Solas and Illyana | Backdated to August 21

[om_dreadwolf]

Illyana shows Solas around the school.



Solas took the last day of orientation to wander the school grounds. He had been so swept up in setting in that he hadn't had time to explore. He wasn't so concerned with the buildings, but instead walked through the grass, warm from the sun, with his bare feet, carrying his sandals in one hand.

"Hey!" Illyana called out from the blanket she'd spread out on the grass. She'd gotten the name of the first book they were reading this year from Ms. Jones, and, for lack of anything else to do, had been flipping through it while working on her tan. Surprisingly, it didn't look utterly awful, but that didn't mean that new guy could wander by without a greeting. "Are you lost? Or just wandering?"

"Hello. A bit of both," Solas said. "My name is Solas. I'm starting my senior year here." He sat on the grass next to her blanket. "What are you reading?"

"Just a book for class." Illyana made a face and set it down so he could see the title. "I'm not exactly a fast reader, so I begged it off Ms. Jones early." She sat up and smiled. "I'm Illyana, by the way. I'm a junior. I don't think we've met?" Actually, she was sure they hadn't - there weren't many guys around with no hair. But hey, it was a conversation starter, at least.

"We have not. Have you been attending here long? I got in only a few days ago. I'm still orienting myself, I don't quite know where anything is."

"Oh, you'll get it figured out pretty quick," she assured him. "I mean, the place is huge, but it's not that confusing." She pulled her legs in to sit cross legged. "And yeah, I've been here...huh. Over a year now?" She tilted her head and grinned. "Did you want the grand tour? Or do you just want me to point where things are?"

"I don't want to take you away from your reading, but if you're free, I would not mind being shown around," Solas said, picking up his sandals and standing up. He stretched, and cracked his back. "I'm not used to my bed yet. It's a bit firmer than I'm used to."

Illyana laughed and got to her feet. "They're not bad - well, mine's a little worse for wear, but that's because I accidentally teleported it into the woods," she admitted. "But anyway, trust me - you're not taking me away from anything I really want to be doing. What did you want to see? And did you want the quick highlights, or the full tour?"

"Highlights. I would imagine the full tour would take rather a lot of time," Solas said. "Wait-- you teleported your bed into the woods?"

"Just the mattress." Illyana smiled awkwardly and shrugged. "It was kind of an accident. What did you want to see first? And do you have a problem with non-accidental teleporting?"

"No, no, nothing like that. Just, strange to hear without context, is all," Solas said. "I should probably know where the classrooms are before classes start."

Illyana grinned, just a little impishly. "Maybe. But if you don't know where they are, you have a great excuse to be late the first day." She bent down and picked up her blanket, book, an water bottle, bundling them all together casually, then gestured for him to move closer. "Just stay inside the circle," she warned. "I've never splinched anyone yet, but I'm really not into the idea."

"Circle?" Solas skooched in as close as social boundaries suggested. He didn't know what was going to happen next, but he was curious.

"Circle. Stepping disk." Illyana called one, a silver circle of light appearing around their feet, and grinned. "It's that or run you through with my sword, but people tend to not like that much. Just keep your head and arms inside at all times." With a flash of light, they disappeared, reappearing at the bottom of the staircase that led up to the dorms. "I could've taken you right to the classrooms, but then you wouldn't have known how to get there," she explained as the light around their feet faded.

"That's-- that's incredible!" Solas widened and he looked about his feet. "How do you do that? What happens if someone leaves the circle?" Solas asked with a mixture of academic excitement and sheer wonder.

"If they leave before I go anywhere? Nothing. During?" She shrugged and made a face. "It hasn't happened, but I left part of a case of soda behind once. Leaving part of a person behind sounds pretty messy." She smiled at his reaction, though, because having an excited audience was fun. "Do you really want to know how? Because I can maybe explain it, but I usually give people headaches when I do. Or you can just figure it's magic, I'm good with that."

"I do wish to know. Fascinating!" Solas stepped out of what was the circle. "Is the size predetermined, or can you enlarge it?"

"Can I make it bigger, you mean?" Illyana nodded. "I can, but it takes more energy. I normally make it just however big it needs to be for everything to fit. And then..." she paused a moment, considering. "Everything is really just a step away from everything else, if you know where you want to go and how to bend the space in between? Some just take more energy than others, because they're farther away and there's more to bend." She grinned crookedly. "Science isn't really my thing, sorry. I can see it, but explaining it is really hard."

"No, don't worry, I understand what you mean," Solas said. "Now where to? Lead the way." He made a little, stiff bow at the waist and gestured with his hand outwards.

Illyana laughed. "You don't have to do that," she pointed out, leading the way down one of the hallways. "Anyway, what do you do? And where are you from, and all that stuff you're probably already sick of answering?"
"Cardiff. Wales." Solas followed. "What do I do? ...oh, yes. I have strange lucid dreams. It is always the same, but different. It depends on where I am sleeping, who has been there..." Solas looked about, trying to establish landmarks and orient himself.
"What you dream depends on where you are?" Ilyana asked, trying to make sense of how, exactly, that was a mutation.

"I go somewhere. I see...memories, I think. Impressions, feelings, thoughts. I guess where isn't the right word, more like who. Whoever is there, whoever has been there. It's fragmented and hazy, but then I know things, and see history, sometimes." Solas shook his head, starting to get frustrated with not being able to describe it. "My parents thought it was some sort of mental illness. It's difficult to articulate."

"I'm pretty sure a lot of mutations are hard to explain," Illyana offered, hoping that was what he'd meant by articulate. She frowned a little, though, as she tried to put the rest together. "So...you kind of dream about things that actually happened, based on who was where you're sleeping?" Part of her wanted to recoil, and she reminded herself that pretty much everyone knew everything about her, anyway. Still, she wasn't altogether sure she wanted anyone to dream it. She wasn't at all sure that Solas would want to, either.

"Yes...something like that. It's all very vague, foggy, distorted. And unreliable, it doesn't seem to be based on reality or history per se. It's more...personal perspectives," Solas said.

"Kind of like dreaming someone else's memory." Illyana wrinkled her nose. "Sounds like it could be a pain."

"It's sometimes disturbing, yes. Mostly, it's just exhausting," Solas said, letting it show on his face. "Sometimes, I just want to sleep like a log and see nothing at night. But I haven't for years."

"Yeah. I know that feeling." Illyana offered a crooked smile. "If you like Buffy, Nico and I are down in the rec room a lot. It's on at 1:00. Or, y'know, whenever we call it up on Netflix."

"I'll keep that in mind. I don't watch a lot of TV," Solas said."But companionship is another thing. What else do they have there? Chess board, perhaps?"

"Maybe?" Illyana looked doubtful. "There's a pool table, and some video game consoles. I think there's board games; I never really paid much attention." She smiled crookedly. "Mostly I go down there when I want to watch TV, or just want noise I can blame for getting distracted from my homework."

"I see," Solas said. He didn't imagine he would be spending much time there, but told himself he would put forth the effort to be socialble. "What else is there to do in one's leisure time?"

"Oh, all kinds of stuff. There are pools, both outside and inside, if you like to swim - well, there's the lake, too. And there's horseback riding. And squad training, or the gym." Illyana peered at him curiously. "Are you taking dance? There's an awesome dance studio, and Stevie's the best." Granted, he didn't look the type, but hey, she could be wrong.

"I can waltz," Solas said. He didn't swim, but he was told often that he was built well for it. "What sort of dancing do they teach?" If it was ballet, maybe he'd sign up next semester.

"Modern, mostly." Illyana shrugged and smiled as she waved vaguely at some of the academic classrooms and turned towards the dance studio. "Ballet background helps, but you don't really need it."

"Modern is a lot of floorwork, isn't it?" Solas couldn't picture himself rolling around on the floor. "Do you do your own choreography?"

Illyana smiled. "I like to. Irvine and I did most of it for our recital piece - though to be honest, it wasn't exactly modern." She grinned a little more, then shrugged and gestured towards the studio. "Here it is."

"Looks well equipped," Solas said politely. Mirrored walls, a barre, sprung floor. "Is there a club for it, as well as a class? A workshop or two might be an interesting experience."

"Just the class," Illyana admitted. "But you can use the studio after classes, too. I do a lot, and sometimes River does - she's not in classes, but she's an amazing dancer."

"Maybe you could run a workshop with her?" Solas asked. "It might be a good opportunity to expand enrollment for next term."

"Yeeaaah, I don't think so." First off, she seriously doubted River would want to run a workshop, period. Second, she wasn't altogether sure anyone would come if she ran one herself. Or how to run a workshop in the first place. "I think I'll stick to recruiting one on one."

"What else is around that you could show me?" Solas asked, smiling politely.

Illyana grinned. "All kinds of stuff. But we can start with the other classrooms first." She gestured for him to follow and headed back towards the hall.

Solas took one last peek into the studio, and then unhurriedly followed after Illyana.