Xavin and Kohaku; backdated to September 10

[om_tephra]

New roommates get a feel for each other.


It had been more than a four hour flight to America, and another few hours traveling and later spent in the office of the headmasters. Xavin couldn't allow a trip to get hir down, however, as ze was more than pleased to finally be checking out the rest of the school--starting with the new living quarters.

Ze had been told that another student was already moved in, so a presence inside of the bedroom upon arrival would not be surprising. Even with the knowledge, Xavin didn't knock upon entering, just simply announced hirself. "Hello? My name is Xavin and I am claiming a bed!"

Perched on her bed (draped in a warm yellow comforter which was far from the Xavier's standard) and reading a manga, Kohaku jumped at the abrupt opening of the door and the unexpected proclamation. Even if it wasn't a complete surprise. Like Xavin, she'd been told that she would soon have a roommate and she'd been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the new student over the last few days. So when the jolt of shock faded, it was quickly replaced with a smile and the petite blonde rising to her feet. "Y-youkoso! Welcome! Your bed is..." She pointed despite not needing to; which half of the room was occupied and which wasn't was perfectly obvious.

Xavin followed the direction in which hir roommate had pointed, with hir eyes, before letting hir gaze settle on the bed. Fair enough. Ze made quick work of tossing hir bags on top of the mattress, and then sprawled back on it. "This will do."

Within a moment, Xavin was propping hirself up on hir elbows to watch across the room, interest there again. "Your name?"

Kohaku looked a little embarrassed at the oversight, hurried to place her manga on the beside table, and bowed. "Himawari. Kohaku Himawari," she said quickly, "It's very nice to meet you."

Just because Kohaku stood and bowed, Xavin stood as well, looking slightly uncertain. "I see." A pause, and then Xavin lowered hir head slightly as well. "I have never shared a room before. Forgive me while I become accustomed to respecting our space."

It was dismal to admit a lack of education in a specific area, but in this case it didn't provide much room to expose weakness. There was no sense in getting off on the wrong foot, after all, as Kohaku seemed very cooperative.

The formality that Kohaku had been raised on tended earn more raised eyebrows from her classmates than reciprocation and Xavin's uncomfortable echo of the gesture made her smile despite herself. "I haven't either," she admitted, "Had a roommate before, I mean. But I'm looking forward to it. This place is...big for just me." She gestured out with both hands to illustrate, then dropped them back to her sides.

Xavin nodded, feeling more at ease about the mutual strangeness. "Have you been here for long?"

Kohaku paused for a moment, counting from the first day that she had arrived to now in her mind. "Only four months," she said, seeming somewhat surprised by her own answer because it had seemed like longer. Or maybe just because she already felt at home here. "But if you have any questions, or if you need help with anything," she added more resolutely, "I can help."

"I am mostly interested in the training. I have been training all of my life and these new 'powers'...they are hard to control," Xavin explained slowly, looking somewhat disdained at the idea of not having perfect control over an aspect of hir physical self. Just briefly, ze let flame take over one hand and rock over the other. Even just doing both at once proved difficult, so Xavin only allowed the two forms to hold long enough for Kohaku to see. "If I do not have control something unfortunate may happen, you see?"

The amber eyes watching Xavin widened and Kohaku squeaked softly in surprise. But she didn't even have time to transition from shock to curiosity before the moment was over and she was left observing nothing more than her roommate's hands. She nodded slowly and spoke after a too-long moment, sounding apologetic, "I...guess I can't help, after all. My powers aren't anything like that." Fidgeting, she hooked her hands together in front of her. "How 'new' are they?"

"Approximately a month," Xavin answered simply, balling hir fists together to try and control the sudden tension in them. "What are your abilities?"

Kohaku knew from experience that, for most, the powers suddenly appeared after years and years of a life without them...but it was still hard to wrap her head around. She had been born different and her abilities had grown up with her, never feeling out of place or out of control. As she watched Xavin draw hir hands into fists, she couldn't help thinking that she was lucky. Going through it like that sounded difficult. "I can absorb energy from sunlight and use it in different ways," she said slowly, accommodatingly, "And I can change the size of my body."

"Change your size? As if you can become a giant?" Xavin asked for further clarification, looking very interested.

"Only the other way, as far as I know," Kohaku corrected apologetically, hoping that her lack of precision wouldn't annoy or disappoint her roommate, "Getting smaller."

Xavin was not disappointed at all. In fact, a very small smile crossed hir face. "Tiny like a mouse, then?"

Even though Kohaku couldn't quite translate the meaning of that expression, she smiled back with relief. "Tiny like a mouse," she agreed, holding up her hand and displaying a minuscule space between her first finger and thumb to illustrate the point, "I think I like it better than I would like being big."

"You can fit into many different places," Xavin reasoned thoughtfully. There wasn't anything very intimidating about small sizes, so they were not scary, but they could be beneficial for sneaking around. Xavin was sure that hir father would have liked that for stakeouts.

"Do they train you well here to change your size and use it?"

"Almost anywhere," Kohaku confirmed brightly, not thinking about the ability's practical applications all, but instead remembering how different the world had seemed when she'd first become small enough to sit on the leaf of a sunflower. She looked wistful for a moment and swayed back and forth on her feet, then said, "Some. But I first learned to do it when I was twelve, so I'm fairly experienced already."

Xavin looked perplexed by that. "You have been here only four months but have been experiencing your mutant abilities since age twelve? Who was training you before?"

Almost all children trained back home in Drox, but Xavin was unsure if that was the case where Kohaku came from.

"I've always had abilities," Kohaku explained, tucking one of her wavy locks back from her face, "Since I was a baby. I just didn't discover them all at once. But nobody ever trained me before I came here."

That was not an answer that Xavin had expected. Well, actually, none of that was. Ze had been under the impression that powers were a thing that came at puberty. However, it was also strange to think that some people had never had training before or never considered training. Different regions had different expectations, ze knew, but it was still strange.

"How?" Xavin ended up asking. "I was not aware that infants had mutant abilities. Have I been misinformed?"

Something about Xavin's intensity, hir obvious distaste for not having all the answers, made Kohaku smile. She immediately felt guilty and immediately appeared flustered as a result. "It's unusual," she said, continuing to toy with her hair, "But it happens sometimes. That's what Dr. MacTaggert told me."

Xavin grudgingly nodded. "I suppose it is not unreasonable for scientific anomalies to apply here, like they would anywhere else." Still, consistency made things much easier to understand! Ze sat on hir bed again, chin rested on one hand. "Special among the special, Kohaku. Very impressive!"

Kohaku blinked, surprised by that and by the fact that Xavin seemed to be serious. She finally released the lock of hair she'd been twisting, now even wavier than usual and attempting to curl up like a spring, and sat on her bed too. "Everyone is special," she said finally.

"You truly think so?" Xavin didn't look so sure.

At that, Kohaku's face brightened because she was sure. "Of course!" she said, "Everyone is different. Everyone has their own experiences and potential and their own life to fulfill. Ne?"

"Perhaps some are different." Some people just strived to be like everyone else or like nothing at all. Lazy people who worked for nothing and rode on the coattails of others. Their experiences were everyone else's. Hmph! "Some just moreso than others, I suppose. Some individuals are like chameleons and only wish to be the same as everyone around them. They don't seem so different at all."

Xavin didn't seem to like her answer and Kohaku didn't understand hirs. She glanced at her sock-clad feet, obviously in turmoil. "I do not mean to offend you," she said quietly, "But I must respectfully disagree."

"I am not offended," Xavin clarified. "I am just confused. However, I suppose that I am also willing to admit that people are not my greatest area of knowledge. I know what I observe and not so much listen to what others experience socially."

Some would say it was better not to be interested in some things because then it was easier to get attached and to care. Caring opened up weakness, or so said De'zean, Xavin's father. Xavin hadn't ever been so sure about that, but it seemed better not to question him.

Kohaku raised her head, seeming relieved that the disagreement had come to an end before it could begin. She didn't want to have a disagreement with her roommate, especially not this soon. She smiled sheepishly. "I...suppose the same is true for me. I was raised in an isolated place, so I can't claim to know people. But that's how I feel." And that was what Sister Hisui had taught her.

Finally, Xavin acknowledge that that was a fair enough response. Maybe ze didn't understand it, but Kohaku seemed to have put a lot of thought into it and that was respectable enough. Not to mention that, despite them both coming from isolated backgrounds, they had their different experiences that shaped their differing opinions on the matter. Which sort of supported Kohaku's point, didn't it?

"You do not need to feel embarrassed by your opinion," Xavin pointed out lightly. "I am willing to admit that mine maybe requires further study after all."

As the levity worked its way back into their conversation, Kohaku's expression brightened. "Well. Studying is part of the reason we're here anyway, ne? Part of 'student life'." She appeared to be serious, some subtle inflection in her voice making the whole thing seem far more romantic than it was. But she couldn't help that; school was still so exciting! Even if it wasn't like in a manga.

Now that was something that they could agree on. "I love school. Besides training, it was the most important thing in my life. This will be my first school that is done all in English, but I look forward to that challenge." Xavin smiled. "Is this your first English school as well?"

The assumption was made not only because of Kohaku's accent, but the peppering of her native words throughout her English was a giveaway.

That answer struck Kohaku as being genuinely admirable and she beamed at Xavin in response, the thought written all over her face. She wished she was that determined when it came to her studies, but even when she tried to be she just wasn't. "This is my first school," she answered instead of dwelling on that particular shortcoming, "I was educated at home before coming here."

"And you have adapted well?"

Kohaku didn't know that she was the one that should answer that question, but she nodded just the same. "I like it here."

Briefly looking down at hir things and then back up again, Xavin nodded happily. "I think I will as well. Thank you for welcoming me into your space; I will do my very best to respect it."

Nodding because she understood that respect was important, Kohaku smiled warmly. "Hai. But make yourself at home too. Okay?"

"Yes." With a quick nod, Xavin quickly got to unpacking. Ze didn't have much but it would be relieving to have everything in place so ze could get to the good stuff quicker. As of now, Xavin was quite satisfied with hir first meeting with Kohaku and looked forward to learning more about her.