybe that was too weird of a thought. She'd find out if it was needed. Was it? Probably not. Yeah, that was weird. Snapping back to attention, she took the piece of paper from Kaya and looked at it: it was just her name and a number. Apparently she lived there, wherever 'that' was. Maybe she'd find out. Yeah, probably. She had to live somewhere, right?

Lenoir then watched as Kaya circled her heart with a hand, then bowed slightly before leaving. She could only watch with a bemused expression, barely having the presence of mind to wave back. What was that for? An encircled heart? Did that mean something? Did it mean love? No, she was not ready for that: back at home, she hadn't reached the point where she was ready to start dating, so hopefully that wasn't the case. It probably wasn't the case. That was an extremely weird thought. A soft blush crept up to her cheeks as she shook the thought away, clutching the piece of paper to her chest as she went to get registered.