Diamond in the Rough (OPEN)

A young girl of about fifteen stood staring at the entrance to her new home, Beata Academy. So much had changed so quickly and so recently. Weeks ago, she lived in a slum in Nairobi. Now, she stood in front of a marvel. She knew it was a marvel because she could feel its old bones lurking beneath the ground. She had never felt what marble was like before, but she could feel something that was long forgotten, probably once apart of the building, but shed once it was remodeled.

Such an old building. The only old things she had known before were her family heirlooms, one of which was with her now. An old necklace with a clay charm on it. Given her previous impressions, she thought old things to look ancient, not polished and grandiose. It was a bit of a shell-shock for her. And the people she'd seen! Apparently they were all like her... gifted, was it? That astounded her. People all special. Just like her. She couldn't wait to meet some. Perhaps someone knew how to tame her ability...

"A new start," she whispered.

Harley hadn't been at Beata for very long, just barely sorted into the Autumn house, but she was still watching the entrance to see if any new students were arriving yet.
After all, it had been a few weeks and she'd hardly met anyone.
She wasn't even sure her roommate was a real person.

Her brown eyes scanned the area, and she saw someone she didn't know, who appeared to be entering for the first time.
She walked over, a grin on her face. A chance to make a new friend was never something she would pass up. She tried to not seem too excited, but it was a failed endeavor from the start.
"Hello there! New here, huh? I'm Harley--"
She cut herself off, realizing that she probably just scared her potential new friend away.

Hibana was walking peacefully back toward Beata. She had left the academy to pick up a bag of sweet bread from the bakery in Rosebury. She had only been at the school for a week or so and was waiting to get sorted into one of the four themed dorms. The initiate dorms were a bit cramped compared to the other dorms.

When she walked through the gates of beata, she tried stuffing the loose change into her pants' pocket while carrying the bag of sweet bread on her other arm. A loose quarter didn't make it into her pocket and had hit the floor. Of course it didn't just land on the floor. Intstead, it rolled across the cement floor. Hibana followed the coin until it hit the side of a random (Katie) student's shoe. She bent over and picked up the quarter, making sure it went into her pocket this time.

She stood up and noticed that it was two girls. "Sorry to intrude on you two like that. Would either of you like a sweet bread?" she said in a friendly tone. It was the least she could do since she interrupted them.

The girl turned to the first person to speak to her, slightly surprised at her appearance. When she spoke, her accent was incredibly thick.

"Oh, jambo! I did not see you t'ere, Harley. I am Edith Mwangi. My friends back home call me Edie."

When the next student approached, she was less surprised and had a wider smile. "It is all right, and sweet bread sounds nice."

Harley's immediate thought as she looked over Edith once again, was the same as her general consensus had been since arrival at Beata.
'Oh no. She's cute.'
She grinned at the new student. "Sorry to startle you, Edith. Sweet bread sounds great. What's your name?" she asked, all in one breath, turning to face the newcomer.

" My name is Hibana. It's nice to meet you two, Edith and Harley." she said with a smile toward them. Hibana opened the white paper bag and filled with the sweet bread. Gesturing them to take one. "you're a new student, right?" she said toward Edith.

This wasn't that bad of a day. Although it was still a little hot - it was still mid-August after all - Heron found the weather perfect for simply laying under a tree. He could watch students and staff alike wander about the grounds while playing around with his power. He'd gotten rather skilled in it, even when becoming a gas. In fact, doing just that had settled him on one of the thicker branches too difficult to reach by climbing alone. It was nice. He could hear the faint chatter of students grow closer and turned to peer through the leaves. 'A new student..?' The Winter sat up and slid off the branch and towards the ground, but he suddenly disappeared before he's even fallen a foot.

He wasn't gone for long though, as a few moments later he reappeared already several feet away from where he would've landed. The young man wasn't trying to show off, no, it was just the easier and more fun way to travel. But he had to be careful to not allow anyone to accidentally breathe him in, lest he might lose something important before he could transform back. He watched the group for a second before approaching. It still surprised him how quick of an amount of time it took for him to reach the underclassmen, since he was used to being short. The past semester had seen him skyrocket in height. His parents even had to send him new clothes and get him a new school uniform.

Heron swiftly found himself next to the girls, noticing two were in fact Initiates, and one had just arrived by the look of her luggage. Perhaps she'd need someone to show her around the school? "Welcome to Beata!" He smiled softly and held out his hand in greeting. "A little intimidating at first, isn't it?" Being the oldest student, he supposed he should give her an official welcome.