IDFC [open]

Eliza hesitated a bit when Eve had said but thinking the girl was going to change her mind about letting her try it. Then she felt the girl firmly place it into her hands. She felt the flask for a moment, her heart rate picking up. Was she really going to do this? What would her mothers think? She was supposed to prove that she could be independent, this wouldn't help but she could take care of herself to make this choice. Yes she was mature enough to try this.

She brought the container to her lips and took a swallow and instantly regretted it. God did it burn. She never expected it to feel like that! She let out a small strangled noise as she tried to get rid of the taste of the unfamilar drink. It was bitter but it also had a nice flavor.. She didn't get how people could drink things like that.. "Ughh.. You can take it back now.. How can you stand that? It burns so much.." She said still retaining some of that sheepishness from before.

Evelyn was quick to snatch it back, just glad that the girl couldn't catch her smirk as she pulled the flask back into her lap. "Ev—... e-everyone says that," she said, thumbing nervously over the sleek metal. Figures. The first time she'd drank, she'd just forced herself through the bottle, and then another one after that, and after a bit of rehearsal, you started to come around to the taste. Or maybe that was just addiction talking. She shrugged, even if she couldn't see it, and huddled closer over her flask. "I l-l-like it..." There was more kick in that burn than you'd get with anything else. Even her favorite tea had started to taste like tap water in comparison.

"More power to you then. I can see how you would like it though. It has a nice flavor but the after bitterness and burning is just too much for me.." She never expected something her moms enjoyed to be something like that. She thought it would be like juice or something since they drank often. She didn't know if she would ever try it again. At least not right now.

"So what do you do around here?" She asked her normal tone returning. Her curiosity was satisfied for now.

You didn't drink it for the flavor. Evelyn sloshed the liquid around at the flask, frowning at how fast it was disappearing. Damn, where was she going to get the money to replace this...? She seemed lost in thought for a moment before Eliza's voice snapped her back into the conversation, sitting up straight with her head swimming. What did she do...? That was a good question. What did she do?

Well, Eliza had seen the most of it. Drink away the part of the day that she couldn't sleep away. Sit around and watch the people mill past. Thinking about it made her nauseous with herself, a thick lethargy stirring in her gut and seeping into her muscles, paralyzing her like a neurotoxin. It was a bit like oversleeping, rolling out of bed with all the energy sapped from your limbs before your day even starts.

So nothing, then. A literal no-life. She bit at her lip and set the flask to the side. "Go t-to class," she murmured. Sometimes. It was easy to skip with her gift, but all the missed assignments still stacked up. "Sleep." Repeat, for about three years straight. Almost four. "Th-that's... about it..." Evelyn gave the other girl a small, tired smile. "M-my name's Evelyn, b-by the way..."

Not that she'd remember.

It took a moment for the girl to reply. While what she said was something Eliza thought was nice, there was nothing more to it. Well at least the sleep part. "My name is Eliza. Nice to meet you Evelyn." The pink haired girl said. "You don't do much do you?" She asked not trying to be harsh or rude or anything like that. She understood people were sometimes introverts but even then they still had something they did in free time. It was kind of strange. Unless this girl wasn't comfortable enough to say anything else around the new girl.

Eliza. She made a mental note to remember it, even if her name wouldn't stick in the other girl's mind. Even with that flat tone, the question still stung, just a little bit. Talk about hitting the nail flat on the head. Her own rambling introspection got driven home with those six words. "Y-yeah..." she murmured with a bitter smile. Sighing, she picked up the flask again and tipped it back. Evelyn pulled away, face flushed and burning, and set it down again, the little metal container lighter than before. "I guess y-y-you're right..."

She sniffed, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "And what ab-... a-about you...?"

Eliza shook her head. "I don't do much either.. Well I didn't.. My parents were so protective of me, so I didn't get a chance to do anything on my own." She said to the girl. "Honestly I was hoping you would have some knowledge on things to do because I have no idea where to start."

The pink haired girl sat on the bleachers leaning back somewhat. "Never really had much time to myself without someone watching over me." It would explain why she got so defensive when someone thought so little of her. She could do things on her own but her moms never would allow her to prove it to them.

Evelyn couldn't help but blink and stare, a little stunned that she'd shared so much about herself to a practical stranger. It cast her in a new light, and all she could do was envision a young blind girl with a parent looming over each shoulder, trying to guide her through life. She chewed at her lip and looked aside, smiling. "Yeah..." she murmured. "Mine w-were the same." Helicopter parent, tiger mom, whatever you wanted to call it. Her mother had always been hanging over her like a dark cloud, stifling her, suffocating her, sheltering from the sunlight. Maybe for her own good, maybe not. Either way, she understood the feeling.

She sloshed the whiskey around in the flask loud enough for Eliza to hear. "Well... Y-y-you can d-do anyth-thing, now." Join a club, but there weren't that many. Train your power, if your power could even be trained. Try and make some friends, if you could be bothered. Boil it down, and the school might be a bit like a mental asylum, but it was still a school. You did the usual. "Your p-p-parents a-aren't here." As for her, she'd drift through school like she always had, wasting time, listing away. That was all she had to suggest. Evelyn took another swig.

So Eve knew how it was to have parents that hovered all the time.. At least she wasn't alone in that situation. Even if Eve wasn't blind she knew the pain of someone controlling what they did for a long time. Being trapped for so long with someone hovering over you and then having no one there, being able to do things on your own? It was strange... She didn't really know what to do outside of what her parents allowed her to do.

"I know my moms aren't here.. but I have no idea what to do." Eliza stated. "I don't even know where to start." Maybe Evelyn would have an idea how that was, and suggest something or they will stay stuck not knowing what to do like now.

Um. Moms? Maybe she'd just misheard, or she'd misspoke. Evelyn stood up and stretched out her arms, eyes flicking to the ceiling through her bangs. She was new, right? "Well..." Eliza didn't drink, she didn't smoke... What could she offer her? It was almost a little pathetic how those were the only two ways she felt she could connect to people. She needed to get out and do something just as much as the other girl.

So what was there to do? What did... normal people do?

She'd been at this school since she was fourteen, and she'd never gotten started either.

"H-have... you ssseen the l-lake?"

It was the first thing that popped into her head. She knew this school like the back of her hand, and that was one of her usual haunts, a good place to get away on colder days. If she needed a tour, she could show her anywhere. But was that an awkward thing to ask?

Eliza was sure she didn't choose those words on purpose, probably merely forgetting. "I haven't been to the lake yet." Eliza said looking at the girl with blank eyes. "I sensed there was a forest but I felt I would get mixed up if I entered on my own." She hadn't explored the outskirts of the campus much so she didn't know if there was a direct path to the lake. Maybe she could get it in her head if Eve took her there. Or maybe they could form a friendship and they could hang out at the lake every so often, though with what she had said she didn't think that would happen.

She only caught the faux pas after it'd left her lips. Evelyn stopped just short of smacking herself over the head and buried her face into her palm, wishing lightning could blast through the ceiling and strike her dead. Shit! Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid... This is what she got for trying to run her mouth. Eliza looked unfazed, and praying that she didn't catch the slip of tongue, Evelyn turned with a wavering grin. Even if she couldn't see it. "W-well, if you w-w-wanted, sometime..."

For all the bad and brooding thoughts she'd given Beata Academy, no one could doubt the place was beautiful. Thick green woods, sloping mountains, a glittering lake as clear as you'd ever see. It was a beautiful... sight. Shit. Maybe she should've just told her to join a club instead. What on earth would she get out of a nature walk?

Maybe she'd be able to enjoy it for all the other reasons she haunted the woods. The fresh scents, like the grass after it rained, or the soft sounds, twittering birds and crunching leaves. She loved how clean it felt, how quiet and peaceful it was compared to the hustle and bustle of students in the school or in town. Or that was just an excuse to herself, trying to rationalize the first place that came to mind.

If she was being honest with herself, it'd been months since she'd last stepped foot in the forest. The last time, with that monster, and that boy... Evelyn felt queasy just remembering it. It'd be easier to get back into routine with a sorta-kinda-friendly face nearby.

Eliza had a small smile appear on her face that Evelyn offered to go to the lake sort of. She wasn't sure if Eve still wanted to go but she would take the chance of answering, though she might end up embarrassing herself. "I would love to go to the lake at some point. Even if I might not be able to see it, I would enjoy the feel of open space and the fresh air." She never got much of a chance for those back at home unless she had one of her moms hovering over her shoulder to make sure she didn't hurt herself.

Evelyn could guide her through but not hover like her mom. It would be a nice change for once. She couldn't even imagine what it looked like she didn't know colors, but she could imagine the feel of the air, the smell, the feel of the water lapping at her feet.. Even if it was cold. It would be such a nice feeling. Going to the lake would make any day better if she just knew the way.