Yellow Morning

Six months. Half an entire year stuck in the place they call the "academy" where half of the students party until they pass out, going through wild feats and not caring about a thing in the world and the other half committed to learning their gifts, trying to ignore the raves and pretend that they don't exist, only to join them later. That's all she was getting from being in this school. None of it seemed to be useful or remotely good in any case - solitary confinement. Prison. Hell hole. Whatever it was called, there wasn't any escape when you're being dragged into it and didn't have a 'home' to return to. Throwing her into a cage, locking it up and tossing the key away. Yeah, that'd get her to figure out her identity, who she was, and bring her to the point where she could be normal. Fucking...

Running away sounded good, ditching the campus and pretending that it was alright to just go out there and steal people's identities. But that wasn't any good. It wasn't good at all. The people who sent her there weren't doing it so that she could get all angsty and wimpy about it - this was all for her own sake. That place was her home for so long, and even if it seemed that nobody recognized her, at least someone figured it out. An intricate, delicately pieced puzzle. All thanks to a single ruby studded earring. Her power couldn't cancel out the accessory, no matter how much she tried.

It was a nuisance - a challenge -, an obstacle to overcome. Nothing worked. Hell, the way her hands fumbled about, an eternity would pass before she could remove it manually. She didn't like it. She hated it. It meant that there was something that would always be a part of her and there was barely a thing she could do about it. So far, it's just been hiding it behind hair. Now, that wasn't exactly an option.

6:37 AM.

Dark grey eyes watched the sun slowly rise up in all of its morning glory, a gentle wash of light filtering onto the window sill and filling her dimmed out room, plain white and untouched. Sure, she was the first to move into the dorm - it was almost expected that she would be the first to be unpacked. Instead, most of her belongings were still sealed inside their boxes, taped and tucked tight in the corner. Not a single poster, picture, nothing. Still in the state it was when she first came in, only packages were loftily towered, dangerously leaning and shaking back and forth, save for the vivid graphics on the skateboard slumped against her bedside, the helmet resting where the night lamp originally was.

Tabitha lifted one hand up, bandage wraps falling loosely and unwrapping themselves. Her gaze peered down to her leg on the same side from where she was sitting, the white tape-like substance covering ankle up. Only a few days ago, she had been at the Daycare, pretending to be an assistant and one kid asked her to use the skateboard. It should've been easy to fake, but she had foolishly believed in all of her hot-bloodedness that she could actually try it while maintaining the illusion. That certainly didn't work out at all and secret unveiled just like that. Luck of the draw that she didn't get sent to the school office.

A nasty incision ran down her leg as she readjusted the bandages. Crashing into a tree wasn't in her plans, not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever again. All she wanted to do was give an apology letter to the Daycare before going to grab something to eat at the cafe or bakery.

Snatching her skateboard, helmet tucked under her arm, Tabitha slowly opened the door and crept out. None of the others were awake from what she could see. There was a slight whiff in the air of last night's leftovers, which were wrapped in plastic wrap on the kitchen counter, but not a single thing stirred in the room. With another glance behind her shoulder, she quickly locked the dorm with her key before she left, tucking it into the low pocket of her dark turquoise capri shorts before bursting into a sprint to the school's metal gates.

Courtyard, fountain, stone-paved walkways, and then the exit. Buckling the charcoal black helmet onto her head, a finger reached to her ear, flinching back when it hit the sharp point of the stud. The helmet always seemed to pull her hair back enough that it made the bright red gem a big stop light that she had given up on trying to put her pigtails in the front, letting them freely fly on her back.

The skateboard dropped to the ground and placing a foot on it, she got into position before pushing off, the dawning winter breeze biting at her exposed shoulders, an excited look in her eyes. This was always fun - the only other actual enjoyment so far had been her first encounter with Aleta, some mirror image chick that made her identity issues fall further down the drain. Reaching Rosebury was a walk in the park.

. . .

Fuck me.

By the time she had reached the Daycare, some of the staff members filing in, Tabitha had patted down on her clothing, peered into the detached sleeves or taking her shoes off, the realization came to her that she had left the letter back in her room on her desk. With a frustrated groan, she fueled the rest of her energy into roaming the empty streets of the reclusive town, dimming orange street lamps flickering off.

Or at least she thought it was empty. In all of her agitation, her mind had finally registered that someone was in front of her path and she attempted to steer clear out of their way. The wheels skidded rigidly on their sides, throwing her off, her foot slipping as she fell back. The skateboard continued to roll along a bit, stopping as they gently tapped the other person.

"Ow!"

Way to start the morning before school started. At least there wasn't a tree, but concrete hurt as hell.

"Mmfff..." a happy exhale left Hosa's mouth as she breathed out into the steady sunrise, her blue eyes dancing with enjoyment as she strolled down the sidewalk of Rosebury. It was early - in fact she didn't think anybody else would be awake but yet there were a few people milling around on the streets as they headed for work. It felt...Strange. To be on her own - she missed waking up in the familiar room that had been her dorm for years but yet having her own place was...Relaxing. She had struggled with learning how to cook and was living off of frozen dinners at the moment.

With the school being so kind with giving her a house as payment for being a guardian, she didn't exactly worry about a job but she had found one anyways. Her eyes flickered toward the plastic watch that was fixed on her wrist. It was pink with yellow follows all over it - something that a kid would wear but she didn't exactly want to pay a whole lot just so she could know what time it was with a glance. Suppose she always had her phone but...It was always a bother to pull it out.

She stuffed one of her hands into her pocket as the other messed with the purse that was over her shoulder, filled with her lunch for the day. She was on her way to the Daycare, which was where she had found a job at. It was fun and relaxing to play with children, at least the younger ones she tended to hang out with. When you could turn into a kitten at will, it was pretty easy to make friends and she didn't exactly care how rough they played with her. She had been running through everything in her head - what she had brought for lunch and what she was going to do afterwards that she completely missed Tabitha until she saw the student hit the ground.

Her hand quickly flashed to her mouth as she pulled to the present as the skateboard came to a stop before her mouth as her eyes went wide. "Are you okay?" she quickly spouted as she stepped around the skateboard to hurry toward who had fallen, recognizing her from the Daycare. Well 'recognizing' was a strong word. Hosa had really only seen her before - she didn't know her name just that she student of Beata. She came to a stop not far from the fallen student, debating on what to do before she finally crouched down and reached out a hand to help her up, titling her head slightly. "Do you need any help?"

A horrible start.. And a horrible morning. Blake was hardly able to sleep last night since all of the new students decided to throw a little party too celebrate their arrival. Blake wasn't in the mood too party when he had first arrived so he wandered the campus until it died down which was around 3am.. And exactly at 5;43am someone thought it would be too funny to throw a stink bomb into the dorms. Blake had high expectations for the school but so far none of them had been met, guess it meant that you shouldn't get your hopes up to high when you trying something new since you'll never be able too predict what would happen but one good thing that did happen was that Blake was able to watch the sunset, it was one of his favorite things to do as a child. Watching the sun rise up too the sky and chase away the remaining stars from the cold night.  The morning was cold, and the gentle breeze of fall had carried away the leafs that had fell from nearby withering trees. Winter wasn't his favorite season he preferred the heat although the glittering snow was very pleasing too the eyes as well as the bright colorful christmas lights and decorations.

His stomach had rumbled and Blake rubbed his arm against it, the only thing he had ate last night was protein bars it wasn't surprising that his stomach was making disturbing sounds. The blonde had heard of a town nearby the school with some good places too eat so he figured he would grab a bite over there, although he wasn't sure where exactly it was he would probably need to stop for directions every now and then so he wouldn't become completely lost. Thankfully Blake was able too snatch up a map from a kind stranger and made his way over towards the town, earplugs were stuffed into his earlobes classic country music blasting into his ears as he continued walking. So far it was a quiet morning, there was no one really in sight and there were no scattering animals it was kind of boring Blake had hoped too run into a little squirrel or a bird since he did love animals although he had figured that they were preparing for the cold winter months ahead. He stopped for a second when he saw some people both on the ground(?) he also had saw a skateboard Blake figured it was a accident, and he should go check up on the two. His left hand was in his pocket and he took out one of the earplugs as he glanced at them, One chick had bandages already so Blake figured that she got in a crash already an eyebrow rose before he had said something. "You okay?" Blake had directed too Tabatha since Hosa didnt seem hurt.

Anger flared through her as she rubbed an elbow, ready to snap as her eyes glowered at the person who she had to stop for, "Watch where the---" As sharp as her voice was, Tabitha immediately stopped herself once she registered the woman in front of her, their outstretched hand and kind smile signaling a helpful gesture. Hosa Corvina. Known as the grand champion of the Summer Tourney, chief prefect in her last year, teacher's pet, and all of her amazing accomplishments that the faculty wouldn't fucking shut up about. She was their role model and who they should strive to be like. What was this? Propaganda? It was disgusting. What's worse was that this same woman assisted at the Daycare and could recognize her on the spot. Damn. Curse her stupid luck.

Readjusting her loose helmet, Tabitha shoved her senior's hand away, grumbling and cursing under her breath. Just as she was getting into a decent position to stand up, a blonde boy - maybe a year or two older than her - couldn't mind his own business and barged right to where she was, asking the same question that Hosa had asked; the only difference was that he omitted one word. And she lost her balance again. With a dangerous glare that seemed to shoot daggers, she retorted sarcastically, bordering along a bitter voice. "Yeah, I'm fucking fine when I fucking fell off my skateboard." A soft 'tch' sound could be heard as she slowly managed to stand up after a few attempts. "Thanks for asking."

What the hell should she do now? Her right hand had a hot rush of blood streaming down it, skin scrapped off and unveiling clean, fresh flesh now dirtied by the stony texture of concrete. Parts of her shoes had torn themselves, distinct holes forming close to the front. The bandages that were wrapped around her left limbs were beginning to fall off again and she didn't have a fresh roll on her. A few strands of hair stuck out distinctly, windblown from the sudden slip-up, a complete mess. She probably looked like a complete idiot and fool right now. After a moment of deliberation, the illusion came into place and to the common eye, she did look perfectly fine, almost as though she hadn't been thrown off her skateboard. But behind the mask, her entire figure was in shambles.

How long she could hold the illusion when injured was the question that she didn't want answered.

Did people not mind their own fucking business around this place at all? She couldn't even get any privacy in her own dorm. Juliette, Jane, and D'Angelo could break the rules and have their own rebellious streak when they go around stealing horses and nearly killing themselves in one night, but that stupid party they had in their shared room without her consent annoyed the hell out of her. It bugged her to no end, the fact that she had to escape to the library or somewhere else to avoid seeing half of the school in a daze and all ditzy like crazed maniacs. Did not help that when she thought the party was over, she ran into a naked student in the hallway and people hadn't dispersed yet, many of them too drunk to even lift a finger. And why was it that humans had to be so shallow?

No. Just because I fell doesn't mean I need your help. No, I don't want your help. No, I don't want you to talk to me and think we're all buddy-buddy since you tried to help me that one time. No, I don't give a fuck about you, your life, and whatever stupid problems you have. She didn't care about them and they didn't need to care about her. Simple as that. It shouldn't be that hard to maintain that mutual relationship. It really shouldn't.

Tabitha walked over to her skateboard, pushing on the edge and propping it up - straight into her hands. She turned her glare over to blondie. This whole situation was bad enough now that she had to deal with Hosa but to have someone intruding and listening in while she was bound to get told off? Punishments, consequences, all of those stupid things didn't matter to her. But at least making herself presentable was. If only her illusions could extend to other people's appearances and actions; she would've had him running for his money.

All of this was fucking annoying and frustrating as hell. After all, in the end, she didn't have a life. She wasn't an actual person. A random shape-shifter to many and one without a true form. If they even thought about asking for her name, she was planning to snap and set hell loose onto the world.

Dusting off her pants, Tabitha had to resist the urge to slam their faces together to have them leave and get this all over with.

Old habits die hard. As much as she wanted to, there was no way she could just ditch and pretend this never happened. That was child's play. But that didn't mean she'd get all goody-two-shoes and friendly with two strangers whose faces she'd never bother to remember and names that didn't mean anything to her. Didn't matter.

"Why can't you people mind your own business and move on with your fucking lives already?" An annoyed hiss burned in her throat. "Places to go, people to meet, meetings to attend. Don't you have anything better to do?" If she couldn't ditch them, she could make them leave.

A sharp frown flashed onto Hosa's face the moment Tabitha spoke up, doing her best to hide the anger that flashed in her blue eyes for a quick second. She had a feeling that this girl knew exactly who she was and truth be told, that annoyed the hell out of her. It seemed everybody knew who Hosa Corvina was, the winner of the Summer Tournament...Which would be great if anybody didn't seem to think that she was a stuck-up, teacher's pet because of it. She wasn't even a student anymore!

Her gaze shifted to the boy who had stumbled across them, giving him a soft shrug as Tabitha seeming caused all her cuts and bruises to disappear as she moved to gather her skateboard. Hosa wasn't sure what to do - she wanted to be helpful. Not because it was expected of her or to put on a good image but because she really wanted to help people. It was why she took the jobs she did - helping the school as a Guardian and entertaining kids as a Daycare worker. She wanted to be nice to everybody, but it seemed the world just kept letting me meet the people who wanted to do the complete opposite.

She bit her lip as she struggled to find words to say, before she couldn't help but release an annoyed hiss in response to Tabitha' hiss. "Seeing how my business and live is protecting yours and keeping you safe, I say this falls under that," she snapped before she caught herself, her eyes widen for a few seconds before she forced herself to take a deep breath. Hosa tried to do her best to keep herself calm, but there was always the moment where she just couldn't take it anymore. Like, seriously, it was like the universe kept wanting her to run into people who pressed her buttons in all of the wrong ways. Finally, she let out a loud breath from her nose as she did everything in her power to keep herself from face palming in annoyance. "Mmff...Listen, I was just asking, alright? No need to snap at me. Everyone's well being is at the top of my 'better things to care about list.' Even if you don't like it."

Blakes eye brow had raised, his eyes narrowing. How rude, people need to chill out in this school whats wrong with asking someone that has fallen if their okay. "Cool it, whats wrong with asking somebody if their okay?" The new student had huffed, honestly Blake had met these type of kids too much. The reckless type, not caring if they got injured and tried hiding it how pathetic. "Your ego is a little too big, maybe you should learn how to treat people with respect." The blonde had muttered something rude under his breath, honestly there were some moody and strange people around here. Blake had glanced over towards Hosa, in his opinion she was being a little too overdramatic.. Keeping people safe? How was she exactly going too do that, since Tabitha was already wearing a helmet she was as safe as she could be it was probably a stupid mistake. Giving a little cough, " I agree, I dont just pass by when someone is hurt thats disgusting human behavior." Although Blake was guessing that this Tabitha chick could give no fucks if even someone she deeply cared about got seriously injured.. How selfish.

Fucking god.

These people were nuisances, annoying pests or flies that would buzz around and never leave. They weren't the kind that you could simply flick off and pretend they were never there. A pulsing sensation shot through her temples, almost as though the back of her head had gone sore from a bruise that didn't exist, everything in her line of vision growing slightly hazy, sketch lines forming around them. Tabitha couldn't pin it down to whether it was her own frustration and annoyance or if her helmet proved itself defective and she had actually smacked herself onto the concrete - hard. It could've been both. Her fingers curled themselves into fists and she had to fight every urge to not get up and punch one of them in the face.

Who the hell did Hosa think she was? Her babysitter? She could take care of herself, thanks. She wasn't a child that needed to be guided by the hand to every single place and have everything done for her. It wasn't like she needed to be spoon-fed or wear ankle and knee-pads. What was with her, trying to act all mature? Her words only condemned others and her all high-and-mighty attitude was getting on her nerves. No wonder this woman was well-known. Acting like she was Your Highness and that she should be respected and treated like utmost royalty. A disgusting taste was left in Tabitha's mouth.

And then there was blonde boy. What was with him? He was just jumping the fucking bandwagon and following like a blind puppy in the princess' footsteps. Respect, schmespect. Who the fuck cared? Humans were awful creatures and she was ashamed to be one. Prejudice and discrimination was always so prevalent. It wasn't like they'd be able to recognize her the next time they met. Blegh. She was ready to voice out her thoughts and throw the two off their high-horses, but stopped herself. Instead, a low growl rumbled in her throat, holding an expression where, if looks could kill, those two would be dead where they were standing.

I fucking hate people.

She wasn't scared of some punishment. The headmaster wasn't someone to fear. This school system wasn't either. Everyone was all-talk, no-action. What the hell was holding her back this time? Uncurling her hands, at the last minute, they pushed themselves back in and her leg deftly swung itself up to blondie's head, stopping scarcely a centimeter away. "Yeah? And you need to quit acting like a privileged ass." Her form wasn't the best and everything about her held zero combative qualities. She couldn't fight. She no idea how to. Even her gift was useless for that - it was enough to evade and pretend they were fighting, but it was nothing of use besides to retreat. In reality, her whole posture and balance was wobbly, scarcely able to stand; it didn't help that she had coincidentally chosen her injured leg to balance on. But to the naked eye and to everyone around, her form was perfect: firm, confident, and powerful.

There was no way she could reach that level herself. It wasn't part of her identity. It couldn't be.

Because she didn't have one.

"By the way princess, I never knew that royalty could be so belittling." She had spat the words out, like a sour apple core. A wry smirk laced itself around her features. "You think you're so special, don't you?"

OOC;; Sorry, would've written longer, but my head hurts a lot, my thought process completely stopped, and I wanted to sleep. x-x

"No." That was Hosa's simple response, her eyes cold and unwavering as the girl turned to spit at her with venom-laced words. "No, I don't think that."

This was the kind of issue Hosa had with everybody - they thought that Hosa thought highly of herself because of what she had done. Sure, Hosa couldn't deny that she was a powerful force and she was the Summer Tournament champion but to her that was just luck. She had just been lucky in the gift of...Well, gifts, but that didn't mean she was better then anything else. Take away her gift and what was she? She was horrible at hand-to-hand combat. Those words that Kayla had snapped her way during that fight still rang in her ears and they were ones she took to heart. But nobody seemed to understand that Hosa didn't want to be what everybody saw her as.

You would think winning the Tournament would gain you respect, but all it seems to be good for is to bring more weapons toward those who seemed to hate her.  It wasn't easy being what everybody expected, and Hosa regretted making this image for herself. Part of her wished she was like she was back home - an forgettable face -  because she knew that one day when she messed up, and she would, it wouldn't be a pretty aftermath. Her hands had unknowingly formed into fists but they started to loose as her shoulders sagged slightly as her eyes flickered away. "I was just attempting to be polite, but if you don't want to accept it, then fine." She shook her head, turning away slightly as her blue eyes narrowed slightly. "And don't call me 'princess.' Just because everybody seems to think me of so high and mighty doesn't mean I am."

Blake's fist had clenched with irritation, what was with her? Did she have trust issues, Blake had pitied Tabitha. Mumbling words under his breath before glancing over towards Hosa. The blonde had disliked her, he had no idea who she was but Tabitha was right.. Hosa was stuck-up the older student didn't even acknowledge Blake yet, what was with her. Blake had rose an eyebrow at Tabitha's words, "privileged ass?" the blonde didn't know exactly what Tabitha meant by this insult because he wasn't acting like he was superior. "Honestly such rudeness." Blake had said with a scowl, he was getting frustrated this was bad, stressful situations made his gift go a little crazy he didn't have a good handle on it. "Don't get me frustrated, you'll regret it." Blake said glancing away.. if his gift went out of hand, what would he do? It was likely Tabitha wouldn't remember much and the last thing Blake wanted too do was take away someones memories, he wasn't that cruel. Although it was too late, Tabitha was pushing his buttons a little too far, his pupils had turned bigger as he glared at Tabitha, before blinking. "Shit.." He had done it again.

Tabitha let out a bitter laugh, the sound hoarse and unnatural, as if she hadn't laughed so much in such a long time. She withdrew her leg, holding her sides with her arms, and trying to hold back the tears that came from laughing so unnaturally hard; her skateboard fell out of reach, rolling a small distance away from their awkward trio. "You guys are hilarious, did you know that?" They could pretend or say whatever they wanted, knowing for certain that they knew what they were talking about. They could keep going around and doing something that seems out of character, and people could identify that something was just a bit off. Having a set personality, a set appearance, how fun. Sure, Hosa could transform into some random animals, but this was a stupid school filled with special snowflakes who think they're oh-so-great because they could beat another student up; nothing wrong with seeing an all-powerful dragon outside your dorm - completely normal everyone.

She managed to clear her throat after awhile, her eyes as hard and frozen as Hosa's blue dark glare, a smirk inching its way up. Shifting slightly, readjusting her sleeve, the way the blonde guy was staring at her was only a bit off-putting. Why the hell were his eyes dilating and growing wider? What? Did someone flash something or was he finally realizing the situation that he was with two girls? His glare didn't come off as threatening and Tabitha casually blew a strand of hair out of her eyes, ultimately looking straight at him. And it was a complete mistake.

The moment she blinked, everything seemed to vague. Her memory wasn't necessarily terrible, but somehow, for some reason, she couldn't remember anything ranging from the past two weeks. When she glanced around, she only saw two people - the school's pet Guardian and another student that didn't come off as familiar to her. There were very few who she could stand hanging around. So what the hell was she doing with these two? After closer observation, with her skateboard and helmet... those weren't supposed to be taken out. She hadn't planned to unpack them.

...

. . .

.  .  .

What was I doing?

In slight irritation, her hands curled into fists and she was quit tempted to punch the nearest trees if only it weren't for the fact that a heavy, unnatural weight seemed to be weighing down on her leg and fingers seemed to be wrapped around with something. Her illusion had worn off, dissolving the cloak that hid her tattered, messy state. The way strands of her hair was sticking out, scraps and bruises covering her body, injuries that she couldn't remember how she got. Everything was too vague and blurred out, as though someone had wiped her memory clean and let her start on a blank slate.

It didn't break her death glare. Her throat felt dry and her words sounded oddly peculiar and different in tone. "Who did what and which one of you messed with my head?" Crossing her arms indignantly in front of her, she had an almost impatient expression stretching her features. "Did the pet smash my head to the ground as punishment? Or was it blondie?"

Hosa blinked as the boy talked, sparing a glance at him as he warned Tabitha not to frustrate him. And...Ah, if she had known what she thought about him in the fact that she had ignored him she would quickly apologize. It wasn't that she had meant to, but she wanted to worry over Tabitha who was the one who was most likely hurt...And had also insulted her. But sadly, she was left unaware of what the blonde student thought of her in that current moment. When the boy uttered that four-lettered swear word, Hosa pouted slightly only to be taken aback when she turned to look at Tabitha only to see that she was covered in cuts and bruises - all traces of how she had looked moments ago gone in a flash. And more then anything, she seemed confused.

Hosa opened her mouth slightly as she tried to find words to say before she turned to the boy, having a feeling that he had something to do with what had just happened - even if she had no idea what it was - seeing how he had reacted a second beforehand. "What did you do?" she asked quietly, doing her best to keep her voice leveled but yet panic started to blossom in her chest. If he had done something to harm her - intentional or not - there would be a problem. It was against the rules to use gifts on other students and as a Guardian, it was her job to make sure everybody followed the rules.

Blake's power wasn't really something that the spring could control too well. It usually just turns on or off especially when he gets frustrated. Although he doesn't care too much if someones memory does get wiped. The side-effects of using his power was very hard on Blake, they usually hit him in a hour or so but sometimes the pain comes sooner. Blake had glanced over towards Tabitha giving her a cold glare, he didn't want to say anything.. The best thing to do would just simply walk away but in honesty the blonde had felt slightly bad. "...Me" Blake had spoke up when Tabitha had mentioned the loss of her memory. About to say something before Hosa had distracted him by whispering too him, The spring had felt his forehead become sweaty with his power he wasn't exactly sure how to reverse the effects.. this could turn bad. "My power is to minipulate memories, although I have little control of it.. I have a feeling it happened to her."