Nina Paem
Keme
Academy Junior: Mage
No object is so beautiful that, under certain conditions, it will not look ugly.
Posts: 427
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Post by Nina Paem on Jun 7, 2010 2:22:36 GMT -5
((continued from Nina's Post-Adler repercussions post.)) As soon as the door to Professor Yogo's classroom had shut behind her, Nina had broken into a run. She had forced her legs to move as fast as they could go and then pushed herself to move faster, bolting past the sick bay and the library before everything else turned into a blur. She made it to the courtyard, ran onto the track for one lap, and retreated, still at a run, into the gym, where she finally collapsed on the floor in front of the bleachers. Chest heaving, her muscles twitching and burning from exertion, Nina had folded her arms atop the bottom seat of the bleachers and rested her head atop them, trying to regulate her breathing while hot tears ran unchecked down her face.
She was going to get into so much shit for this. She didn't care how many detentions she was assigned-- the Dunehelden staff was not what she was worried about.
Haneul was going to be so disappointed in her. That scared her more than any disciplinary action a teacher could dish out.
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Rosemary "Romi" Ouelette
Keme
University Freshman: Mage
Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spine of others are stiffened.
Posts: 21
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Post by Rosemary "Romi" Ouelette on Jun 7, 2010 2:32:45 GMT -5
Romi hadn't been planning on interrupting-- in fact, she hadn't known that anyone was in the gymnasium at all when she 'd pushed through the doors on the opposite side. She had left her sneakers in here earlier and--
The small figure draped off of the bleachers caught her eye before she heard the odd sound of the person's breathing. It was somewhere between mild hyperventilation and a quiet sobbing.
Suddenly, finding her shoes was not so important.
Romi approached the girl tentatively, and recognized her as the one who shadowed Haneul. She had heard her referred to as different names by different people, and as she was deciding which to call the girl by she took a seat on the lowest row of the bleachers, a little less than an arm's length away from where the girl's flaxen hair spilled across the wood of the bench.
"Nina," she said, softly, so as not to startle the girl. "Are you okay, girl?"
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Nina Paem
Keme
Academy Junior: Mage
No object is so beautiful that, under certain conditions, it will not look ugly.
Posts: 427
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Post by Nina Paem on Jun 7, 2010 2:41:01 GMT -5
Nina recoiled at the sound of the voice, rubbing her face furiously with her sleeves to wipe away the tears. She folded her legs and hunched slightly, crossing her arms tightly over her stomach, each hand gripping the other elbow, as if she were trying to hold herself together. Her hair hung in her face, damp with tears, though her shoulders were steady. She was not sobbing-- these were not tears of sorrow, but tears of fear, and the eyes with which she looked up at the older female were wide and red-rimmed.
"He's going to be so disappointed in me," she said, offering no explanation, her already raspy voice reduced to a whispery, faded thread of rough sound that was hardly audible. She tried to swallow, but her throat felt tight, and the action's undulation had her throat burning.
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Rosemary "Romi" Ouelette
Keme
University Freshman: Mage
Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spine of others are stiffened.
Posts: 21
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Post by Rosemary "Romi" Ouelette on Jun 7, 2010 2:48:10 GMT -5
Oh damn, the poor thing looked like hell. Romi took in her wide eyes, her thin-stretched voice, and the bruised knuckles on one hand. She seemed to be in a state of shock-- she looked like a mouse that had been cornered by an adder.
"What happened to you?" Romi slid slowly to kneel on the floor in front of Nina, again staying at a respectful distance while keeping the girl within easy reach.
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Nina Paem
Keme
Academy Junior: Mage
No object is so beautiful that, under certain conditions, it will not look ugly.
Posts: 427
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Post by Nina Paem on Jun 7, 2010 2:58:49 GMT -5
Nina's face screwed into a distraught grimace. She shook her head. "No. I did it. I lost it--"
Her voice kept breaking out. Nina had to retry her sentences several times before anything could be made of them.
"I lost my temper and hurt someone. Really badly." How many times had Haneul lectured her on the importance of not harming others if she could help it? How often had he said to her, as she was training, that if at all possible to only defend, never attack? "Oppa's going to be so disappointed in me."
Nina's rage had ebbed away by then. She was disappointed in herself, and afraid of Haneul looking down on her; but a new sensation edged its way into her head-- guilt.
"I don't even know if he's okay. I didn't even look back." Nina brought both hands up to her face. She had heard the bones in Kemekin's face pop beneath her knuckles. She had felt the solid panes of skull snap and give beneath her force.
And then she had pushed him to the ground and knocked a desk on top of him...
Nina was well aware what a solid hit to the face could do. Shards of bone could stab into the brain. The airways could be obstructed. The eyeballs could be ruptured.
"Oh... Oh god, I hope he's okay...!" Nina ducked her head and hid beneath her arms, hoping against hope that she would just wake up and find that this had all been a strange daydream. She knew it wasn't going to happen, though, and clenched her jaw against the scream that wanted so very badly to rip itself from her.
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Rosemary "Romi" Ouelette
Keme
University Freshman: Mage
Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spine of others are stiffened.
Posts: 21
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Post by Rosemary "Romi" Ouelette on Jun 7, 2010 3:15:19 GMT -5
Romi frowned and she pulled the girl to her, easing her arms down and resting Nina's head against her throat. "Shh, it's okay," she murmured, holding Nina still with a gentle but firm grip around the shoulders with one arm, while the other hand stroked the girl's hair, brushing it out of her face. "It's okay, he'll be okay."
She had no idea who it was that Nina had hurt, but she assumed oppa was Haneul.
"Haneul's not going to treat you any differently. You lost your temper-- you're human. It's what we do. Everything will be fine."
She of course had no idea of being certain whether this person Nina had hurt would be okay. She was obviously upset about it, and Romi had no doubts about what the girl had the potential to do to someone. Most of the school had heard about her little detention-match with the Kazari girl closer to the beginning of the year. But Nina was not going to do anyone any good if she was in hysterics. This was a trick Romi had learned from her mother-- a child that could feel a voice as much as hear it was twice as easy to calm. A person was reassured by the sound of a heatbeat, regardless of age. Holding someone with their ear to your throat and talking to them was the most effective way to calm someone down.
"Breathe, Nina."
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Nina Paem
Keme
Academy Junior: Mage
No object is so beautiful that, under certain conditions, it will not look ugly.
Posts: 427
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Post by Nina Paem on Jun 7, 2010 3:33:59 GMT -5
Nina wanted to be comforted-- she felt horrible and guilty and--
Nina pushed away from Romi and stood, pushing her hair out of her tear-streaked face. "I have... I have to go." She ran to the doors from which Romi had come-- those connected inwardly to the school-- and pushed out into the hallway. She didn't look back as she exited.
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