ogre's charm /open/

[Kinkade Cymir Malixi]

KINKADE
_{the ice we skate is getting pretty thin
the water's getting warm, so you might as well swim
my world's on fire, how 'bout yours?
that's the way i like it, and i'll never get bored}

"'ello,"Kins greeted as he stepped into the game room. All around him his fellow students entertained themselves with what the room had to offer, seeming rather oblivious to him. Well, almost all of them.

"Jesse! Listen! He's Shrek!"A girl giggled. Kins gave her a quizzical look, baffled by the excitement radiating from her and by the intensity of her gaze. It was almost like she thought he'd disappear if she didn't keep her eyes on him. "Say, 'it's on my to-do list'! Go on, say it!"

"It's... on my to do list?"Kins obliged, still trying to figure out why this crazy girl was so worked up. He shouldn't have obeyed; his words made her shriek then burst into a fit of giggles. Awesome.

"He is Shrek!"The boy beside her, Jesse pointed out. Now the other kids were looking at him, waiting for him to say something else, to show just how similar his voice sounded to the green ogre Shrek. Compared to their accents, his was much closer, but it wasn't that close...

"Yeeaahh. Not green, sorry. See? Hand,"Kins lifted his hand and waved it at them to prove his point before continuing,"Normal hand, human hand, foreign hand." He took a careful step back, wanting to slip out of the room as his hand dropped back to his side.

"Oh, this is too good!"Jesse laughed. The girl was beyond words- so lost in her own giggling. Some other students began to snicker as though it were some joke. Okay, this was just a little too odd.

"Uh, bye-bye,"Kins raised a hand again, this time in a sort of wave, then ducked out of the room. Phew. Crazy students. When the distinct sound of one of them following him could be heard, he sighed. Just what he needed. He stopped and turned to face them anyway.

"'ello,"Kins greeted again, offering a smile.

[River Tam]

(Sorry it's short, lack of muse.)

**the world keeps turning**

River peers around a corner, her bare feet silent on the floor. The sound of his accent, so different from the harsh sounds she’d heard since coming to the ‘States, was like a breath of fresh air. It wasn’t British, mind you, but it was a welcome relief.

The American sounds are clipped and sharp. They hurt her ears, so used to hearing Brits speak, until recently. Especially New York accents. Oowww… She’d never had a problem understanding, thankfully, due to the Omnilinguism, but it was so drastically not like home.

“Scottish accents are much prettier than American accents.” she says in her soft, lilting English accent.

[Lillian Alexis Keller]

Lily Keller
don't you wish you were a fly on the wall?

"You should recognize my sounds by now, Kins. After all, didn't we spend every summer here since you came to America," Lily said with a smile. She was really glad to have what was probably her best friend on campus. She'd never really had close friends, only girls who hung out with her, not the other way around.

"So Kinsey, how've you been? Any new powers?" Lily was curious to catch up with her friend. Lily had to be careful when she was around him, and guard her feelings. Kins was an empath - meaning that he could sense her emotions. Lily projected only her excitement and happiness to see him. It was cliche kind of, the way she felt about him. But it didn't matter. Kins was the only one who knew her secret, the only one her grandfather-the Founder, had allowed her to tell. He knew she was the Founder's granddaughter, and so far, he hadn't told anyone.

"Hey River, well, I'm partial to Scootish accents as well," she said in her Southern American accent. Damn, she'd been hoping to spend time alone with him, as friends. Oh well, perhaps they'd go on a ride together soon. She looked at him, and broadcasted her feelings-the joy of riding her horse, and the puzzling-ness of a question.

[Kinkade Cymir Malixi]

KINKADE
_{somebody once asked,
could I spare some change for gas?
i need to get myself away from this place.
i said yep- what a concept!}

"Of course,"Kins agreed, nodding to Lily. It was such a relief to see her again. She was his way of avoiding his father, and his single favorite person on the island.

"I've been well, thank you, and no, nothing new to report. What about you, Lily?"Kins questioned, smiling in response to the projected emotions. It was good to know he was missed. When Lily addressed River again, Kinkade turned his attention back to her.

"I'm glad you think so,"Kins grinned at River's comment. But he didn't offer agreement; saying he disliked American accents made him quite a few enemies, and there were exceptions to his distaste. It didn't seem like the conversation he wanted to be having. But her own accent was familiar to him.

"You're own accent is strikingly familiar,"he added,"Beautiful. Makes me miss Europe. You grew up there?" If she did, they had common ground. When the silent question was asked, Kinkade smiled and looked back at Lily.

"I'd love to- I missed carefree days with the horses,"Kinkade replied with a smile. He wasn't a great rider, and when he'd first arrived he was terrified of the horses, but now he was rather fond of it- mostly because Lily was.

[Lillian Alexis Keller]

Lily Keller
don't you wish you were a fly on the wall?

"Nothing new around here, 'cept for the solstice rumors, I swear they get crazier and crazier every year," Lily replied, loud enough that only he could hear. Once again, Kins was the only one who knew the truth outside of Lily and the staff, with his father being a teacher and what not. Four times a year one the spring and fall equinoxes and summer and winter solstices, odd lights appeared in the uppermost windows of the mansion.

The rumors were preposterous of course, ranging from faeries to ghosts, and to the not-so-preposterous-the Founder performing magic spells. The truth was that it was the staff was celebrating, exactly what it was, the specifics she did not know. Kins and Lily had always been barred from the meetings. "So when do you want to for that ride? Maybe lunch on the peak? Or the hotsprings are nice this time of year. It's up to you, Romani and I don't care, if fact, I think he'll be excited to see you again, if you bring his treat."

[Kinkade Cymir Malixi]

KINKADE
_{i'm in too deep and the wheels keep spinnin' 'round
everyone says i'm getting down too low
everyone says you just gotta let it go.
you just gotta let it go. you just gotta let it go.}

"Ah- yes. Ridiculous rumors."Kins murmured, his tone hinting an emotion beyond the conspirator tone that came with the topic. It was something almost like annoyance. He wasn't used to being lied to by Shiloh, but that was the one that that Shiloh seemed mum about. Surely Lily could sympathize where her grandfather kept her from the details, too.

"The peak. How could I turn down an offer of lunch with you?"Kins kidded. Actually, he had a better reason. The hot water of the hotsprings wasn't really his thing. In fact, if there was one place on campus he was told not to go, it was near them. He could watch her swim if he wanted, but it was just awkward, being reminded. Plus, Shiloh would kill him if the hot water didn't. But he'd chanced it a few times, got in anyway. It never seemed worth Shi yelling at him after.

"Aw, come now, I wouldn't forget his treat."Kins chuckled. The horse seemed a bit spoiled to him, but even making an animal happy was gratifying to him to some degree.

[Lillian Alexis Keller]

Lily Keller
don't you wish you were a fly on the wall?

"They're unbearable, sometimes I just want to scream the truth, but I can't, the repercussions from him would be horrible. You've seen him when he's upset," Lily looked up at him. Normally her grandfather was laid-back, but sometimes when hisfur was rubbed the wrong way, he blew up. It wasn't always her fault. Though, she had to admit it, the majority of the time it was because Kins and her had stayed out too late, usually to star gaze up on the peak.

"I don't know, you've never before, less we were in trouble," Lily joked back. They'd always had an easy, back-and-froth relantionship, ever bantering, in a friendly way. Positive?" She teased Kins, "Well, I'll see you at the peak trail at 11, then?"

[Kinkade Cymir Malixi]

KINKADE
_{talkin' 'bout nothing,
not thinking 'bout death.
every little heart beat
every little breath}

Kins nodded in agreement. But contrary to her statement that it'd be horrible, he rather liked tempting her grandfather. Mostly because, though he respected the man, he knew he was the authority. He was the one above all others that Kins could test his boundaries with. Still, the respect he had kept him from doing anything too definitively disobedient. And his respect for Lily influenced him. If he did anything, she'd have to deal with her grandfather angry and her grandfather could always keep him away from Lily if he went too far. It wasn't worth that risk.

"What a foolish thing that would be,

[/color]"Kins chuckled again. Having lunch with her was a highlight to his day, all joking aside.

"Certainly,[/color]"he affirmed. "Eleven it is.[/color]"[/center][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Lillian Alexis Keller]

Lily Keller
don't you wish you were a fly on the wall?

"Yeah," Lily trailed off, not know what to say. She moved to the window staring out, a little sad, a little impatient, and a little that she didn't know what emotion it was. Watching the other students practice their powers, half of the school raining, the other snowing and a couple of mini-tornadoes were the somewhat 'normal' experiments.

Lily smiled, and turned back to Kins, no trace of sadness on her face. True, he'd probably already read her emotions, but she still acted. The other students had real, true friends, she had Kins, and she loved him, he was an amazing friend. Yes, she was well-liked, but never had real friends, other than Kins. It had never really bothered her until this year, when the students had come back, and greeting one another warmly. They'd said a quick hello, then rushed off to be with their friends in the game room, to secret passageways.

[[mood swings, much? ]]

[River Tam]

**the world keeps turning**

“Hi, Lily.”

She nods. “Lived in London ‘till I was thirteen.” River doesn’t explain more of that, not wanting to go into the details of what happened in the two years between when she left Europe and now, here at Alexandria Academy. She almost blushes when he calls her accent beautiful, but doesn’t. It’s not like her to be a giggling little girly.

The two of them had gone on without her, as she was lost in thought, but she doesn’t really mind. Not much, at least. She turns and walks away, leaving as silently as she had come.

[Kinkade Cymir Malixi]

KINKADE
_{darling, do not fear what you don't really know
'cause it won't last. the worries will pass.
all your troubles that don't stand a chance,
and sometimes it'll take more ...}

Kins smiled when she said she'd lived there until thirteen. He'd got two extra years before being sent here for good, but he thought he could sympathize. Being an empath, it was obvious to him that she didn't want to go on talking about the topic. He let it go, content just to know she was native to Europe and didn't think he was some sort of ogre like the other kids.

Kinkade found himself so wrapped up in monitoring the slightest variance of Lily's mood as she went to the window that he didn't notice that the other girl, Robin, had left. When Lily came back with a smile to hide her sadness, he noticed Robin's departure and looked around for her; she wasn't in sight. Huh. He'd have to apologize to her later. It'd be nice to get to know her. His attention went back to the present and, specifically, to Lily.

"Lilyy,"Kins sighed, taking a step toward her. Being close, within distance to hug her if she got upset was ideal. And while his power could tell him a lot about what had her upset, he tried not to let her know when he knew and when he didn't so that she felt she had some privacy from him. Some things were private.

"Hey, how about we talk?"Kins offered, his tone holding his characteristic concern. He wasn't going to specifically say that he wanted to talk about what was upsetting her, but he did. Honestly, Kins would talk about whatever she brought up so long as she was willing to talk to him. Silence was dangerous in his mind.

[Lillian Alexis Keller]

Lily Kellerdon't you wish you were a fly on the wall?

When Kins asked if she wanted to talk, Lily nodded. "I really need to talk," she replied. Although she wanted to talk, she didn't know exactly what to talk about. Where oh where to begin? she thought. Perhaps she would begin by telling that he was a good friend, that he was probably her best friend. She needed more friends, though, not just Kins. It was as if they avoided her, and she had a theory why.

"Kins, don't get me wrong, you're the best friend a girl could have, my best friend. But, I need more friends, and most people seem to avoid me. I honestly don't know why, but I do have a theory. Everyone's always asking me about my eyes, why they're two different colors. I've tried explaining it the way grandfather always did, one human color, one animal color, because of my power to shift into any animal. But they always seem weirded out by my uneven sight, and I think they might be driven off by it. Which doesn't exactly do a lot for one's well being."

[/b] Lily explained. She looked at Kinkade, "I honestly don't know what to do."[/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote][/left]

[Kinkade Cymir Malixi]

KINKADE
_{she says she's
no good with words
but I'm worse
barely stuttered out
"a joke of a romantic"}

"Wear sunglasses?"Kinkade pitched with a playful grin ... Nice, Kins. Nice. He didn't mean any harm by it, though.

"Or. I'll buy you color contacts! What color do you want? Something outlandish, like red? Or something like blue, or green? Brown, maybe? Heh, 'cause you know brown's stunning," Yes. Kinkade had brown eyes, in case it wasn't obvious by that characteristic pride. Why Kinkade couldn't take this as seriously as it deserved was hard to say. It wasn't that he wasn't capable of it; he'd often helped people, Lily included, through things. It was like the one thing he was good at.

But Kins wasn't going to lie to her. He wouldn't turn Lily down for her odd eye color. Lily was an amazing person and one that anyone would be lucky to know, but there had to be something beyond appearance. Everyone was always so worried about how they looked. Kins shook his head to rid himself of the train of thought. That was Shiloh's influence again. He spent way too much time with that man.

"Or, we can just forget about trying to change you all together, and we can do something fun. Con Shiloh into throwing us a party. Invite some kids- small group of them- and give them a night they'll remember you for."Kinkade offered, his tone enthusiastic as the idea formed in his mind. Shiloh would, of course, do it if they asked nicely, and if it was okay with her grandfather. He would certainly make sure he wasn't going to get fired over it first. But he could keep them stocked with sugary treats and snacks and sodas. It would be perfect. "A ball's a little extravagant, might intimidate people. Maybe something simple. Wonder if we could put a movie projector in the ballroom and watch a silly cartoon. Oh! Or a scary movie! In pajamas! Make everyone comfortable, y'know. Plus, I look cute in my pajamas." Yes, he was just a little too full of himself at times. But, in his defense, he was rather dashing in his pajamas.

[Lillian Alexis Keller]

Lily Keller
don't you wish you were a fly on the wall?

"Not happening, I'm not going to change my appearance, they'll just have to learn to accept me for who I am, not my eye color," Lily replied. She had nothing against color contacts, plenty of people wore them; she just wasn't one of those people. "I'd like to see you try and con Shi into that, Kin. But who knows," Lily said, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Hm...a movie sounds much better. I'm sure Grandfather would let us..though he'd give me a lecture on how I'm lucky to have you, and not to worry about what other people think. I don't like scary movies so much any more, not with some of the things going on,"

[/color] Lily commented, hinting at the basement, strange sounds came up from there, and Lily knew why. She suspected Kins did as well, but she wasn't sure. "No..you look absolutely horrid in your pajamas, after all, I should know, we spent many movie nights together up on the fifth floor." Lily was only teasing Kinkade, truth be told, Kins did look nice in his pajamas.[/blockquote][/blockquote]


[[meh. short.]][/blockquote][/left]

[Kinkade Cymir Malixi]

KINKADE
_{we're only good
'cause you can have
'almost famous' friends
besides, we've got such
good fashion sense!}

"Aw, come on, face it. Shiloh'd do whatever I wanted.

[/color]"Kinkade chuckled, his tone now softening. Physical contact did have a calming effect on him. He was the type of kid who didn't seem to know that hugging people might make them uncomfortable, or that holding someone's hand, just because it's there isn't always a great idea. But, his open affection sorta came with the territory. It was a way to connect that wasn't an intrusion in the way that knowing someone's emotions was.

"Aw, don't mind him. I think you need other friends. I don't know how you put up with me, always tagging along with you. Besides. Every girl needs another girl to confide in.[/color]" No, despite what Kins thought, being an empath certainly did not make him an expert on girls and their emotions. But sometimes he spoke like he was an expert. "Scary movies are great with girls in the room. Because then you- er, well, then I can calm them. Makes me feel useful. Like I'm more than just a not-as-portable mood ring.[/color]" There are some things not even your best friends need to hear you admit, Kins. But at least he was honest. Always honest. As for her thoughts related to the basement; he had no idea she was even considering it in that moment, so it didn't cross his mind.

"Hey now![/color]"Kinkade's tone sounded hurt. He even placed a hand above his heart, clutching at it as though she'd caused him real pain with her joking jab at his ego. "Resisting my jammy charm! What's the world coming to?[/color]"[/center][/blockquote][/blockquote]